Wall Street’s major indices closed sharply lower on Tuesday, 19, pressured by a broad selloff in chipmakers and persistently elevated bond yields, as investors grew more cautious following rival claims by the United States and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P 500 fell 0.69% to 7,691.76 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.22% to 53,343.40 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.33% to 26,289.71 points.
Among individual stocks, chipmakers bore the brunt of the selloff: Western Digital tumbled 7.43%, Micron lost 7.02%, Intel declined 6.58%, Nvidia fell 2.34%, and SMCI dropped 2.27%. Meta slid more than 4% after the company was accused in court of deceiving the public by targeting children on Facebook and Instagram with technology designed to make them compulsive users and boost advertising revenues.
Fintech firm Klarna also weighed on sentiment, plunging around 23% near the close after the company revised its revenue forecasts for the year lower, citing currency headwinds and a slowdown in consumer spending in Germany.
The equity declines came on the same day that oil prices advanced. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US benchmark, settled near $85 per barrel as Washington and Tehran remained deadlocked over control of the Strait of Hormuz. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note, meanwhile, eased two basis points to 4.71%, though it remained close to its highest levels since early 2025.
“The combination of higher energy costs and elevated long-term financing costs is becoming increasingly uncomfortable,” said Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com, cited by Bloomberg, adding that equity investors have begun to respond with greater caution.
Strategist Louis Navellier warned that debt issuance driven by artificial intelligence-related demand and fiscal deficits is likely to keep upward pressure on interest rates. Even so, he added, “with earnings surging and profit margins at all-time highs, equities can still be seen as attractive,” according to Bloomberg.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/19/mercados/wall-street-encerra-sessao-com-fortes-perdas-nasdaq-cai-mais-de-1/
