New York stocks closed lower on the 19th (U.S. Eastern time) as international oil prices rose amid a barrage of attacks on Middle Eastern energy facilities.
On the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 46,021.43, down 203.72 points, or 0.44%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 18.21 points, or 0.27%, to 6,606.49, and the Nasdaq composite lost 61.73 points, or 0.28%, to 22,090.69.
A spike in international oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. May delivery Brent crude futures settled at $108.65 per Barrel, up 1.2% from the previous session, while April delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 0.2% to $96.14. Brent, the global benchmark, at one point during the session jumped to $119 per Barrel.
The day before, Israel bombed South Pars, Iran's largest gas field, and a natural gas processing complex in Asaluyeh on Iran's southwestern coast. In response, Iran retaliated by attacking gas facilities in Ras Laffan, Qatar's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production hub. On the day as well, refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were reported to have come under Iranian attack.
As political pressure mounted due to the surge in oil prices, the Donald Trump administration issued a message aimed at easing Middle East tensions. President Trump said at a summit with Japan Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi that he asked Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to carry out additional attacks on Iran's oil and gas facilities. Asked whether there was any intention to deploy U.S. ground forces to Iran or to send reinforcements, he drew a line, saying, "No."
Among mega-cap tech companies with a market capitalization of $1 trillion or more, all fell except Broadcom. Tesla dropped more than 3%. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor-related stocks gained, sending the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 0.87%.