US equity indices fell on Tuesday, paring back Monday’s rebound as waning hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East revived concerns about stagflation risk. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq 100 each declined by more than 0.5%.
Iran continued to launch strikes against targets in Israel and GCC member states, undermining expectations of an imminent easing in the conflict, while Israel stepped up its attacks on both Iran and Lebanon. These developments outweighed signs of de-escalation from the US side, after President Trump postponed potential strikes for five days following what were described as constructive talks with Iran—reports that helped fuel Monday’s improvement in risk sentiment, despite Tehran publicly denying that such talks had taken place.
Technology megacaps sensitive to funding and credit conditions came under pressure, with Microsoft and Amazon each falling more than 1%. Private credit managers also retreated, as Apollo and Ares both slid more than 3% after becoming the latest firms to impose caps on redemptions from their flagship private credit funds. In contrast, Jefferies rose 5% on reports that Japan’s Sumitomo is considering an acquisition of the firm.
