The New York stock market began to decline on the 12th (local time) due to rising tensions in the Middle East and ongoing uncertainty in U.S.-China trade negotiations.
As of 9:30 a.m. on that day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 236.21 points (0.55%) at 42,629.56, the Standard and Poor's (S&P) 500 index fell 16.18 points (0.27%) to 6,006.06, and the Nasdaq index showed a decline of 30.21 points (0.15%) at 19,585.66 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
Finance and industrials fell 0.7%, energy and communication services decreased by 0.4%, and discretionary goods dropped 0.3%, whereas utilities rose 0.6% and real estate increased by 0.5%. Among individual stocks, the cloud computing corporation Oracle saw its shares surge by 12% as its first-quarter results exceeded market expectations. Boeing's shares dropped 4% following news that a Dreamliner passenger plane operated by Air India crashed shortly after takeoff.
Market attention is focused on the U.S.-China trade negotiations. President Donald Trump noted the day before, "I am willing to extend the deadline for trade negotiations with the other country, but it may not be necessary." This comments came ahead of the end of the 'reciprocal tariff' grace period of 90 days, revealing a willingness to expedite negotiations. President Trump stated, "A trade agreement with China has been completed," but uncertainty is rising as the U.S. and China did not release a joint statement or specific details after high-level talks held in London on the 9th and 10th.
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East are also increasing market uncertainty. Amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, the possibility of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities by Israel has led the U.S. government to withdraw some of its embassy staff in Iraq. This measure was taken ahead of the sixth nuclear negotiation scheduled for the 15th, with Iran also hinting at a military response targeting U.S. military bases if negotiations fail.