Global stock markets have seen a decline in stock prices caused by Israel’s attack on Iran, and investors fear further spread of the conflict in the Middle East.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones fell 1.3 percent last week, to 42,197 points, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4 percent to 5,976 points, and the Nasdaq index fell 0.6 percent to 19,406 points, CNBC News reports.
At the beginning of the week, the market was in a good mood because on Tuesday, after a two-day meeting in London, US and Chinese representatives reached a trade agreement.
“Our agreement with China is done, final approval from President Xi and me is still needed,” said US President Donald Trump.
He also pointed out that China would lift restrictions on trade in rare metals, but even that statement did not cause euphoria in the market because, according to analysts, many details about how the agreement will be implemented are still unclear.
Furthermore, there are fears that the high tariffs will contribute to rising inflation in the coming months. That is why almost no one expects the Fed to cut interest rates at its June meeting, despite repeated calls from Trump and his aides to do so.
The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East has added uncertainty to financial markets at a time when economies around the world are under increasing pressure from Trump’s aggressive and capricious tariff policies.
“Geopolitical tensions have added uncertainty to an already fragile sentiment,” said Charu Chanana, a strategist at Saxo Bank.
Share prices also fell on most European stock exchanges last week. Although London’s FTSE index rose 0.7 percent to 8,837 points, Frankfurt’s DAX slipped 3.2 percent to 23,516 points, and Paris’ CAC 40 fell 1.5 percent to 7,684 points.
