Wall Street suffered steep losses on Friday after Israel launched a series of airstrikes on Iran, igniting fears of a broader conflict and sending oil and gold prices sharply higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 769.8 points, or 1.8%, to 42,197.8. The S&P 500 fell 68.3 points, or 1.1%, to 5,977.0, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 255.7 points, or 1.3%, to 19,406.8.
High-growth technology companies, which had been instrumental in the market's recent rebound from April lows, came under pressure as investors rushed to reduce exposure to risk assets.
Nvidia fell 2.1%, AMD fell 2%, and Meta Platforms lost 1.5%.
Crude oil prices soared, with both Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures jumping more than 7%.
Energy and defence stocks benefited from the surge in geopolitical risk. ExxonMobil rose 2.2%, while Lockheed Martin added 3.7% and RTX gained 3.3%.
United States President Donald Trump weighed in on the situation via Truth Social, warning Iran to return to the negotiating table.
“There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end. Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,” Trump wrote. “No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.”
In a separate post, Trump added, “Two months ago I gave Iran a 60 day ultimatum to ‘make a deal’. They should have done it! Today is day 61.”
Amid the market volatility, a key piece of economic data showed resilience in consumer sentiment. The University of Michigan's preliminary reading of its June consumer sentiment index rose to 60.5, beating expectations for 54 and marking a 15.9% gain from the prior month.
Despite the rebound in consumer confidence, the week ended in the red for major benchmarks. The Dow dropped 1.3%, the S&P 500 declined 0.4%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.6% for the week.
On the bond markets, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.409%, while the 2-year yield increased to 3.95%, both up around 1% on the day.
