Wall Street’s major indexes fell on Thursday as the Middle East conflict entered its sixth day, raising concerns about fresh inflationary pressures that could complicate the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 625.17 points (-1.28%) at 48,114.24, while the S&P 500 was down 39.29 points (-0.57%) at 6,830.20 and the Nasdaq Composite was down (-1.28%) at 396.20 points. 22,740.09.

Prolonged disruptions to shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz are likely to further fuel inflationary pressures from energy and shipping costs, at a time when US tariffs have already complicated the Fed’s monetary policy outlook.

Any signs that crude prices could reach $100 a barrel would be alarming for markets, and investors were looking for reports that the conflict could be nearing its end.

According to LSEG-compiled data, policymakers have broadly acknowledged the need to wait and gauge the impact on the economy, although investors are anticipating price pressure for the Federal Reserve to delay a 25-basis-point interest rate cut from July to September.

“For the past few years, the Fed has been completely focused on bringing down inflation, and they were finally making progress. But if energy remains expensive, inflation will start to rise again and that will force the Fed to rethink its plans,” said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments.

The healthcare sector led the S&P 500 with a 1.6% decline.

The energy index rose 0.7%, with ConocoPhillips and Valero Energy up about 2% each.

The CBOE Volatility Index was up 0.9 points at 22.08, reflecting broader investor caution, while the rate-sensitive Russell 2000 Index was down 1%.

Helping limit the losses was a strong forecast from Broadcom that predicted its artificial intelligence chip revenue will surpass $100 billion next year, sending the chip designer’s shares up 2.9%.

Travel stocks, the most sensitive to energy prices, were down. Delta Air Lines slipped 3.3%, while Royal Caribbean Cruises fell 0.6%.

On the other hand, booking stocks like Booking Holdings and Expedia rose 11% and 8% to top the S&P 500. A report from The Information said that OpenAI is scaling back the on-platform shopping checkout plan for ChatGPT, which could end disruption concerns for the internet marketplace.

A prolonged conflict could also disrupt the supply of key semiconductor manufacturing materials and hamper data center deployments by AI leaders in the Middle East. Chip stocks were mixed, with Nvidia down 0.3%, while Marvell Technology rose 1.3%.

The trade desk rose 22.5% after reports that OpenAI was in early talks with an advertising technology firm to sell ads.

Meanwhile, data showed that the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week. Fresh Fed criticism from US Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman is due later in the day, ahead of the crucial non-farm payrolls report on Friday.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.48-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 4 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite hit 17 new highs and 33 new lows.