Nasdaq Slips Modestly as Tech Stocks Steady Despite Iran Ceasefire Collapse and Rising Oil Prices Today

NEW YORK — The Nasdaq Composite closed lower Wednesday, falling 76.31 points, or 0.30 percent, to 25,742.38, a relatively contained decline given the scale of geopolitical turmoil that rattled global markets after President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire between the United States and Iran "over."

The modest pullback came despite a broader risk-off tone across financial markets Wednesday, following American airstrikes against multiple targets inside Iran late Tuesday and a retaliatory Iranian attack against U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. Speaking in Ankara, Turkey, ahead of a NATO summit, Trump said continued engagement with Iran's leadership was no longer productive. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them," Trump said, later adding that Iran "can't have a nuclear weapon" and accusing the country's leaders of "killing people."

The renewed hostilities sent oil prices sharply higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude jumping as much as 6.2 percent to $74.79 a barrel and Brent crude surging 6.1 percent to $78.66 a barrel in premarket trading. Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, said the rally reflected traders reintroducing risk premium that had largely disappeared from oil markets in recent weeks. "Rebounding as traders begin to rebuild some of the geopolitical premium that had been almost entirely erased in recent weeks," Hathorn said, cautioning, "That does not necessarily imply a sustained rally in crude, but it does challenge the view that downside risks had become dominant."

Despite the turbulent backdrop, technology stocks showed relative resilience Wednesday compared with the sharper declines seen across some other global markets. Individual names within the sector posted mixed results, with Amazon falling 1.7 percent to $241.85, Apple slipping a modest 0.37 percent to $309.52, IBM tumbling 3.3 percent to $296.03, Nvidia declining 1.7 percent to $193.68, and Palantir dropping 3.1 percent to $130.15. The relatively measured overall move for the Nasdaq, even as individual names posted losses of 1 to 3 percent, suggested some offsetting strength elsewhere within the index helped cushion the broader decline.

Wednesday's session followed a rockier Tuesday for technology shares, when the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16 percent amid renewed selling in semiconductor stocks. That earlier pullback was triggered in part by a muted market reaction to record quarterly earnings from Samsung Electronics, which reported a nearly 19-fold jump in operating profit that nonetheless failed to satisfy elevated investor expectations, alongside a Reuters report that Chinese AI company DeepSeek is developing its own semiconductor chip to reduce its reliance on Nvidia and Huawei hardware.

Some notable bright spots emerged within the technology sector Wednesday. Cognizant Technology Solutions jumped 6.2 percent after the company announced it was deepening its partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate the rollout of Gemini AI capabilities to enterprise clients. Apple also drew attention following a CNBC report that the company is expanding its partnership with chipmaker Broadcom in a multiyear deal expected to exceed $30 billion, marking Apple's largest U.S. manufacturing commitment to date. The agreement is expected to produce more than 15 billion U.S.-made chips and includes a $1.5 billion expansion of a Broadcom facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, further deepening the relationship between the two companies around U.S.-made wireless technology components.

The volatility gripping global technology and semiconductor markets was on far more dramatic display overseas. South Korea's KOSPI index fell into bear market territory Wednesday, down more than 20 percent from its recent high after losing over 5 percent in a single session, a decline triggered by Tuesday's disappointing reaction to Samsung's earnings report. Even after the sharp pullback, the KOSPI remains the best-performing major stock index globally so far in 2026, reflecting the scale of the rally memory chip stocks had produced earlier in the year before the recent reversal.

Tuesday's trading session had also marked the Nasdaq-100 debut of SpaceX, following the company's blockbuster initial public offering on June 12. Shares of the newly public company finished down nearly 7 percent on their first day as part of the index, contributing to the broader weakness in technology and AI-linked names that characterized Tuesday's session.

Beyond the technology sector, other notable corporate developments shaped Wednesday's broader market activity. Walmart shares gained 0.8 percent after the retailer announced price cuts on select products, including ground beef and Coca-Cola. Rivian Automotive shares fell sharply, dropping as much as 18.1 percent after the electric vehicle maker moved to sell 75 million Class A shares, diluting existing shareholders despite recently reporting stronger-than-expected vehicle delivery figures. Ondas Holdings shares fell 6 percent even after the company raised its 2026 revenue outlook to $525 million from $390 million following the completion of its $200 million acquisition of DZYNE, with high existing short interest and deal-related share supply weighing on the stock despite the improved guidance.

Wall Street's broader volatility gauge, the VIX, jumped nearly 8 percent to 17.40 during the session, reflecting elevated investor anxiety even as the Nasdaq's overall decline remained comparatively modest relative to the scale of the day's geopolitical headlines. Gold prices fell 1.75 percent to $4,084.80 an ounce, a move some analysts attributed to profit-taking following recent gains in the metal rather than reduced demand for safe-haven assets amid the renewed Middle East tensions.

Wednesday's trading also unfolded against the backdrop of the ongoing NATO summit in Ankara, where Trump met with alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte. The gathering has already produced notable defense-sector developments this week, including confirmation that NATO would purchase up to 10 reconnaissance aircraft from Swedish planemaker Saab, a deal that had lifted Saab shares earlier in the week.

With the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran now effectively collapsed following Trump's comments and oil prices continuing to reflect renewed geopolitical risk, investors are likely to remain closely focused on further developments out of the Middle East in the days ahead. At the same time, continued volatility in South Korea's chip-heavy market and ongoing questions about the sustainability of artificial intelligence-related valuations are expected to remain central themes shaping trading across U.S. technology stocks as markets navigate what has become an increasingly complex mix of geopolitical and sector-specific risks heading into the back half of the summer.