By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Dow followed their global counterparts lower on Wednesday, and crude prices surged as U.S. President Donald Trump declared the interim accord to end the war on Iran “over” following a series of tit-for-tat airstrikes.
I will go into more detail on today’s market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
1. U.S. President Donald Trump says ceasefire with Iran is “over,” warns of fresh attacks
2. Crude prices surged on Trump’s remarks, touching a two-week high and extending Tuesday’s spike
3. China is planning to let top AI companies buy a limited amount of Nvidia’s H200 chips, according to a report from the Information
4. But Chinese authorities are considering limiting top tech firms’ access to China’s most advanced AI models
5. The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2026 global growth forecast to 3.0%, on Middle East, trade risks; expects rebound in 2027
Today’s Key Market Moves
• STOCKS: The S&P 500 and the Dow end red but tech pushes the Nasdaq to a modest gain; Europe’s STOXX 600 posts steepest one-day drop since March
• SECTORS/SHARES:
• FX: Dollar eases from one-week high as Iran deal falters
• BONDS: U.S. Treasury yields spike, paring slightly after Fed minutes
• COMMODITIES/METALS: Front-month WTI and Brent crude prices settle up 4.4% and 5.2%, respectively; gold drifts lower
Today’s Talking Points
* Fed policymakers saw inflation concerns mounting at June meeting, minutes show.
Worries about heightened inflation were expressed at the U.S. central bank’s monetary policy meeting last month, with a few participants seeing a case for near-term rate hikes amid a broader, evenly divided debate.
Minutes from that meeting, released on Wednesday, showed “most participants” seeing scenarios in which inflation would cool down of its own accord, and also “most” seeing situations where it would remain high enough to warrant an eventual rate hike.
* Trump hypes “unity” at NATO summit after attacking allies
Trump caused havoc at the NATO summit, demanding that the United States cut trade ties with Spain and reviving his claims on Greenland, before changing tack, saying there had been love and “a lot of unity” at the summit. He also called Madrid a “terrible partner” and railed against allies for not supporting the war on Iran.
* Trump ramps up warnings about the dangers of communism
The U.S. president has sharply escalated his anti-communist rhetoric over the past two weeks as his team tests whether the message resonates ahead of November’s midterm elections.
A Reuters analysis of public comments and social media posts shows Trump’s use of the term accelerated after a string of left-wing Democrats won primary contests in New York.
* Russia tries to jam Elon Musk’s Starlink systems to counter Ukrainian drones
Russian forces are attempting to counter Ukrainian “mid-strike” drone attacks, which can hit targets dozens of kilometers behind front lines accurately and cheaply, by camouflaging cargoes and installing powerful jamming systems to disrupt the Starlink satellite internet systems, Ukrainian drone commanders and pilots told Reuters.
What could move markets tomorrow?
• Developments in the Middle East
• Energy market moves
• Social media posts from Trump
• U.S. weekly jobless claims
• U.S. existing home sales
• Germany trade balance (May)
• Sweden house prices (June)
• Norway PPI (June)
• Norway manufacturing output (May)
• Denmark trade balance (May)
• Czech Republic unemployment rate (June)
• Greece CPI (June)
• Ireland CPI (June)
• Mexico CPI, PPI (June)
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
By Stephen Culp | Reuters | © Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026.
