Amid concerns that escalating hostilities in the Middle East may impede the world's oil supply, crude prices surged on Thursday, concurrently with a further decline in U.S. stocks from all-time highs.
The S&P 500
A volatile week has caused the S&P 500 to drop 0.2 per cent, removing the index from its all-time high reached on Monday. The index feared the conflict going on in west Asia, correcting further from the life-high level.
The S&P 500 went on to touch the day-high level of 5,718.78 points. After opening with bears taking over the index, pushing it into negative territory, the index touched the day-low level of 5,677.37 points.
In the middle of the trading day, the index showed signs of trying to recover and closing in the green. The closing level was trailing behind with roughly 10 points, over the opening bell level of the index.
The bears were in control for the entire trading day, which led the S&P 500 to conclude in the red territory at 5,699.94 points, amounting to 0.17 per cent on the US bourse.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The index opened with a low optimism declining further into the negative territory; the opening bell rang at 42,099.53 points, which was a result of low optimism pushing the index to a daylow of 41,847.81 points in the previous trading session.
The final hour of the index on the bourses saw no movement to recover, which indicates a muted response of the participants. The index concluded at 42,011.59 points, amounting to 0.44 per cent on the us bourse.
The Nasdaq Composite
A less than 0.1 per cent decline in the Nasdaq composite. Nasdaq Composite, the index comprising of tech giants including the magnificent seven companies.
The index rang the opening bell at 17,859.49 points before touching the day-high level of 18,011.25, which was a big enough surge amounting to a 0.48 per cent move in the green territory, but the index could not sustain the positive momentum and slipped into negative territory.
The Nasdaq Composite shuttered the trading day with a closing level of 17,918.48 points after slipping into red territory with 6.65 points, a very tiny level amounting to 0.037 per cent.
The oil not boiling yet
Stocks fell as oil prices continued to rise as everyone watched to see how Israel would react to Tuesday's missile attack from Iran. The international benchmark, Brent crude, rose 5 per cent to close at USD 77.62 this week after beginning the week below USD 72. It might be headed for the largest weekly percentage gain it has seen in almost two years.
Iran is a major oil producer, and there is concern that if the fighting gets worse, it could affect not only Iran's supply to China but also its neighbours, who are essential to the flow of crude. Signals that oil supplies are currently plentiful, however, are helping to keep prices in check. Last month, Brent crude hit its lowest price in almost three years.
