Wall Street ends lower amid chip stock selloff, oil prices rise

US stocks ended Thursday's session lower as selling pressure in semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) stocks persisted. Meanwhile, higher oil prices and rising Treasury yields weighed on market sentiment amid escalating tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.25%, or 130 points, to 52,925 after ending Monday's session above the 53,000 points for the first time on record.

The S&P 500 fell 0.45%, or 33 points, to 7,503. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.16%, or 302 points, to 25,818.

In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 index fell 0.65% to 646 points, weighed down by losses in the industrial and technology stocks.

The UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.13% to 10,665 points, while Germany's DAX fell 1.33% to 25,475 and France's CAC 40 declined 0.47% to 8,440.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 2.12% to 68,256, while the broader Topix index declined 0.97% to 4,062 points.

Brent crude futures for September delivery jumped 3%, or $2.17, to $74.16 per barrel.

US WTI crude futures for August delivery rose 2.76%, or $1.89, to $70.44 per barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery dropped 0.24%, or $10.1, to $4,157.4 per ounce.

What's driving the markets?

Markets were weighed down by multiple factors, most notably a spike in oil prices following attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and continued profit-taking in semiconductor and AI stocks, amid concerns over stretched valuations and ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes.