05:30 PM EDT, 07/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and political news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes closed off session lows after President Donald Trump said strikes against Tehran should not be interpreted as a return to full-scale war, and his Deputy JD Vance signaled Washington is attempting to stop Iran from attacking maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% to 52,348.39, with the S&P 500 down by 0.3% to 7,482.71 on Wednesday. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2% to 25,870.65, after trading about 1% lower intraday. Technology and energy were the only gainers. Materials, real estate, and consumer discretionary led the decliners.

The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 4.8% to 16.90, retreating from a gain of about 13% around midday.

The US has launched more strikes against Iran "to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz," US Central Command said Wednesday, according to CNN. Iranian state media reported explosions in several cities, including Bushehr, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas, and Sirik.

Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in "long-term" military action, according to the Associated Press.

US Vice President JD Vance has warned Iran of a military response if it attempts to block the Strait of Hormuz, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. "If Iran tries to close the strait down, there's going to be a response [from] the American military. That's the deal," said Vance.

"They can either follow it [terms of the June memorandum of understanding], or they can have exactly what happened last night. It's just gonna keep on happening until they open up that lane and stop shooting at ships," Vance told a news briefing in Washington, D.C., according to Al Jazeera.

The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent soared 6.8% to $79.19 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate advanced 6.1% to $74.70 a barrel.

Most US Treasury yields rose, but came off their highest for the day. The two-year yield was up 5.6 basis points to 4.22%, and the 10-year traded 5.2 basis points higher at 4.58%.

Gold futures dropped 1.6% to $4,091.7, and silver futures slumped 4.3% to $58.70, partially recovering intraday losses

In economic news, the June 16-17 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee showed widespread disagreement among participants, according to the minutes released Wednesday.

"Most participants remarked on scenarios in which inflationary pressures would dissipate and inflation would soon begin to return to 2%," the minutes showed. "In such scenarios, almost all of these participants noted that it would likely be appropriate to maintain or eventually lower the target range for the federal funds rate."

However, some policymakers noted that outcomes such as stable labor market conditions and elevated inflation, driven by AI-related demand, further conflict in the Middle East, and tariffs, could result in monetary tightening to ease inflation to the Fed's 2% target.