Traders on edge despite reserve hopes

Oil continued its wild ride Tuesday, closing more than 11% lower, as traders believed a group of countries would tap emergency crude reserves to mitigate disruption caused by the war in the Middle East. The sharp drop came despite aggressive rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about attacking Iran, with Hegseth saying Tuesday “will be our most intense day of strikes.” 

Earlier in the session, both U.S. crude oil and Brent crude tumbled more than 17% each after U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on Tuesday falsely claimed on X that the U.S. Navy had escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. The post was subsequently deleted, and confirmed to be wrong by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

U.S. stocks ended the day mixed as traders weighed the pullback in oil prices against the risk of further escalation. Sentiment was also dented by a CBS News report indicating Iran may be moving toward deploying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, meanwhile, defended its strikes against its Gulf neighbors, telling CNBC that U.S. military assets located in surrounding territories were “legitimate” targets in its conflict with America and Israel. Gulf states told CNBC that the attacks have created a “huge trust gap” that will last for years to come.

Global ripples from the conflict have spread to South Korea, with the country’s President Lee Jae Myung saying Tuesday that Seoul is opposed to the U.S. moving air defense assets out of the country, but it is not in a position to make demands. Over in India, restaurants are in hot water as the war disrupted the liquefied natural gas supply. About 90% of the industry relies on LPG cylinders to run their kitchens.

On the artificial intelligence front, Oracle reported an earnings beat and issued strong guidance, boosting its stock as much as 10% higher in extended trading. Investors appeared soothed by the software firm’s across-the-board beat, amid fears about the company’s hefty debt load funding its AI buildout.

How the Iran war and rising energy prices are threatening semiconductor demand

A prolonged conflict in the Middle East could impact the semiconductor industry’s access to key materials while rising costs could hit demand for chips that have been central to the artificial intelligence boom, analysts warned.

Semiconductor stocks were caught in the sell-off seen in equity markets before President Donald Trump said on Monday that war will end “very soon.”

Memory chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung have been hit particularly badly with more than $200 billion wiped off their combined value since the start of the war, even with both stocks rallying sharply on Tuesday.

— Arjun Kharpal