Wall Street's main indexes opened lower today as oil prices surged after a Reuters report that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the country's near-weapons-grade uranium not be sent abroad, dimming hopes for progress in talks between Washington and Tehran.
The Dow Jones dipped 25 points (0.05%) at the open to stand at 49,984, while the S&P 500 fell 22 points (0.3%) to trade at 7,411 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 126 points (0.5%) to reach 26,143.
European markets were lower this afternoon after that news from Iran. London's FTSE index was down 26 points (0.2%) to stand at 10,406 by 2.40pm, while the Paris CAC had dropped 36 points (0.4%) to trade at 8,081 and the Frankfurt DAX lost 133 points (0.5%) to reach 24,604.
Dublin's ISEQ index was also lower this afternoon, dipping 14 points (0.1%) to hit 12,733. Shares in Origin Enterprises slumped 5.6% to stand at €4.58, while Kerry Group was down 1% to trade at €74.75. Shares inn Ryanair lost 0.7% to reach €23.37 and Glanbia shed 0.7% to hit €20.44.
Most shares surged in Asian markets in earlier trade today, fuelled by hopes of a Middle East peace accord and by negotiations averting a planned strike at Samsung Electronics. Tokyo's Nikkei index soared 1,879 points (3.1%) to finish at 61,684 but Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 264 point (1%) to close at 25,386, reversing earlier gains with the semiconductor sector leading losses as profit-taking pressure piled up.
