Dow Drops 400 Points, Small Caps Crater On U.S.-Iran Unease; Macy's Wobbles

Investors were spooked Wednesday by signs of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran as the two conducted peace talks and sent major indexes lower Wednesday afternoon. On the stock market today, Macy's posted an earnings beat, but its shares backed off earlier gains.

The Dow industrials dropped 0.8%, or more than 400 points. Losses deepened for the S&P 500, with financials leading the broad market benchmark down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. All three indexes scored record closes on Tuesday. In Wednesday's trade, the small-cap Russell 2000 index tumbled 1.2%.

Investors were spooked Wednesday by signs of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran as the two conducted peace talks and sent major indexes lower Wednesday afternoon. On the stock market today, Macy's posted an earnings beat, but its shares backed off earlier gains.

The Dow industrials dropped 0.8%, or more than 400 points. Losses deepened for the S&P 500, with financials leading the broad market benchmark down 0.6%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. All three indexes scored record closes on Tuesday. In Wednesday's trade, the small-cap Russell 2000 index tumbled 1.2%.