US stocks closed sharply lower at multi-week lows on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling 1.6%, the Nasdaq declining 2%, and the Dow Jones plunging 953 points. Investor sentiment weakened as renewed tensions in the Middle East drove oil prices higher. President Trump reiterated threats of a forceful response against Iran, stating that Tehran had taken too long to negotiate a deal. Technology and semiconductor stocks also came under renewed selling pressure amid persistent concerns about elevated AI-related valuations and growing investor caution ahead of SpaceX's highly anticipated IPO on Friday. Among the notable decliners, Nvidia fell 3.7%, Broadcom dropped 5.1%, AMD lost 4.9%, and Micron Technology slid 4.7%, while Tesla retreated 3.8%. Industrial stocks were likewise hit by broad-based selling. On the economic front, the latest CPI report showed that US annual inflation accelerated to 4.2% in May. However, core inflation rose by a softer-than-expected 0.2% on a monthly basis.