U.S. Stock Market Trend | Iran Nuclear Facility Attacked, Dow Jones Falls Over 600 Points

The conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran continues, with Iranian nuclear facilities attacked by the U.S. and Israel on Friday, including a nuclear facility with a heavy water reactor and a production plant for uranium processing material known as “yellowcake.” The U.S. and Israel also airstriked Iran’s two largest steel mills. The U.S.-Iran war may escalate, dragging down U.S. stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing a drop of more than 600 points in the middle of the session.

“Dr. Doom”: U.S. May Repeat Stagflation

Economist Nouriel Roubini, known as “Dr. Doom,” stated that the chances of the U.S. escalating the war with Iran exceed 50%, possibly repeating the stagflation of the 1970s.

As of 1:42 AM local time, the Dow was at 45,357 points, down 602 points or 1.31%; the S&P 500 index was at 6,391 points, down 86 points or 1.33%; the Nasdaq was at 21,001 points, down 406 points or 1.9%.

After the Nasdaq, the Dow Also Enters Technical Correction Zone

The Nasdaq had already entered a technical correction zone a day earlier, with the index down over 10% from its record high set last October; during Friday’s trading, the Dow also entered the correction zone in the middle of the session, with its decline expanding to over 10.2% from recent highs; the S&P index is down over 8% from its all-time high.

Tech and financial stocks faced heavy selling pressure, with Amazon’s stock price recently falling 3.3%, UnitedHealth plunging 3.8%, temporarily making it the largest decliner among Dow components, Visa down 3.1%, and JPMorgan Chase retreating 2.7%.

Brent crude oil rose about 3%, breaking $105 per barrel, while May futures surpassed the $112 level.

U.S. President Trump previously announced an extension of the deadline for attacking Iranian energy facilities to April 6, stating that despite false statements from fake news media and others, negotiations were progressing very smoothly.

However, Iran immediately rebutted, stating it had no intention of engaging in any dialogue with the U.S.; at the same time, reports emerged that the U.S. Pentagon is studying the possibility of deploying an additional 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East, further escalating geopolitical tensions.