US equities moved lower on Wednesday as rising yields pressured expectations for corporate margins and consumer demand. The S&P 500 and Dow fell about 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 declined nearly 1% as technology stocks weakened. Oil and fuel prices extended their gains after strikes between the US and Iran escalated, reducing the likelihood of Middle Eastern oil exports resuming soon and increasing inflation concerns before next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Investors also appeared more concerned that higher borrowing costs could weigh on equities after the market’s resilience since the war began, partly reflecting higher rates on debt raised by AI hyperscalers (large cloud-computing companies) for data-center construction. Alphabet fell 3% after announcing a $15.1 billion buildout in Finland, while Amazon dropped 2% following another financing round in sterling. Meta rose 4.5% after announcing a new AI agent.