[New York Close] Dow Approaches Historic 29,000 Level Amid Middle East Crisis Easing

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Kim Bong-su] The U.S. New York stock market surged significantly on the 9th (local time) as the Middle East crisis eased, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rallying to approach the 29,000 level for the first time ever.

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow closed at 28,956.90, up 211.81 points (0.74%) from the previous trading day. It was on the verge of breaking through the 29,000 mark for the first time in history. The S&P 500 also rose 21.65 points (0.67%) to 3,274.70. The Nasdaq closed at 9,203.43, up 74.18 points (0.81%), setting new all-time highs for consecutive days.

Technology stocks, including Apple, led the gains. Apple's stock price jumped 2.1% after the Chinese government announced last December that iPhone sales had increased by 18%. The technology sector of the S&P 500 also rose 1.1%, buoyed by semiconductor company AMD's stock rising 2.4%. AMD's stock increase was thanks to a securities firm upgrading its outlook from neutral to buy, predicting a strong server market this year.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing's stock also rose 1.5% after President Donald Trump stated on the 7th that he did not believe the crash of the Ukraine International Airlines 737 passenger plane in Iran was due to mechanical failure. U.S. officials said that the 737 passenger plane might have been shot down by mistake by Iran's air defense system.

The biggest factor was the easing of tensions between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump said the day before, "It seems Iran is backing down," indicating a move toward an 'exit strategy' rather than full-scale conflict by strengthening economic sanctions instead of military retaliation. Trump particularly opened a path for Iran by saying, "We all need to negotiate with Iran to create a more peaceful and safer world."

On the 7th, Iran fired 15 ground-to-ground ballistic missiles at two U.S. military bases in Iraq in retaliation for the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani at Baghdad International Airport on the 3rd. However, since Iran gave indirect notice through Iraq an hour before and there were no casualties among Americans or Iraqis, the attack is seen as a limited provocation avoiding escalation to full-scale war.

Following this exchange between the U.S. and Iran, the earlier anxiety eased, causing the previously soaring international oil prices to fall. On this day at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), February delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $59.56 per barrel, down 0.08% ($0.05) from the previous day. At 3:30 p.m., March Brent crude on the London ICE Futures Exchange was trading unchanged at $65.40 per barrel.

As the preference for safe-haven assets eased, international gold prices slightly declined. February delivery gold on the New York Commodity Exchange closed at $1,554.30 per ounce, down 0.4% ($5.90) from the previous day.

Another positive factor was the indication that the U.S. labor market remains robust. The U.S. Department of Labor announced that new unemployment claims last week totaled 214,000, down 9,000 from 223,000 the previous week. This was 6,000 less than the expert forecast of 220,000. A decrease in new unemployment claims means the U.S. labor market is strong. The previous day, the ADP employment report had also announced that December's U.S. private nonfarm payrolls reached 202,000, far exceeding the forecast of 150,000.

The U.S. Department of Labor will release the official December employment statistics on the 10th. Experts expect that 160,000 new jobs were created last month.

Positive news also came from the U.S.-China trade negotiations. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the day before that Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese delegation departed for Washington D.C. to sign the U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.