[New York Stock Exchange] All Major Indexes Fall a Day After Hitting Record Highs

International Oil Prices Rise Slightly

New York Stock Exchange floor. New York, USA - Photo by Hwang Yoonju

On the 23rd (local time), all three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower. This downturn was attributed to renewed tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an order right before the market opened, instructing the military to fire upon any vessels laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the Home Trading System (HTS), as of 9:55 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) was down 198.34 points, or 0.40%, at 49,291.69. The S&P 500, which focuses on large-cap stocks, had fallen 9.32 points, or 0.13%, to 7,128.58. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 75.50 points, or 0.31%, at 24,482.06.

On this day, President Trump wrote on Truth Social, "I have ordered the U.S. Navy to shoot and kill any vessel, regardless of how small, that is laying mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz." He added, regarding the U.S. military's mine-removal operations in the strait, "Continue these activities, but I am ordering the scale to be tripled."

International oil prices are showing a slight upward trend. As of now, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is trading at USD 93.92 per barrel, up 1.03% from the previous session. Brent crude is at USD 102.81 per barrel, up 0.88% from the previous session.

Oil and energy stocks are trending upward, with ExxonMobil up 0.11%, Chevron up 0.26%, Occidental Petroleum up 0.21%, Diamondback Energy up 1.18%, and APA up 0.32%. For the first time in a while, airline stocks are also rising, with Delta up 1.80%, American Airlines up 3.52%, and United Airlines up 1.65%.

Julie Biel, chief market strategist at Kayne Anderson Rudnick, told CNBC, "The real challenge is that everyone is anxious and a stream of very sensational news headlines keeps coming out," but added, "Ultimately, corporate earnings forecasts continue to rise, which suggests that companies are finding ways to navigate through this turmoil and overcome uncertainty to achieve earnings growth."

So far, among the 87 S&P companies that have reported earnings, 81% have posted net profits that exceeded expectations, and 76% have announced revenues above projections. Biel added that the market’s focus is now on the preliminary numbers for global PMI in manufacturing and services for April.

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