On Wall Street, stock indices remained almost unchanged on Tuesday as investors were cautious following Washington’s decision to reintroduce sanctions on Iran, which supported oil prices and stocks in the energy sector.
The Dow Jones increased by 0.01 percent to 24,360 points, while the Nasdaq index rose by 0.02 percent to 7,266 points. The S&P 500, on the other hand, fell by 0.03 percent to 2,671 points.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. is withdrawing from the international nuclear agreement to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb and that economic sanctions on Tehran will be reintroduced immediately. This supported oil prices as investors feared disruptions to the supply of ‘black gold’ from Iran, making stocks in the energy sector among the biggest gainers yesterday. The S&P energy sector index rose by nearly 0.8 percent.
>>> Trump Withdraws from Nuclear Agreement and Reintroduces Sanctions on Iran
However, investors were cautious as Trump’s decision increases the risk of conflict in the Middle East and strains relations between the U.S. and its European partners. Nevertheless, Trump indicated that he is open to negotiations for a new agreement.
“Trump has not closed the door; he wants a new agreement. The door is open for a new attempt, which is still less harsh than it could have been,” says Brian Battle, director at Performance Trust Capital Partners.
As a result, trading was cautious throughout the day, and indices only recovered losses just before the end of trading. Meanwhile, stock prices in the industrial, financial, and technology sectors rose, while those in the utilities and telecommunications sectors fell. In European markets, stock prices also declined yesterday. The London FTSE index fell by 0.02 percent to 7,565 points, while the Frankfurt DAX slipped by 0.28 percent to 12,912 points, and the Paris CAC fell by 0.17 percent to 5,521 points.
