US stock indices closed lower on Thursday as a jump in oil and fuel prices pushed Treasury yields higher and raised concerns about corporate profit margins. The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, the Nasdaq lost 1.1%, and the Dow declined by 316 points.
Producer prices rose 0.4% month-over-month in August, as the war in Iran drove wholesale energy costs higher. Oil and fuel benchmarks have climbed further since the start of September amid renewed escalation in the conflict and stronger demand from Asia, adding pressure on equities ahead of a potential Federal Reserve rate hike next week.
Chipmakers retreated on worries about their sensitivity to rising long-term borrowing costs, with Nvidia down 2.3%, Micron off 4.9%, AMD lower by 3.4%, and Intel sliding 5.6%. Oracle fell 5.4% ahead of its earnings release after the close. Meta (-1.4%) and Palantir (-2.2%) also ended the session in negative territory.
In contrast, Apple gained 3.6%, trimming Wednesday’s losses after unveiling a slate of new products, including the foldable iPhone Duo.
