US: Stocks drop on growing worries over Middle East

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday (Jun 17) after US President Donald Trump hardened his rhetoric on the fighting between Iran and Israel, sparking worries of a broadening conflict.

In social media posts, Trump appeared to demand Iran’s “unconditional surrender!” while hinting at a possible US intervention as the fighting moved into its fifth day.

“It’s not going in the right direction,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist of B Riley Wealth, said of Tuesday’s tone after markets had advanced on Monday on hopes the conflict was contained.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.7 per cent at 42,215.80.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.8 per cent to 5,982.72, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.9 per cent to 19,521.09.

Anxiety about Iran and Israel has emerged as the market’s focal point at a time when investors are also watching the Federal Reserve, which opened a two-day monetary policy meeting.

The Fed is expected to keep interest rates steady as it eschews interest rate cuts for now while monitoring the effects of Trump’s tariffs on inflation.

On Wednesday, the Fed is also due to release its latest economic projections on growth, unemployment and inflation.

Markets digested weaker than expected US economic data. Overall US retail sales fell in May by 0.9 per cent from April to US$715.4 billion, figures that suggested a pullback from April’s surge in buying to beat out tariffs.

While 10 of 11 sectors in the S&P 500 retreated, the exception was energy, which was buoyed by higher oil prices.

Defense-related stocks were another gainer, with Lockheed Martin winning 2.6 per cent and Northrop Grumman 1.2 per cent. AFP