Dow Down Over 800 Points, Disrupted by Middle East Tensions

Oil prices are back above $75, disrupting Wall Street’s market momentum

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is down 810 points midday, heading for its worst single-session decline in nearly a month. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) are also in the red, weighed down by surging oil prices—back above $75 per barrel—amid heightened tensions with Iran. President Donald Trump told the NATO summit in Turkey that the U.S. will hit them hard tonight. In response, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), is back above 18 for the first time in two weeks.

Continue reading for more on today’s market, including:

• Cruise stocks pinched by rising oil prices.
• Tech sector rotation buoys Alibaba stock.
• Plus, oil bulls charge; Broadcom bucks the trend; and cybersecurity stocks struggle. 

Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:OXY) is getting lit up in the options pits today, as energy companies rise with oil prices. At last look, 112,000 calls have changed hands, volume that’s 11 times the average intraday amount and 12 times the number of puts exchanged. The weekly 7/10 55-strike call is the most popular, while new positions are also being bought to open at the July 56 call. OXY is 5.9% higher to trade at $54.72, and is now 31.5% higher for 2026.

Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) is bucking the broad market selloff today, up 5.1% to trade at $390.03, after the company inked a $30 billion supplier deal with Apple (AAPL) to produce over 15 billion chips. Broadcom stock is 12% higher on the year with support stepping up at its 200-day moving average.

Palo Alto Networks Inc (NASDAQ:PANW) stock is near the bottom of the Nasdaq, last seen down 6.1% to trade at $316.54. Cybersecurity stocks across the board have reacted negatively to resumed geopolitical tensions. PANW hit a record high of $368.17 on July 6, and is still 73.7% year-to-date.