NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Inflation concerns due to the consequences of the Iran war weighed heavily on the US stock market on Thursday. Investors were displeased that oil prices continued to rise despite the release of reserves by the International Energy Agency. In view of Iranian attacks on the energy sector in the Persian Gulf, a barrel of North Sea Brent oil sometimes cost more than 100 US dollars. Financial market players are currently no longer expecting the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year.
The US leading index, the Dow Jones Industrial, fell by 1.56 percent to 46,677.85 points, further significantly increasing its losses from the previous day. The market-wide S&P 500 fell by 1.52 percent to 6,672.62 points.
The technology-heavy NASDAQ 100 fell by 1.73 percent to 24,533.58 points. It remained stable on Wednesday thanks to a jump in the share price of the software and hardware manufacturer Oracle.
On Thursday the news situation once again called for caution, because on the one hand two oil tankers were attacked in Iraqi waters and on the other hand there were unsettling statements from Iran’s new religious leader and head of state. Moschtaba Khamenei demanded revenge for the victims in the war against the USA and Israel. “The lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.” It is a bottleneck in global energy supply.
“With comparatively limited resources, Iran has managed to paralyze maritime transport through the Strait of Hormuz, which is so important for the global economy, for the twelfth day in a row,” stated chief market analyst Jochen Stanzl from Consorsbank. The two burning tankers off the coast of Iraq and the evacuation of the oil port in Oman demonstrated Iran’s continued willingness to use oil as a weapon. “As long as Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, they will… Financial markets does not calm down in the long term.”
A blockage of this sea route for a long period of time would have dramatic effects on the global economy. A sharp spike in oil and gas prices could nip any economic recovery in the bud. The International Energy Agency is already calling it the “biggest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”
Among the individual values, oil values continued to rise. Exxon Mobil (ExxonMobil), Chevron and ConocoPhillips gained between 1.3 and 2.8 percent.
Papers from the fertilizer industry were also in demand because the Strait of Hormuz is also important for the demand for sulfur, a component of fertilizer specialties. This means that Mosaic (The Mosaic) rose by almost 8 percent. The shares of CF Industries had even climbed to a record high; In the end, there was an increase of a good 13 percent at the top of the S&P 500.
Financial stocks, on the other hand, were hit by economic concerns and investors’ declining confidence in private credit markets. Cliffwater and Morgan Stanley have already found themselves forced to limit withdrawals from their billion-dollar private credit funds. Morgan Stanley shares lost 4.1 percent. In the wake of this, Goldman Sachs lost 4.4 percent at the end of the Dow.
Dollar General shares, which had been doing very well recently, fell by a good six percent. The retailer had given disappointing annual and long-term forecasts./la/mis
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —
