As the U.S. directly intervened in the Middle Eastern conflict by precision strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, the New York Stock Exchange began trading on the 23rd (local time) with mixed results. The possibility of retaliation from Iran has emerged as a major variable in the market.
As of 9:34 a.m. (Eastern Time) on this day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading at 42,247.27, up 40.45 points (0.10%) from the previous session at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Standard & Poor's 500 index recorded a gain of 9.81 points (0.16%) at 5,977.65, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index showed a decline of 103.04 points (0.53%) at 19,344.37.
The previous day, the U.S. conducted airstrikes on three nuclear facilities located in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz, Iran. In response, President Trump said in a White House speech, 'Peace will either come, or Iran will face a tragedy much greater than what it has experienced in the past eight days,' delivering a stern message.
The market is paying attention to Iran's future response. In particular, the possibility of retaliation against U.S. military bases in the Middle East and scenarios of blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil transport route, are adding to concerns about international oil prices. Some predict that if the Strait were to be closed for an extended period, prices could surpass $100 per barrel. However, there are also forecasts that the situation will remain at a manageable level, given the relatively stable global oil supply.
On this day, most sectors are generally on an upward trend. Utilities (0.9%), energy, and real estate (each 0.8%), and consumer staples (0.5%) have risen, while telecommunications services (-0.3%) and technology stocks (-0.1%) have shown slight weakness.
By individual stocks, fintech corporation PISERV announced plans to launch a digital asset platform and stablecoins for bank clients within the year, rising nearly 4%. Northern Trust is soaring nearly 8% on news of a review of a potential acquisition of Bank of New York Mellon. In contrast, Novo Nordisk is seeing a 6% drop in its stock as the latest clinical results of its next-generation obesity treatment, "CagriSema," fell short of expectations.
Meanwhile, major European stock indexes are all showing a downward trend. The Euro Stoxx 50 index is down 0.42%, while Germany's DAX (-0.56%), France's CAC 40 (-0.88%), and the UK's FTSE (-0.18%) are all exhibiting weak flows.
International oil prices are experiencing slight increases. As of 9:38 a.m. on this day, the price of July West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is $73.97 per barrel, up 0.18% from the previous session, while the July Brent crude price has risen 0.17% to $77.14.