U.S. stocks slid Wednesday morning after Iran launched a surprise attack on American forces overnight, pushing oil prices higher and adding fresh uncertainty to markets already bracing for the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate decision.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 458.54 points, or 0.87%, to 52,288.78 in morning trading. The S&P 500 declined 0.2%, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.2%. The Dow's steeper percentage decline compared with the broader market reflected its lighter weighting toward technology stocks, a sector that has been at the center of a separate, ongoing selloff tied to concerns over artificial intelligence spending.

Renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran drove much of the morning's selling pressure. Oil prices climbed as investors weighed the potential for further escalation following the overnight attack, adding a fresh source of volatility to markets that had shown some signs of stabilizing after a brief pause in fighting earlier in the week.

The selloff in chip and semiconductor stocks that has dominated trading in recent sessions continued to weigh on sentiment as well, even as it hit the Dow less directly than the more tech-concentrated Nasdaq. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix reported........

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