US equities took a sharp downturn during Tuesday's trading session, with the Nasdaq index extending its decline to 2%.

Stocks in the storage sector followed the broader market lower. SanDisk (SNDK.US) pared its losses to 2.2%, having been up more than 5% earlier in the session. Micron Technology (MU.US) shares fell over 4.8%, Seagate Technology PLC (STX.US) dropped more than 4%, and Western Digital (WDC.US) declined over 3.5%.

The market movement followed comments from the Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff, who stated that forces are prepared to immediately re-engage in conflict with Iran, adding that recent strikes on Iran were a prelude to more powerful and significant actions.