As expectations for a U.S.-Iran end-of-war agreement faded, the three major New York stock indexes opened lower.
At 9:57 a.m. on the 16th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 29.27 points, or 0.06%, at 48,434.45. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 stood at 7,015.30, and the Nasdaq composite at 23,929.18. They were down 7.65 points, or 0.11%, and 86.83 points, or 0.36%, respectively, from the previous session.
The day's decline is seen as stemming from the collapse of talks between the leaders of Lebanon and Israel. As the U.S.-Iran end-of-war agreement became uncertain, it acted as a drag on stocks.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the previous day that "Israel and Lebanon will talk tomorrow (the 16th)," but it was effectively called off, according to reports.
According to Reuters, President Aoun informed the United States through the embassy in Washington that he would not have a currency with the Israeli prime minister.
Aoun was also said to have no intention of having a currency with Prime Minister Netanyahu for the time being.
The United States is also not stopping economic pressure on Iran.
The U.S. Navy said in a notice that the United States will expand its maritime blockade of Iran to include smuggled cargo. The items include weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude oil and refined petroleum, iron, steel and aluminum.
Pete Hegseth, U.S. Minister of the Ministry of National Defense, also added, "Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, and our colleagues at the Treasury are launching the 'Economic Fury' operation."
By sector, energy and real estate rose, while consumer discretionary and technology fell. Sneaker maker Allbirds said the previous day it would pivot its business to artificial intelligence (AI) computing infrastructure, sending its share price up 582.33%. But on the day, the stock fell 28.49%, partly on profit-taking.
Voyager Technologies rose 2.34% on news that NASA selected the company for the seventh private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
At the same time, global oil prices rose. Front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May 2026 delivery was up 1.40% at $92.57 a barrel from the previous session.
Meanwhile, European stocks were mixed.
The Euro Stoxx 50 was down 0.11% at 5,934.10 from the previous session. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 rose 0.63% and 0.54%, respectively. Germany's DAX increased 0.51% from the previous session.