Stocks are down on Friday, with oil prices surging in the wake of the Israel’s military strike on Iran.
The S&P 500 slid 48 points, or 0.5%, to 5,998 points in early trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 559 points, or 1.3%, to 42,409 points. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.8%.
The market slide comes after Israel launched strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and other targets early Friday, the start of what Israel said could be a days-long attack. Iran responded by launching over 100 drones, which Israel claimed it was able to mostly intercept.
The strikes come as President Trump seeks to rein in Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The U.S. and Iran are scheduled to meet Sunday in Oman, as part of a series on ongoing talks.
The oil market had an even stronger reaction on Friday, with U.S. benchmark crude oil increasing $4.73 or 6.9% to $72.77 per barrel. Bent crude, the international standard, climbed $4.58 to $73.94 per barrel.
The Middle East tensions also affect markets beyond oil, said Joy Yang, head of index product management at MarketVector Indexes, noting a decline in Bitcoin prices and a rally in defense stocks, as airline stocks fall.
Airlines, which use a lot of fuel as part of their business and need their customers feeling confident enough to travel, experienced sharp losses. United Airlines lost 5.2%, Delta Air Lines gave up 4.5% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 2.9%.
Boeing shares are down 1% after a 5% dip Thursday following a crash in India involving one of its 787-8 Dreamliner planes.
contributed to this report.
