New York Stock Exchange ends day with decline

Investors remain cautious due to tensions between US and Iran, while oil prices continue to rise

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US stock market saw a negative trend amid rising tensions between the US and Iran and a decline in alternative asset managers' shares.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.54%, or 267.5 points, to close at 49,395.16.

The Nasdaq dropped 0.31%, or 70.91 points, to 22,682.73, while the S&P 500 declined 0.28%, or 19.42 points, to 6,861.89.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index," rose by 3.11% to 20.23 points.

On the geopolitical front, as news flow regarding increasing tensions between the US and Iran was monitored, US President Donald Trump said: “It’s proven to be, over the years, not easy to make a meaningful deal with Iran, and we have to make a meaningful deal.

"Otherwise bad things happen."

Investors remained cautious due to tensions between the US and Iran, while oil prices continued to rise.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices increased by more than 2% during the day.

Meanwhile, shares of other companies fell after alternative asset management firm Blue Owl Capital restricted withdrawals from one of its funds and decided to sell $1.4 billion worth of assets from three of its funds.

Blue Owl Capital's shares fell 5.9%, while shares of companies such as Blackstone and Apollo Global Management lost 5.4% and 5.2%, respectively.

In addition, as investors assessed the financial results of US retail giant Walmart, the company's revenue and profit for the three-month period exceeded expectations, but its profit forecast for the current fiscal year fell short of expectations; Walmart's shares lost 1.4% in value.

On the macroeconomic data front, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time in the US fell by 23,000 from the previous week to 206,000 in the week ending February 14, falling below market expectations.

The US trade deficit rose 32.6% from the previous month to $70.3 billion in the last month of last year, reaching its highest level since July.

Kaynak: