US equity indexes slumped amid a sell-off in high-growth, mega-cap semiconductor names and after President Donald Trump's warning of a "very hard" attack on Iran pushed crude oil higher.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.8% to 25,218.5, with the S&P 500 down 1.4% to 7,280.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 1.7% to 50,018.4 ahead of Wednesday's close.

In the final leg of trading, Qualcomm (QCOM), Arm (ARM), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) were among the 10 worst-performing stocks with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion, according to data compiled by Finviz.

The US will resume attacks on Iran on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, citing slow progress in talks for a deal to end the war, according to a report from CNN.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 2.6% to $90.47, and Brent crude futures climbed 2.3% to $93.51.

In economic news, the US seasonally adjusted consumer price index, a measure of inflation, rose by 0.5% in May, as expected, following a 0.6% increase in April, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.2%, below the consensus estimate for a 0.3% increase. Core CPI rose by 0.4% in April.

In this third month's worth of inflation data since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury, the data continue to show virtually no sign that energy inflation is filtering down into the core, outside of airfare, according to a note from Jefferies.