Following Iran's firing of missiles into Israel on Tuesday, U.S. stocks fell from their all-time highs, raising concerns among investors that tensions in the Middle East may worsen and possibly disrupt the flow of oil.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
After setting all-time highs the day before, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 173 points, amounting to 0.4 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit the opening bell at 42,262.97 points with a 0.1 per cent decline from the closing level of the previous trading session. The index went on to touch the day-high level of 42,322.36, trying to trade in green territory above the previous closing level of 42,322.36.
The index shuttered at 42,156.97 points after a steep decline from the day high level, with 173.18 points lost in the latest trading session amounting to 0.41 per cent.
The S&P 500
The S&P 500 saw a declining move in yesterday's trading session after the index rung the opening bell at 5,757.73 points, which was also the highest level of the index in the entire trading session, just close to a life-high level.
The S&P 500 started tanking after it opened and went on to touch the lowest level of the trading day at 5,681.28 points.
The index concluded the trading session at 5,708.75 points in the negative territory after shedding 53.75 points, amounting to a 0.93 per cent on the US bourses.
The Nasdaq Composite
Like other indexes, the Nasdaq composite saw a 1.5 per cent decline after paring a larger loss from earlier in the day.
The tech heavy index is comprised of magnificent seven companies like chip maker Nvidia, Apple, and Google’s parent company, Alphabet Inc.
The Nasdaq composite hit the opening bell at 18,154.94 points, started declining, and touched the day low-high of 17,779.77 points, the initial hours of the trading day.
The index concluded the trading session at 17,910.36 points at the US bourse, losing about 1.53 per cent amounting to 278.81 points.
Blue Dart Express Zooms More Than 7% On NSE After Announcing Shipping Price Increase Of 9% To 12%
Oil boiling after Iran-Israel conflict
Although Iran is a major oil producer, Israel is not, and the possibility of a larger conflict could have an impact on other nearby oil producers.
Benchmark U.S. oil prices increased by 2.4 per cent to settle at USD 69.83 per barrel. The global benchmark, Brent crude, increased 2.6 per cent to USD 73.56 per barrel.
Consequently, this led to some of the largest gains in the stock market for producers of oil and gas. Exxon Mobil increased 2.3 per cent, while ConocoPhillips rose 3.9 per cent.