Wall Street opens lower after Israel's attack on Iran

NEW YORK, New York.- Wall Street opened in the red on Friday after Israel launched an airstrike against Iran , raising concerns among investors about the prospects for crude oil supplies , the price of which was soaring this morning.

Five minutes after the bell rang, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.16% to 42,471 points; the Nasdaq fell 0.78% to 19,509 points; and the S&P 500 also lost 0.66% to 6,005 points.

The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil opened this Friday with an 8.63% rise, reaching $73.91 a barrel. The energy sector was the only one posting gains this morning (1.28%).

Israel launched its largest-ever attack on Iran early last morning, which has yet to be completed, decapitating the Armed Forces, the Revolutionary Guard , and part of the team responsible for Iran's nuclear program , in addition to damaging Iran's main nuclear facility at Natanz.

Investors are concerned that Iran could retaliate by attacking Israeli or U.S. targets, which could lead to a military escalation and a possible disruption to oil supplies , analysts said.

For his part, the US president reminded Iran on Friday that the two-month deadline he imposed on Tehran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program has expired, but warned that they still have a second chance to reach a compromise, following Israel's attack on its facilities.

“Two months ago, I gave Iran a 60-day ultimatum to make a deal. They should have! Today is day 61. I told them what to do, but they couldn't. Now maybe they'll get a second chance!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

On the corporate front, among the 30 largest Dow stocks, the highest gainers today were Chevron (1.28%), Merck (0.4%), and Walmart (0.32%), with declines for Visa (-4.59%), Sherwin-Williams (-4.22%), and American Express (-2.31%).

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