Stock Market Today: Dow Sinks As Oil Jumps Amid U.S.-Iran War; Oracle Soars (Live Coverage)

Major indexes managed to trim some losses after stocks came under selling pressure Wednesday as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continued. A temporary measure by the International Energy Agency to put more oil into the market did little to stop the price surge, thus taking a bite out of stocks. One issue that managed a gain was Oracle (ORCL), which bounded higher on the stock market today.

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%, or nearly 300 points at the closing bell. Blue chips had fallen more than 400 points at one point. The S&P 500 cut its losses to less than 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite erased its losses and finished 0.1% higher. Small caps on the Russell 2000 were off by 0.2%, but pared down a steeper 0.8% drop from earlier in the session.

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Volume on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq was lower compared with the same time on Tuesday. Decliners outnumbered advancers by roughly 5-to-3 on the NYSE and more than 4-to-3 on the Nasdaq.

U.S. oil prices shot up more than 6%, standing at roughly $88.50 a barrel even after the IEA said it will release 400 million barrels of oil from its emergency reserves. The Wall Street Journal reported that the agency’s largest-ever distribution of reserves was coming in an effort to pull down rising oil prices stemming from the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note jumped nine basis points to 4.22%.

3:42 p.m. ET

Nvidia Bucks Broad Weakness

Among Dow components, Nvidia (NVDA) was one of two tech names making gains, the other being Cisco Systems (CSCO). Nvidia was up 0.4% while Cisco gained 0.8%

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was another blue chip also in positive territory along with energy leader Chevron (CVX). Chevron jumped more than 2% while United Health climbed roughly 1%. Procter & Gamble (PG) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) led the downside with losses of roughly 2% each.

Among the S&P 500 sectors, energy and technology gained while the other nine sectors were in the red.

Elsewhere, Oracle (ORCL) continued to buck tech sector weakness, thanks to its earnings-fueled rally. Shares were up more than 8% in recent action.

Late Tuesday, Oracle said it earned an adjusted $1.79 per share for its fiscal third quarter, beating the $1.70 per share that analysts polled by FactSet were forecasting. Sales rose to $17.2 billion, ahead of analyst estimates for $16.9 billion.

Oil Prices Weigh On Dow; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Stocks

2:46 p.m. ET

Stock Market Today: Campbell Hits Multi-Decade Lows

Soup and packaged foods maker Campbell (CPB) fell nearly 6% after the company’s second-quarter earnings of 51 cents per share missed analyst estimates by six cents. Sales of $2.6 billion declined, missing views of $2.7 billion.

The stock has been stuck mostly underneath its 50-day moving average year-to-date and fell further. Shares were at 23.25 in recent action and are on track for their lowest close since May 19, 2003, according to Dow Jones Markets Data.

2:14 p.m. ET

Medical Technology Stock Drops On Iran-Linked Hack

Shares of medical technology company Stryker (SYK) fell more than 4% amid a global outage across its systems Wednesday. The logo of an Iran-linked hacking group appeared on the login pages, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to an email viewed by WSJ Pro Cybersecurity, Stryker is taking precautions, including asking employees to disconnect their company-issued devices from their networks.

Stryker sells medical equipment such as joint replacement implants, robotic-assisted surgical tools and surgical instruments to hospitals.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Development Finance Corp. said it will work with insurance company Chubb (CB) to underwrite insurance for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The reinsurance facility will insure losses of up to $20 billion on a rolling basis “to help get energy and trade flowing again through the Strait of Hormuz,” DFC said.

Shares of Chubb wavered after Tuesday’s gains broke a five-day losing streak.

Three ships were reportedly struck Wednesday in the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about 20% of oil produced worldwide.

1:13 p.m. ET

Stock Market Today: Cintas Signs $5.5 Billion Deal

Among deal news, uniform and work apparel provider Cintas (CTAS) announced that it has entered into an agreement to buy UniFirst (UNF) for $310 a share in a cash-and-stock deal. The deal values UniFirst at $5.5 billion.

Cintas initially fell, but reversed higher and found support at its 50-day moving average. Shares were up 2.5% in recent action. UniFirst shares jumped 8.5% and surged past a profit zone from a cup-with-handle buy point of 218.52.

12:20 p.m. ET

Aerospace Name Misses Earnings, Sales Views

AeroVironment (AVAV) fell even further in a downtrend after the aerospace and defense company offered disappointing third-quarter results. Earnings of 64 cents per share on sales of $408 million missed analyst estimates of 68 cents a share on $476 million in sales.

The company gave a full-year earnings outlook of $2.93 per share at the midpoint. But that was well below Wall Street’s target of $3.31.

The stock had fallen below its 50-day moving average. It triggered another sell signal by undercutting its cup-with-handle base heading into earnings, then plunged more than 7% Wednesday.

11:37 a.m. ET

Boeing Triggers Sell Signal

Shares of** Boeing** (BA) fell below a key level after the aircraft maker discovered a scratched wiring issue in its undelivered 737 MAX jets, resulting in a delay in their delivery.

The Federal Aviation Administration recently raised the monthly production cap for the 737 MAX to 42 from 38, reflecting quality improvements. Boeing’s monthly deliveries in February included 43 737 MAX jets out of a total of 51 planes.

Shares of the Dow Jones component were off about 1%. They traded below their 50-day moving average within a flat base heading into Wednesday but fell further, undercutting their 200-day moving average and their base.

10:23 a.m. ET

Nvidia AI Cloud Partner Pops On Deal

In stocks, Nebius (NBIS) soared nearly 17% after announcing Nvidia (NVDA) is taking a $2 billion stake in it. Nebius, an artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure provider, will use Nvidia systems to deploy up to five gigawatts of AI capacity by the end of 2030.

Shares of Nebius rebounded from their 50-day moving average. Nvidia gained 1.4%.

See Which Stocks Top Money Managers Are Buying Right Now

9:51 a.m. ET

Nasdaq-100 Winners, Losers: Micron, AMD, Seagate

Among the Nasdaq-100 index stocks, Micron Technology (MU) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rallied 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively, making them some of the best performers just after the market open.

Meanwhile, Diamondback Energy (FANG) and Seagate Technology (STX) fell sharply in morning trade.

9:09 a.m. ET

Dow Jones Movers: Nike, Caterpillar

Inside the Dow Jones industrials, Boeing (BA) and Nike (NKE) were among the few advancers ahead of Wednesday’s open. Nike climbed 2.4%, looking to snap an eight-day losing streak while Boeing was up a fraction.

On the downside, Caterpillar (CAT) and Walmart (WMT) declined roughly 0.5% apiece.

8:43 a.m. ET

Stock Market Today: CPI Meets Estimates

Early Wednesday, the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.3% on the month, with an annual increase of 2.4%, meeting Wall Street’s estimates.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% on the month and 2.5% year over year. Those were in line with estimates as well.

8:03 a.m. ET

Oil Prices Rebound

Early Wednesday, oil prices looked to rebound from sharp losses in recent trading, and were up around $86.60 a barrel.

The International Energy Agency proposed that IEA members release up to 400 million barrels of oil to ease prices during the ongoing Iran war, according to media reports. The official recommendation will be announced at 8 a.m. ET, Reuters says.

That’s more than double the prior record of 182 million barrels after Russia’s full-scale Ukraine invasion in early 2022. IEA members hold 1.2 billion in public stockpiles, plus 600 million in mandated commercial inventory.

AI Stock Oracle Surges On Earnings

Early Wednesday, Oracle surged more than 9% in premarket trading after the company reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped expectations.

Late Tuesday, Oracle said it earned an adjusted $1.79 per share for the latest quarter, beating the $1.70 per share that analysts polled by FactSet were forecasting. Sales rose to $17.2 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $16.9 billion.

Other key earnings movers Wednesday morning included AeroVironment (AVAV) and Harmony Gold Mining (HMY).

AeroVironment stock plunged more than 10% in premarket trading, while Harmony shares tumbled in excess of 7%.

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Stock Market Today: CPI Inflation Data

Set for 8:30 a.m. ET Wednesday is the Labor Department’s highly anticipated consumer price index for February. That has taken on increased importance following last week’s dismal jobs report.

Economists expect the CPI to rise 0.3% on the month, with an annual increase of 2.4%. They see the core CPI, which excludes food and energy, up 0.2% in February and 2.5% year over year, according to estimates from Econoday.

Natural Gas Stock Ignites Breakout, Fuels AI With Middle East In Turmoil

_Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X _at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jone__s Industrial Average and the stock market today.

Please follow VRamakrishnan on X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.

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