By Rédaction Africanews
Stocks slumped and oil prices soared Thursday after President Donald Trump vowed the U.S. will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East.
The S&P 500 fell 1.1%, with three out of every four stocks in the benchmark index losing ground. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 545 points, or 1.2%, as of 9:52 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.6%. Major indexes throughout Europe and Asia also fell.
The broad slide for U.S. and global stocks follows a national address from Trump on Wednesday where he said the U.S. will continue to hit Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks.” Markets had been mostly gaining ground throughout the week on hopes that the war would conclude soon. Major indexes are still on track to close out the week with gains.
Thursday is the last day of trading on Wall Street this week with with the stock market closed on Good Friday.