The US markets ended lower on Tuesday with intensifying conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. As the conflict entered its fourth day, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested the war may last four to five weeks but could ‘go far longer than that.’ Meanwhile, secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also offered few details about the duration of the operation against Iran but claimed it will not be ‘endless,’ framing the conflict as a ‘generational’ chance to reshape the Middle East. Sustained increases in crude oil prices also dampened investor’s sentiment. A surge in oil prices is expected to drive inflation higher. 

On the sectoral front, steel, computer hardware, networking and oil service stocks saw considerable weakness, while software stocks bucked the downtrend. Significant weakness also remained visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 4.6 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 403.51 points or 0.83 percent to 48,501.27, Nasdaq decreased 232.17 points or 1.02 percent to 22,516.69 and S&P 500 fell 64.99 points or 0.94 percent to 6,816.63.