[New York Stock Market] Uncertainty Over Second Meeting... All Indices Close Lower

New York Stock Exchange view. New York, USA ? Photo by Yoonju Hwang

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Amid uncertainty over whether a second round of talks between the United States and Iran will take place, all three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on April 20 (local time).

At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 49,442.56, down 4.87 points (0.01%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, fell by 16.92 points (0.23%) to 7,109.14, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped by 64.09 points (0.26%) to close at 24,404.39.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the second round of talks, the market minimized losses as hopes for a meeting remained. U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with Bloomberg that the ceasefire would end "Wednesday evening, Washington time." He added that the possibility of extending the ceasefire was "very low."

He later claimed on the social media platform Truth Social, "The agreement we are pursuing with Iran will be much better than the so-called JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), the 'Iran nuclear deal' signed by Barack Hussein Obama and 'Sleepy' Joe Biden."

However, Iran has not yet officially confirmed its participation in the second round of talks. While Iran is continuing discussions with Pakistan, the intermediary country, and is expected to attend the talks, there is still significant uncertainty.

Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com analyzed, "Tensions flared up again on Friday, less than a day after talk of the 'reopening' of the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "It appears both sides are taking a hardline stance to strengthen their negotiating positions as the deadline approaches."

International oil prices ended higher. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $89.61 per barrel, up 6.87% from the previous session. On the London ICE Futures Exchange, June delivery Brent crude futures settled at $95.48 per barrel, up 5.64% from the previous session. Analysts at Citigroup forecast that if traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz persist for another month, oil prices could rise to $110 per barrel.

Technology stocks closed mixed. Nvidia rose 0.28%, Apple was up 0.23%, and Amazon gained 1.94%. In contrast, Microsoft (MS) fell 1.27%, Alphabet dropped 1.10%, and Tesla declined 2.03%.

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