New York stocks were lower in early trading on the 7th (local time). Investor sentiment appeared to weaken as expectations for a cease-fire deal between the United States and Iran faded.
As of 10:18 a.m., the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 354.93 points, or 0.76%, at 46,314.95 from the prior session.
At the same time, the large-cap-focused Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index was down 60.44 points, or 0.91%, at 6,551.39 from the previous day. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite was down 291.83 points, or 1.33%, at 21,704.51 from the prior session.
U.S. President Donald Trump raised the pressure on Truth Social, saying, "An entire civilization will disappear tonight and never be able to return." He added, "I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."
However, "if there is now a complete and comprehensive regime change and smarter and less radical people take the lead, perhaps something revolutionary and astonishing could happen," Trump added, "who knows," leaving room for negotiations.
Earlier, President Trump threatened to destroy all of Iran's infrastructure, including power plants and bridges, and set a deadline for talks at 8 p.m. on the 7th, Eastern time (9 a.m. on the 8th, Korea time).
Reports that the United States struck military targets on Kharg Island, Iran's oil hub, bolstered expectations that negotiations between the two countries will not be easy.
Iran's major infrastructure is also being hit. A projectile struck the Tabriz-Tehran expressway in northern Iran, halting traffic in both directions, and bridges on the outskirts of Qom in the center, railways in Qazvin in the north, and railways in Karaj west of Tehran were also bombed. All are major cities with frequent travel to and from the capital, Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also said in a statement, "If the American terrorist forces cross the red line, our response will extend beyond this region (the Middle East)," adding, "We will strike infrastructure so that the United States and its allies cannot secure this region's oil and gas for years."
By sector, all were weak except energy and utilities.
As expectations for a cease-fire and talks weakened and oil prices rose, oil-related stocks gained. Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose 1.02% and 2.19%, respectively.
Chipmaker Broadcom rose 3.39% on news it signed a long-term deal to develop and supply custom chips for Google's next-generation tensor processing unit (TPU).
European stocks were also falling across the board. The Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 1.04% at 5,633.43 from the previous session. France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX fell 0.46% and 1.11%, respectively. Britain's FTSE 100 also fell 0.76% from the prior day.
International oil prices were rising. As of 10:19 a.m., front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May 2026 delivery was up 3.67% at $116.54 a barrel from the previous session.