Wall Street's main indexes opened lower today as the Iran war approached its fourth week, roiling energy markets and prompting investors to aggressively reprice bets on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones fell 46 points (0.1%) at the open to stand at 45,975, while the S&P 500 lost 12 points (0.18%) to trade at 6,594 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 101 points (0.46%) to reach 21,989.
European markets reversed their earlier gains to stand lower this afternoon. London's FTSE index had dropped 103 points (1%) to stand at 9,960 by 2.40pm, while the Paris CAC fell 97 points (1.2%) to trade at 7,711 and the Frankfurt DAX lost 312 points (1.3%) to reach 22,531.
Dublin's ISEQ index was also lower this afternoon, falling by 110 points (0.9%) to hit 11,974. Shares in Cairn Homes sank 4.2% to stand at €2.16, while Ryanair fell 1.9% to trade at €24.05. Shares in Bank of Ireland were down 1.5% to reach €15.32 and Glenveagh Properties lost 1.2% to hit €1.96.
Earlier in Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 223 points (0.9%) to end at 25,277 as the Middle East war continued to weigh on investor sentiment. Tokyo's Nikkei index is closed today to mark the Vernal Equinox holiday.
