US open: Stocks lower as Middle East conflict remains in focus

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red early on Tuesday as market participants were zeroed-in on developments in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. As of 1440 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.30% at 42,389.16, while the S&P 500 lost 0.37% to 6,010.89 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.42% weaker at 19,618.37.

The Dow opened 125.93 points lower on Tuesday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Donald Trump said on Monday evening that "everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran" and left the G7 summit in Canada prematurely, reportedly to deal with the escalating situation in the Middle East and spooking markets.

French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Trump said his departure from the G7 meeting had "nothing to do with a ceasefire" and that it was "much bigger than that". Trump also said he could send either JD Vance or Steven Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials, but denied reports he had reached out to Iran for peace talks.

Oil prices were higher again early on Tuesday, with benchmark Brent crude up 2.08% at $74.75 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was 1.89% higher at $73.13 per barrel as, in addition to the Israel/Iran conflict and the latter's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, two tankers collided and caught fire in waters off the United Arab Emirates, further rattling both oil and shipping markets.

On the macro front, US retail sales declined 0.9% month-on-month in May, according to the Census Bureau, following April's downwardly revised 0.1% drop and worse than expectations of a 0.7% fall. May's reading marked the biggest decrease in four months and was principally due to Donald Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs.

Elsewhere, US import prices were unchanged last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a 0.1% increase in April, while export prices declined 0.9% in May, after ticking up 0.1% in the prior month.

On another note, US capacity utilisation decreased to 77.4% in May, down from 77.7% in April, according to the Federal Reserve, missing market expectations for a flat reading. Industrial production, on the other hand, increased 0.60% year-on-year in May, following April's 1.5% increase and beating expectations for a 0.1% uptick.

Still to come, April business inventories data and June's NAHB housing market index will be published at 1500 BST.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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