On Wall Street, the last trading day of the week saw sharp declines with the Dow Jones falling about 1.2%, the S&P 500 dropping about 1.4%, and the Nasdaq losing 1.6%. Weekly averages for the S&P 500 and Dow fell 1.6% and 2.7% respectively, while the Nasdaq lost 0.5% for the week. Major banks’ shares declining had a negative impact on the market, with JP Morgan bank’s stock falling nearly 6% after better-than-expected first-quarter results, despite positive results.
Throughout the day, Wall Street saw increased declines, with oil prices continuing to rise amidst fears of a potential Iranian attack as reported by various sources, which contributed to market uncertainties. The Nikkei rose in Asia while European markets ended mixed with technology and mining stocks leading gains in some regions and CAC and DAX indices declining in others. Bitcoin and ether prices fluctuated slightly in Asia but remained stable in other regions due to government bond yields being slightly down and oil prices remaining steady.
In addition to these factors, reports suggested that Israel was preparing for a potential attack by Iran which led to concerns about global security and economic stability among investors worldwide. These events caused fluctuations in global currencies as well as commodity prices such as gold and oil which also impacted financial markets globally.
