US crude tops US$110, Wall Street falls after Trump vows more Iran attacks
Crude prices had been inching back towards US$100 per barrel before Trump’s Wednesday address in which he promised more strikes on Iran
The S&P 500 fell 1.1 per cent, with three out of every four stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 545 points, or 1.2 per cent, as of 9.52am Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.6 per cent. Major indexes throughout Europe and Asia also fell.
The broad slide for US and global stocks follows a national address from Trump on Wednesday where he said the US will continue to hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks”.
Markets had been mostly gaining ground throughout the week on hopes that the war would conclude soon. Major indexes are still on track to close out the week with gains.
Thursday is the last day of trading on Wall Street this week with the stock market closed on Good Friday.
Crude oil prices have been the main force behind the sharp swings for stocks globally. Shipping traffic has been severely curtailed in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes through during peacetime.