US markets mixed ahead of Fed decision, oil prices jump as Middle East violence

Wall Street is mixed before the opening bell Wednesday and oil prices jumped more than 4% after Jordan and the U.S. knocked down another Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% in premarket trading, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3%. Nasdaq futures rose 0.3%.

Global markets were also mixed, with South Korea’s Kospi stock index falling another 6% Wednesday as doubts over massive investments in artificial intelligence once again led investors to dump chipmakers’ shares.

Oil prices — which had eased from last week’s the two-month high — rebounded as a brief pause in fighting in the Iran war was shattered. Jordan’s air defenses intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country’s military said, hours after the U.S. military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage.

The calm persisted for about three days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $3.71 to $85.79 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude gained $3.78 to $83.04 a barrel.

Markets are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates, which comes later Wednesday. With inflation still well above its 2% target and unemployment still low at 4.2%, the U.S. central bank is not expected to raise or cut rates at this meeting. However, 76% of Wall Street traders foresee a rate hike in September, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

While higher rates have a tendency to hurt stock prices, Fed officials are growing impatient with inflation, which has been above target for five years. Elevated oil prices since the war in Iran began in late February has contributed to higher prices for just about everything.

In equities trading, Generac shares jumped 4.3% in premarket after the maker of backup power supplies breezed past Wall Street profit targets. The company said it is ramping up production to clear a backlog of orders for data center backup generators.

Shares of the consumer products company Procter & Gamble slid more than 3% after it said organic sales were flat in the fourth quarter. Wall Street had expected growth of 2%.

Meta, Microsoft and Starbucks all release their latest results after the closing bell.

Elsewhere, at midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX was unchanged, while the CAC 40 in Paris skidded 0.6%. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.3%.

The latest rout in Seoul was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK Hynix after its operating profit in the last quarter fell short of analysts’ forecasts even though it soared nearly sixfold.

The Kospi fell more than 8% earlier in the day, but closed 6% lower, at 5,663.24. The benchmark only recently had topped 9,000 before bouncing back down to its lowest level since early April.

SK Hynix sank 9.4% while shares in Samsung Electronics dropped 4.8%.

Markets have been stricken by spates of selling of AI-related stocks as investors react to various developments including progress in China toward cheaper, advanced AI models.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1.5% to 61,434.19, giving up early gains. Shares in chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron sank 10.6% and chip measuring and inspection systems maker Lasertec Corp. fell 8.3%.

Japanese stocks were mixed in their reaction to a major earthquake that rattled the southern Kyushu region a day earlier. A previous earthquake in the region caused severe damage and disruptions for automakers and other manufacturers.

Shares in Nippon Paper, owner of a mill in the disaster zone that was severely damaged by Tuesday’s quake, fell 2.1%.

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.8%.

The Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to pick up 0.4%. It closed at 3,830.02.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2% to 25,807.92.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 added 1% to 9,038.60 after the government reported that inflation has remained moderate, relieving pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.

India’s Sensex added 1.1%.