This Week on Wall Street

U.S. stocks fell for a fourth straight session as of Thursday's close, with the S&P 500 down 1.64% week-to-date to 7,591.70, the Dow Jones off 2.53% (1,350.15 points) to 52,064.10, and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.60% to 26,081.72, as an escalating U.S.-Iran conflict in the Persian Gulf collided with a hotter-than-expected Producer Price Index reading. Energy surged as WTI crude spiked to about $102.50 a barrel and Brent topped $107 after U.S. strikes on Iranian oil tankers threatened traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while Technology and Real Estate lagged as the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to roughly 4.96%, its highest since 2023, on fears the Fed may need to hike rather than cut. Gold eased to about $4,365 an ounce even as haven demand persisted, and the VIX pushed above 17 for the first time in weeks as hedging activity picked up. Communication Services and Financials held up better than the broader tape alongside defensive-leaning Consumer Staples and Healthcare, while Consumer Discretionary, Industrials, Materials and Utilities all slipped. Attention now turns to this morning's August CPI report, the last major inflation read before the FOMC's September 16 rate decision, where futures markets are now pricing roughly a 69% chance of a hike rather than a cut.