U.S. stocks tumbled Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling about 900 points as rising oil prices and renewed Middle East tensions weighed on investor sentiment ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy decision.
The Dow dropped 1.6%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.3%. Oil prices climbed after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would respond forcefully to attacks linked to Iran. West Texas Intermediate crude rose about 6.9% to $89.88 a barrel after U.S. Central Command said ballistic missiles targeting U.S. forces in the Middle East had been intercepted.
Chipmakers extended recent losses, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX sliding more than 4%. Micron Technology NASDAQ:MU and Advanced Micro Devices NASDAQ:AMD each fell more than 5%, while KLA NASDAQ:KLAC dropped over 8%
Markets also remained focused on the Federal Reserve's policy announcement later Wednesday. Traders largely expect policymakers to leave interest rates unchanged in a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, with attention turning to Chair Kevin Warsh's comments for clues on the rate outlook.