US stocks fall as Trump considers Iran options. Fed rate policy announcement due soon
U.S. stocks closed lower amid escalating Mideast tensions.
President Donald Trump abruptly left the Group of Seven summit in Canada after earlier urging everyone to immediately evacuate Tehran and reiterating that Iran should have signed a nuclear deal with the United States.
Trump signed onto a G-7 statement calling for peace and stability in the Middle East, after initially resisting, before leaving the gathering early, but is showing signs of losing patience with Iran. He called for an unconditional surrender by Iran and said that he wouldn’t target the country’s leader “for now."
He reportedly is considering a range of options, including a potential U.S. strike against Iran.
A third U.S. Navy destroyer entered the eastern Mediterranean Sea to help defend Israel, and a second U.S. carrier strike group is heading toward the Arabian Sea, but the Pentagon said the moves were merely defensive.
Vice President JD Vance said Trump “may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment.”
Oil prices rose 4.36% to $74.90 per barrel on the increasing tensions in the Middle East, where much of the world's oil comes from.
The blue-chip Dow fell 0.7%, or 299.29 points, to 42,215.80; the broad S&P 500 slipped 0.84%, or 50.39 points, to 5,982.72, below the key 6,000 level; and the tech-laden Nasdaq dropped 0.91%, or 180.12 points, to 19,521.09. The benchmark 10-year yield dipped to 4.389%.
Trump also left without any trade deals, although Canada and the U.S. pledged to work toward a deal within the next 30 days and are slated to meet later this week.
The U.K. and U.S. officially signed off on a previously-announced trade deal to little fanfare in the markets.
Separately, May retail sales slumped 0.9% in May from a month earlier, the Commerce Department said. That was worse than the 0.6% decline economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.
The decline was weakness in auto sales, which had seen a pre-tariff increase earlier and economists said the headline decline looked worse than the report actually showed. They said underlying data showed consumers had turned cautious but they continued spending, which is a good sign.
The main event this week will be the Federal Reserve’s rate policy decision due midweek. Almost everyone expects central bank policymakers to hold rates at their current target range of 4.25% to 4.50%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Along with the Fed's policy announcement, central bankers will release their forecasts for economic growth, unemployment and inflation. Most economists expect the Fed's projections to show higher inflation in the second part of the year, a fairly low unemployment rate and slower economic growth.
Investors also will keep an eye on the legislation dubbed the "One Big Beautiful Bill'' by Trump that is making its way through Congress. Senate revisions included ending solar tax credits by 2028, deeper cuts to Medicaid and a lower cap on the controversial state and local tax deductions.
Cryptocurrency
JPMorgan Chase, the country’s biggest bank, has applied for a trademark related to digital currency with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), leading to speculation the application for “JPMD” means the bank is preparing to launch its own stablecoin. Stablecoins are digital assets designed to maintain a value in line with the U.S. dollar.
JPMorgan Chase filed the application on June 15, according to the USPTO’s website. The application listed “JPMD” as a good or service that would provide “trading, exchange, transfer and payment services for digital assets,” among other categories related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
Bitcoin was last down 1.97% to $104,702.40.
Corporate news
- Eli Lilly reportedly is in advanced talks to acquire gene editing startup Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion. Eli Lilly shares fell 2.06%. Verve shares soared 81.5%.
- Lennar's second-quarter earnings missed estimates but sales topped. The average sales price for houses it delivered fell. Shares fell 4.42%.
- Solar stocks slumped after Senate revisions to the House's tax-and-spending bill included fully phasing out wind- and solar-tax credits starting in 2026, and ending by 2028.
- T-Mobile shares fell 4.14% after SoftBank reportedly sold 21.5 million T-Mobile shares, raising around $4.8 billion.
- Jabil topped estimates with its fiscal third-quarter results and lifted its full-year outlook. Shares rose 8.8%.
- JetBlue shares lost 7.88% after the airline's chief executive said it’s implementing a host of new cost cuts and break-even operating margins this year are “unlikely.”
(This story was updated with new information.)
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at Paste BN. You can reach her at mjlee@usatoday.com and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.