[New York Stock Market] Iran Remains Silent Ahead of Ceasefire Expiration... All Major Indices Close Lower

Vice President J.D. Vance Postpones Trip to Pakistan
Iran Withholds Participation in Talks, Criticizing the U.S.

Appearance of the New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA – Photo by Yoonju Hwang

On April 21 (local time), just one day before the ceasefire was set to expire, all three major U.S. stock indices closed lower as Iran withheld its participation in the second round of talks. The outlook for a peace agreement is shifting rapidly, increasing uncertainty in the market even within a single day.

At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 49,149.38, down 293.18 points (0.59%) from the previous session. The S&P 500, focused on large-cap stocks, dropped 45.13 points (0.63%) to end at 7,064.01, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq finished at 24,259.964, a decrease of 144.429 points (0.59%).

Investor sentiment weakened on expectations that a peace agreement would not be reached before the end of the ceasefire period. Contrary to U.S. President Donald Trump's prediction in a media interview that Iran would attend the second round of talks, Iran criticized the United States and withheld its decision to participate. As a result, Vice President J.D. Vance also postponed his planned trip to Pakistan, according to The New York Times (NYT).

New York stocks initially rose across the board after news of President Trump's interview was reported. In his morning interview with CNBC, President Trump stated that the United States and Iran would reach a "great agreement." He also emphasized that if an agreement is not reached by the ceasefire deadline, the U.S. military is prepared to bomb Iran and that he does not want an extension of the ceasefire.

Through state media, Iran strongly criticized the U.S. stance and suspended its participation in the second round of talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared that the U.S. blockade of Iranian waters "constitutes a violation of the ceasefire agreement."

International oil prices also rebounded. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed at $88.10 per barrel, up 2.35% from the previous session. On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude finished at $98.28 per barrel, up 2.18% compared to the previous close.

Among large-cap stocks, performances were mixed. Nvidia fell 0.72%, Apple dropped 2.30%, Microsoft rose 1.83%, Amazon increased 1.30%, Alphabet gained 1.30%, TSMC climbed 0.81%, Meta advanced 0.17%, and Tesla rose 0.90%.

Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Jax Investment Management, commented, "It is difficult to build trust in this situation," adding, "With serious divisions between Iran's military and government leadership, there are doubts about whether the Iranian delegation can properly implement a peace agreement." However, Mulberry predicted that "issues surrounding control of the Strait of Hormuz will be resolved by the end of this week."

Despite the risk that peace talks may fail, the declines were limited thanks to optimism about the New York stock market. Mulberry noted that "the first quarter earnings of U.S. companies have been very solid," adding, "This is something that cannot be overlooked at this point in time."

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