Nasdaq Falls 0.97% as Tech Volatility Weighs on Wall Street

Benchmark Brent Crude Falls 2.97%

U.S. stocks ended mixed on June 9 as volatility in artificial intelligence-related technology shares and renewed tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment. Oil prices fell, however, on expectations that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would resume.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 86.10 points, or 0.17%, to 50,872.11 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The S&P 500 fell 19.08 points, or 0.26%, to 7,386.65, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 250.84 points, or 0.97%, to 25,678.82.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or SOX, plunged more than 8% intraday before paring losses to close down 1.93%. Major tech shares were weaker, with Micron Technology down 1.41%, Broadcom off 1.12% and Nvidia slipping 0.22%.

Tech stocks also came under pressure ahead of Elon Musk's planned SpaceX initial public offering this week. Institutional investors are seen trimming existing tech holdings to raise cash before the deal. SpaceX is valued at about $1.75 trillion.

Investor sentiment was also hurt by news that Crusoe, a U.S. data-center developer, had temporarily halted work on a 1.8-gigawatt project in Wyoming. Seo Sang-young, an analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, said uncertainty over the pace of the data-center investment cycle had triggered profit-taking in AI and semiconductor shares.

Another negative factor was President Donald Trump's pledge to respond after Iran allegedly shot down a U.S. helicopter. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had just received a report that Iran shot down an advanced Apache helicopter patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz the previous night. The U.S. would have to respond to the attack, he added.

Still, crude prices fell on expectations that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz would gradually resume. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the number of vessels passing through the strait had recently increased "very significantly."

Brent crude for August settlement fell 2.97% to $91.45 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate for July settlement dropped 3.40% to $88.20 a barrel.

Lee Su, Hankyung.com reporter 2su@hankyung.com