New York, June 10, 2026, 16:20 (EDT)
- Stocks in the U.S. dropped hard Wednesday, according to delayed LSEG pricing on Reuters. The S&P 500 fell 1.56%. The Nasdaq Composite slid 1.99%. The Dow lost 1.67%.
- Investors struggled with more selling in AI stocks, headline inflation jumped again and oil got a lift as U.S.-Iran tensions picked up.
- Super Micro Computer issued a warning for the session, unveiling a $7 billion financing move aimed at funding AI-server orders and raising dilution fears.
Dow drops 848 points as tech stocks take hit, energy prices jump
U.S. stocks sold off hard into Wednesday’s close with tech leading losses after energy prices spiked. The Dow slid to 50,023.77, off 848.34 points, by the end of trade, according to delayed LSEG data from Reuters. The S&P 500 finished at 7,271.18, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 25,169.00. The move stretched beyond just one sector, hitting index leaders that have fueled this year’s climb.
The moves follow Tuesday’s shift. On Monday, the Dow eked out a small gain while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell; chip stocks weighed heaviest on the Nasdaq. By Wednesday afternoon, Reuters said all three main U.S. indexes had dropped more than 1%, dragged down by more losses in semiconductor shares and fresh worries over U.S.-Iran tensions.
Inflation report unsettles with higher numbers
The latest Consumer Price Index figures from the Labor Department were mixed, but markets had to reckon with some sharp readings. Headline CPI jumped 0.5% in May and was up 4.2% year over year. Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, increased 0.2% for the month and 2.9% on the year. Energy was the big driver, making up more than 60% of the monthly gain as gasoline prices jumped 7% in May and surged 40.5% over the past 12 months.
Oil moved higher after the CPI report, as energy prices caught traders’ attention. Brent crude gained 1.8% to close at $93.10 a barrel. U.S. crude settled at $90.03, up 2%. Reuters said President Donald Trump’s warning to hit Iran “very hard” pushed prices up. Traders also pointed to a bigger-than-expected 7.2 million-barrel drop in U.S. crude stocks as another factor. Reuters
AI stocks took the hardest hit in the session. Reuters reported the Philadelphia semiconductor index was down 2.6% in the afternoon, with Nvidia and Broadcom dragging most on the S&P 500. AP reported Nvidia was the top individual laggard as investors pulled back from the names most exposed to the artificial-intelligence sector.
Super Micro led that shift. The company said late Tuesday it plans equity and equity-linked financing deals totaling $7 billion, with $5 billion coming from underwritten public offerings and up to $2 billion via an at-the-market stock program starting no earlier than the third quarter. Super Micro said it would use the proceeds to fund component buys tied to roughly $39 billion in AI-server orders from over 20 customers. But it also cautioned those orders aren’t binding and could be delayed or canceled.
Super Micro shares fell hard, with the stock dropping more than 20% after its financing plan, according to AP. Investors didn’t stick on the strong demand story, but homed in on dilution—new shares cutting the value for current holders. Reuters called Super Micro one of the sharpest losers on the market. Even hot AI demand can turn into a problem for a stock if the company needs more money to chase it.
Rate bets also weighed on the market. Tom Hainlin, investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, told Reuters that investors were “pricing in maybe a higher interest rate” after fresh economic data, and many were uneasy about the conflict dragging through the summer. According to Reuters, traders now saw at least one 25-basis-point rate increase by year-end. A basis point equals one one-hundredth of a percentage point. Reuters
Truckers like XPO, J.B. Hunt, and Old Dominion dropped after Reuters said Amazon moved into less-than-truckload freight, spooking investors with competition worries. While tech led losses, some money moved into defensive plays. Health care, real estate, and consumer staples picked up as investors shifted out of growth stocks seen as stretched.
Bulls face a double threat as the market could lose support from both easing inflation and strong AI stocks. Middle East tensions have kept oil prices up, and that could mean headline CPI stays stubborn, with the Fed forced to hold rates high. AI stocks falling again would hit the indexes hard, since the same big tech names that led gains can reverse fast. Still, core CPI was up just 0.2% in May, so if oil settles down, investors might stick with the view that underlying inflation isn’t surging.
Oracle will report after the bell, and that will give investors the next look at AI infrastructure demand. June 11’s Producer Price Index is on tap too, set to reveal if inflation is starting to build in business costs before showing up for consumers. Traders are weighing if Wednesday was just a shift in high-flying AI valuations or if it’s something bigger, with oil, inflation, and rates all pointed higher.
