Dow closes down nearly 300 points as oil prices climb on Iran war: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted a sizable loss on Wednesday, with the blue-chip index dropping 289.24 points, or 0.61%, to 47,417.27.

The S&P 500 closed slightly lower, falling 0.08% to 6,775.80. The Nasdaq Composite, however, rose 0.08% to 22,716.13.

— Sean Conlon

President Donald Trump is likely to clear a path to restarting oil production in coastal California as part of a move to alleviate oil supply issues tied to the Iran war, per Bloomberg.

Trump plans to ratchet back the regulatory and legal requirements needed for Sable Offshore to produce oil, the publication reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The president would invoke the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law, to enable operations to restart.

The potential move comes as the Trump administration faces considerable pressures to tackle sky-high oil prices ahead of midterm elections that are expected to favor congressional Democrats.

— Liz Napolitano

Oracle got rewarded for its third-quarter earnings report by investors in trading Wednesday. Investor Joe Terranova thinks the stock’s fall could be over now.

The chief market strategist for Virtus Investment Partners told CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Wednesday that the report “advances the premise of stability” in the company. He noted the stock, which fell more than 58% between September and early February, has stabilized since a low on Feb. 5.

“What this report does is it gives you a degree of confidence that there actually is the cloud computing execution that allows them to go forward with that $50 billion in capex,” he said. Oracle previously fell on concerns of its rising debt levels to finance its artificial intelligence build-out. “There’s real questions as you look forward into the future. But I do think this conglomerate has seen some of the massive storm clouds … dissipate,” Terranova said.

While Oracle jumped more than 8% on Wednesday, the stock is still down more than 50% from its 52-week high.

ORCL since Sept. 1 chart.

Check out some of the companies making the biggest moves midday:

• Oracle— Oracle jumped 10% after the cloud infrastructure companygave strong fiscal third-quarter results and lifted its revenue guidancefor fiscal 2027. Management lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook by $1 billion to $90 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG had estimated $86.6 billion.
• Papa John’s— Shares of the pizza chain surged 18% on the news it received a $1.5 billion takeover bid to go private, The Wall Street Journal reported. Investment firm Irth Capital Management offered Papa John’s $47 per share, a 50% premium against the stock price before the announcement.
• Campbell’s Co. — Shares of the Pepperidge Farm cookie and Goldfish cracker maker slid more than 7.5% after disappointing fiscal second-quarter earnings. Campbell’s earnings and revenue missed analyst estimates, as did full-year guidance, according to FactSet. Net sales in its snacks business fell by 6% and U.S. soup sales declined by 4%, helping to send the stock to a 23-year low.

Read the full list here.

— Scott Schnipper

The U.S. budget deficit surpassed $1 trillion for the fiscal year through February but was sharply lower than the same period a year earlier, Treasury Department data showed Wednesday.

Outlays exceeded receipts by $308 billion in February, roughly in line with the deficit recorded in the same month a year ago.

For the fiscal year to date, the deficit totaled $1.004 trillion, about 12% lower than the comparable period in 2025, as government revenues rose faster than spending. Read more.

— Jeff Cox

Insurer Chubb has been announced as the lead underwriter for a U.S. plan to provide insurance to ships looking to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Chubb will work in coordination with the Development Finance Corporation as part of a $20 billion plan to get ships moving again amid supply chain disruptions in the region due to the U.S.-Iran war.

“The commerce passing through the Strait of Hormuz plays a vital role in the global economy, and providing vessels with insurance protection is essential for resuming trade flows,” Chubb Chairman and CEO Evan Greenberg said in a statement.

Shares of Chubb didn’t react to the initial announcement and are slightly down on the day. Read more.

— Matt Peterson, Davis Giangiulio

Papa John’s popped 19% on the news that the pizza chain is reviewing a bid to go private, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Investment firm Irth Capital Management offered to pay $47 per share of Papa John’s, which translates to a $1.5 billion valuation. The deal values Papa John’s shares at a 50% premium against the stock price before the bid announcement.

The deal comes after Papa John’s closed over 100 storefronts globally in 2025 citing underperformance. Papa John’s also plans to close 300 of its restaurants by 2027, the company said in an earnings call. The pizza chain also reported a revenue miss last quarter “primarily attributable to a $24 million decline at our Domestic Company-owned restaurants,” according to the earnings release.

PZZA 5-day chart

While the 10-year Treasury yield at its current level may not signal the market is worried about inflation, investors should be on guard if it surges from here, according to Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group.

“It’s been like the S&P 500 — it’s just moving up and down in a range,” he said on CNBC’s “Money Movers” on Wednesday. “If we were to go above 4.5% in short order, I think that would be a cause for concern.”

“If you see 4.5% at the end of the year, which I wouldn’t expect, that’d be less concerning, but if you see 4.5% in a month or two, that’d be a big concern,” he added.

The benchmark yield was last trading at 4.214% after rising more than 7 basis points.

— Sean Conlon

Eli Lilly‘s highly anticipated daily GLP-1 pill will solidify its reign over the obesity market, according to Wolfe Research. The firm raised its price target to $1,325 from $1,250, implying 32% upside from Monday’s close.

The oral medication, orforglipron, is awaiting approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Analyst Alexandria Hammond, who analyzed launches of statins and PDE5 inhibitors to understand orforglipron’s commercial potential, believes that insurance likely will not be a barrier to adoption. She also said there is room for more than one oral weight-loss drug. As a result, Hammond anticipates strong, steady long-term growth.

In total, she forecasts Eli Lilly’s obesity sales will hit $78 billion in 2035.

“We expect LLY to maintain its dominance of the obesity market, with 67% share in 2030 and 57% share in 2035,” Hammond wrote in a note Wednesday.

— Michelle Fox

Campbell’s Co. was the worst performer on the S&P 500 in early Wednesday trading, with its stock hitting a 23-year low.

The budget food and beverage company was off more than 7.5% after an earnings and revenue miss in its second-quarter report delivered Wednesday before the opening bell. Sales of the company’s soup — after which the company used to be named — fell 4% in the U.S. The company also gave weaker-than-expected full-year guidance, according to FactSet.

CEO Mick Beekhuizen in a press release said the results “fell short of our expectations due to weaker-than-expected performance in Snacks and storm-related shipment disruptions.” He added the company was lowering its outlook to take a cautious view for the year, and that it was taking action to stabilize its snacks business, where net sales fell by 6%.

Shares of Campbell’s are now down nearly 18.5% in 2026.

CPB five day chart.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to address the supply disruption triggered by the Iran war, the largest such action in the organization’s history.

The emergency stocks will be made available to the market over a timeframe that is appropriate to the circumstances of its 32 member countries, the IEA said in a statement.

“The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore I am very glad that IEA Member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size,”IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement. Read more.

— Sam Meredith, Spencer Kimball

The Dow Jones Industrial Average began Wednesday’s trading session with losses.

The blue-chip index lost 82 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

— Sean Conlon

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Oracle— Oracle shares jumped more than 9% after the cloud infrastructure companygave strong fiscal third quarter results and lifted its revenue guidancefor fiscal 2027. Management lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook up $1 billion to $90 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG sought $86.6 billion.
• AeroVironment— Shares of the drones maker fell 10% on the back of weak third-quarter results, specifically a hefty miss in revenue. AeroVironment reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $408 million for the period, which was less than the 69 cents per share on $476 million analysts were expecting, per LSEG.
• Cadre Holdings— Cadre, a maker of safety products, saw shares drop nearly 9%. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share, which significantly missed the 40 cents per share estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet. Its revenue of $167.2 million also fell short of the $182.9 million forecasted.

Read the full list here.

— Liz Napolitano

The consumer price index came in line with expectations, rising 2.4% year on year and 0.3% month on month. Excluding food and energy prices, CPI rise 0.2% on a monthly basis and 2.5% year on year — also matching estimates.

— Fred Imbert

An information-sharing agreement with activist investor Elliott Investment Management and falling coffee prices are bullish signs for J.M. Smucker, according to Bernstein.

The firm upgraded its rating on the food and beverage manufacturer to outperform from market-perform, and hiked its price target to $145, indicating a more than 33% jump from Tuesday’s close.

Analyst Alexia Howard wrote in a Wednesday note green coffee prices falling from $4 per pound to $3 per pound should allow the company to lower the prices of its retail coffee products while still padding its margins. She also wrote that Elliott’s arrival “will add some much-needed scrutiny to productivity, capital allocation, and potentially portfolio changes.”

J.M. Smucker shares rose 1% in premarket trading after the upgrade. For 2026, the stock is up nearly 11%.

SJM year-to-date chart.

Three vessels off Iran’s coast have been struck by projectiles, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Wednesday, the latest in aflurry of incidentsreported in or near the Strait of Hormuz.

One of the ships reported it had been struck 11 nautical miles north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz, causing a fire onboard and forcing the crew to evacuate, the UKMTO said.

Two other incidents were also reported on Wednesday morning, with one vessel struck by a projectile about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai and another sustaining damage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Read more.

— Sam Meredith

European stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as traders monitored intensifying operations in the Middle East.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down almost 0.8% shortly after the opening bell. London’s FTSE 100 was 0.7% down, Germany’s DAX shed 1.2%, and France’s CAC 40was 0.6% lower. Italy’s FTSE MIB was also down 0.8%.

German arms maker Rheinmetall reported full-year sales of9.94 billion euros and profits of 1.68 billion euros on Wednesday, saying it’s in”prime position to help the US replenish their missile stockpiles” that are being used in the war with Iran.

Read the full story here.

— Sawdah Bhaimiya, Holly Ellyatt,

Oil prices moved higher early on Wednesday, despite a report that there would be a historic release of emergency reserves from the International Energy Agency.

By 4:35 a.m. ET, global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 2.2% to $89.72 a barrel, while U.S. crude oil gained 2.5% to trade at $85.55 a barrel.

It came after The Wall Street Journalreported that the IEA had proposed the largest ever release of oil from its strategic reserves.

Overnight, it was alsoreportedthat American forces had sunk several Iranian ships, including 16 minelayers, near the Strait of Hormuz.

“This conflict needs to end by the end of the week. Otherwise, we’ll see oil prices spike back up over $100,” asha Foss, energy market analyst at Marex, told CNBC’s “Europe Early Europe” on Wednesday.

— Chloe Taylor, Sam Meredith

Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing Middle East war.

Australia’sS&P/ASX 200 rose 0.59% to close at 8,743.5.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.43% to end the session at 55,025.37, while the Topix added 0.94% to close at 3,698.85. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.4% to 5,609.95, while the small-cap Kosdaq closed flat at 1,136.83.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.39%, while the CSI 300 added 0.64% to close at 4,704.50.

— Lee Ying Shan

Asia-Pacific markets traded higher Wednesday as investors assessed the ongoing Middle East war.

Australia’sS&P/ASX 200 rose 0.35% in early trade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.36%, while the Topix added 1.22%. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 3.2%, while the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.39%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index rose 0.43%, while the CSI 300 added 0.19%.

— Lee Ying Shan

Take a look at the stocks moving after Tuesday’s close:

• Oracle — Oracle shares added more than 8% after the cloud infrastructure company gave strong fiscal third quarter results and lifted its revenue guidance for fiscal 2027. Management lifted its fiscal 2027 revenue outlook up $1 billion to $90 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG sought $86.6 billion.
• AeroVironment — Shares of the drones maker fell 10% in extended trading on the back of weak third-quarter results, specifically a hefty miss in revenue. AeroVironment reported adjusted earnings of 64 cents per share on revenue of $408 million for the period, which was less than the 69 cents per share on $476 million analysts were expecting, per LSEG.
• Cadre Holdings — Cadre, a maker of safety products, saw shares drop more than 5%. Cadre reported fourth-quarter earnings of 27 cents per share, which significantly missed the 40 cents per share estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet. Its revenue of $167.2 million also fell short of the $182.9 million forecasted.

— Pia Singh

WTI Crude futures in the past day

The futures contract for April delivery was last up more than 5% at $88.20 a barrel in extended trading.

U.S. oil futures ended the day down by nearly 12% in regular trading, settling at $83.45 a barrel.

It was a hectic session for energy prices, which tumbled on Tuesday even after Energy Secretary wrongly claimed that the U.S. Navy escorted a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt later told reporters, “The U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time.”

— Darla Mercado, Gina Francolla

Amazon won a temporary injunction against Perplexity to block its Comet AI browser from scraping its website.

Amazon sued Perplexityin November, alleging the startup took steps to “conceal” its AI agents so they could continue to scrape the online retailer’s website without its approval. Perplexity called the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, a “bully tactic.”

Perplexity’s Comet allows shoppers to ask the assistant to find items on Amazon and make purchases.

Amazon stock performance over the past year.

Amazon has broadly locked down its shopping sites fromAI agents, blocking dozens of agents, includingOpenAI’s ChatGPT, while investing in its homegrown tools likeRufus, a shopping assistant featured on its website and app.

Shares of Amazon are down about 7.1% year to date.

— Annie Palmer