New York, June 9, 2026, 20:03 EDT
- U.S. stock futures edged lower after the bell with oil moving higher as the U.S. hit Iran targets, Barron’s said.
- The Nasdaq dropped 0.97% in regular trade, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.26%. The Dow managed a 0.17% gain.
- With rate jitters back on the tape, traders are turning to Wednesday’s consumer price index report, a key read on household inflation.
Futures on major U.S. stock indexes dropped in after-hours trade Tuesday. Oil moved higher as the U.S. military launched strikes on Iran, pressing risk-off sentiment. That same tone had earlier sent the Nasdaq lower during Tuesday’s cash session. Futures are contracts that track where indexes could open.
Tech stocks had already dropped by the close, with investors selling growth names. A few hours later, U.S. Central Command said it carried out “self-defense strikes” at 5 p.m. Washington time. That came after President Donald Trump pledged a response to a U.S. Apache helicopter being shot down. Reuters
The Dow closed up 86.10 points, or 0.17%, at 50,872.11. The S&P 500 finished 19.08 points lower, down 0.26% at 7,386.65. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 250.84 points, or 0.97%, to 25,678.82.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust traded at $737.05 in late ETF action, off 0.26%. The Invesco QQQ Trust fell 1.12% to $707.83. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF edged up 0.10% to $509.41. The iShares Russell 2000 ETF rose 0.31% to $285.02. ETFs are baskets of securities that trade like stocks.
Narrow selling hit tech stocks hard. The S&P 500 technology index finished down 1.8%, after earlier losses of more than 4%. The Philadelphia semiconductor index dropped 1.9%. Shares of Broadcom slid 1.1%, Nvidia edged down 0.2%, and Marvell Technology tumbled 7.6%. Action stayed on high-priced AI names. “The tape came for sale” after an early rally faded, said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading. Reuters
Rotation was the big story, not simply flight. Sahak Manuelian, managing director for global equities trading at Wedbush Securities, said tech names were out as buyers shifted into defensive areas—real estate, utilities, healthcare. Any rally attempt “very, very short-lived,” he said. Reuters
Investors are watching for the next data before the open on Wednesday. Cetera CIO Gene Goldman said traders are holding back on risk as they wait for what could be another hot inflation print, saying the Fed is again a “headline risk.” After last week’s jobs numbers came in above forecasts, traders are pricing in a higher chance the Federal Reserve lifts rates this year. Reuters
New stock supply is also weighing on sentiment. SpaceX is gearing up for what’s expected to be one of the largest IPOs ever when it comes to market on Friday. Some investors are concerned it could siphon cash away from other growth stocks. Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, called the IPO “massive” and warned Friday could see “big volatility.” Reuters
Oil prices fell Wednesday, with Brent crude settling at $91.45 a barrel, down 3.0%, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropping 3.4% to $88.20. The move came as both Iran and Israel said they stopped attacks against each other. Ritterbusch and Associates analysts said the oil market was “drafting lower” on hopes for a ceasefire and after Trump suggested a potential deal soon. Stocks had some help from oil during the session, before weakness after the close. Reuters
Markets looked past the big-picture signals as company headlines took the lead. J.M. Smucker jumped nearly 10% on earnings. Nuvalent shares rallied after GSK struck a $10.6 billion deal to acquire the biotech. GSK CEO Luke Miels called two drugs from Nuvalent “potential best-in-class assets.” Investopedia
But risks are clear. A stronger CPI, escalation from Iran after U.S. strikes, or rising crude prices could send yields up again, hurting long-duration growth stocks. Those are shares that depend on future profits. If a SpaceX IPO pulls in more money than traders think, AI and chip names could stay under pressure for more than a day.
Traders are seeing a market that’s firmer under the hood than the Nasdaq’s numbers show, but the action isn’t as steady as the Dow’s slim rise. On both the NYSE and Nasdaq, more stocks rose than fell. Trading was active and the volatility index hit its highest since April, then came back down. The tape isn’t broken—it’s choppy.
