The three major New York stock indexes fell together on concerns that the United States and Iran's cease-fire talks could collapse.
On the 21st (U.S. Eastern Time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 49,149.38, down 293.18 points, or 0.59%, from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 45.13 points, or 0.63%, to 7,064.01, and the Nasdaq composite lost 144.43 points, or 0.59%, to finish at 24,259.96.
Right before the New York market closed, the second cease-fire talks between the United States and Iran were headed toward collapse. Iran announced it would not send a negotiating team to Pakistan, and in the United States there were reports that JD Vance, the U.S. vice president and head of the delegation, had canceled a trip to Pakistan.
On this news, the S&P 500 swung sharply, dropping nearly 50 points in about 15 minutes.
After the close, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The Iranian government is currently seriously divided," adding, "We will extend the truce until the leadership and representatives come up with a unified proposal, until the discussions are concluded in some fashion." The truce had been scheduled to end at 8 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the 22nd.
By sector, all groups fell except energy. Among mega-cap tech firms with market capitalizations above $1 trillion, Microsoft, Broadcom and Amazon rose. Apple fell 2.52% on news that CEO Tim Cook would step down.