DOW JONES–US stock markets are starting the new week with losses after the US and Israel began attacking targets in Iran over the weekend. Iran responded with retaliatory strikes against Israel and other countries in the region. Shortly after the start of trading, the Dow Jones index lost 0.9 percent to 48,547 points. The S&P 500 fell by 0.7 percent and the Nasdaq Composite by 0.6 percent. The fact that the minus is limited is probably due to the fact that prices on Wall Street had already fallen on Friday in anticipation of a military strike.
The main beneficiary of the recent escalation of the conflict is the price of oil. The expectation of a supply shortage in the event that Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz and thus an important sea route for oil transport is driving prices for Brent and WTI sharply higher. This in turn fuels fears of inflation and dampens expectations of interest rate cuts. Yields on the bond market are therefore rising, by 6 basis points to 4.02 percent in the ten-year range.
The dollar benefits from its reputation as a safe haven currency in times of crisis. The dollar index is up 0.9 percent. Gold is also seeing brisk influx. The precious metal is considered a “safe haven”.
The day’s economic data is unlikely to receive much attention given the geopolitical situation. On the agenda are the purchasing managers’ index for the manufacturing sector in February, as determined by S&P Global, and its counterpart compiled by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM).
In the wake of the oil price, industry stocks such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron rose by 2.6 and 1 percent. On the other hand, airline stocks are being sold. On the one hand, they are burdened by the increased price of oil and, on the other hand, by the fact that flights to or via the Middle East are being canceled or rerouted. American Airlines is cheaper by 6.4 percent and United Airlines by 5.4 percent. The shares of the two companies are being further depressed by plans by the US Federal Aviation Administration to reduce the number of flights at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, where United and American are competing for dominance, this summer.
Defense stocks are in demand due to developments in the Middle East. Lockheed Martin gains 4.5, RTX 3.8 and Northrop Grumman 3.7 percent.
Among the individual stocks, Berkshire Hathaway shares fell by 3.5 percent. The company reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profits over the weekend.
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INDEX last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day
DJIA 48,547.32 -0.9 -430.60 48,977.92
S&P 500 6,833.29 -0.7 -45.59 6,878.88
NASDAQ Comp 22,534.80 -0.6 -133.41 22,668.21
NASDAQ 100 24,799.08 -0.6 -160.95 24,960.04
US Treasury yield +/- daily high daily low
2 years 3.45 +0.07 3.46 3.37
5 years 3.58 +0.07 3.59 3.48
10 years 4.02 +0.06 4.02 3.93
FOREIGN EXCHANGE last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day, Friday, 5:05 p.m
EUR/USD 1.1714 -0.8 -0.0099 1.1813 1.1814
EUR/JPY 184.43 +0.0 0.0400 184.39 184.3800
EUR/CHF 0.9111 +0.2 0.0022 0.9089 0.9081
EUR/GBP 0.874 -0.3 -0.0022 0.8762 0.8782
USD/JPY 157.46 +0.9 1.4300 156.05 156.0500
GBP/USD 1.3399 -0.6 -0.0085 1.3484 1.3450
USD/CNY 6.8821 +0.4 0.0242 6.8579 6.8579
USD/CNH 6.9059 +0.7 0.0460 6.8599 6.8604
AUS/USD 0.7071 -0.6 -0.0042 0.7113 0.7127
Bitcoin/USD 66,256.60 +0.9 570.60 65,686.00 66,011.66
ROHOEL last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day
WTI/Nymex 71.47 +6.6 4.45 67.02
Brent/ICE 79.07 +8.5 6.20 72.87
Metals last +/- % +/- abs. End of the previous day
Gold 5,328.29 +1.0 51.00 5,277.29
Silver 89.06 -5.1 -4.76 93.82
Platinum 2,264.70 -4.2 -100.05 2,364.75
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 02, 2026 09:47 ET (14:47 GMT)
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