US open: Stocks lower as Middle East uncertainty continues to weigh

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red at the opening bell on Friday after Donald Trump extended his deadline to attack Iran's energy infrastructure. As of 1425 GMT,the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.96% at 45,518.19, while the S&P 500 shed 0.86% to 6,421.77, and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.16% weaker at 21,160.41.

The Dow opened 441.92 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Trump said he would extend a pause on strikes against Iran's energy infrastructure until 6 April, pushing back an earlier deadline that had been due to expire today.

"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction," Trump said on social media. "Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

His announcement marked the latest indication that the US administration was seeking a path toward ending the conflict with Iran, which has driven oil prices sharply higher and added pressure on consumers ahead of the midterm elections.

However, uncertainty persisted after Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi reportedly told state media that Tehran had no intention of holding direct talks with Washington, even as senior officials reviewed America's proposal to end the war. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon was weighing the deployment of a further 10,000 US troops to the Middle East, according to people familiar with the matter.

Oil prices continued to climb on the back of the ongoing certainty surrounding the conflict, with Brent crude up 2.48% at $110.69 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate moved 3.13% higher to $97.44 a barrel.

Elsewhere, the CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's so-called "fear gauge", surpassed the 30 level on Friday morning, last seen 9.88% higher at 30.15.

On the macro front, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index fell to 53.3 in March, down from preliminary estimates of 55.5 and well below February's 56.6 reading, leaving sentiment near record lows seen at the end of 2025, reflecting the impact of rising gas prices and market volatility as a result of the ongoing conflict in Iran.

In the corporate space, cruise operator Carnival posted record first-quarter revenues and raised its full-year guidance on Friday, with demand and increased prices helping to offset rising fuel costs. Carnival said adjusted earnings per share came to $0.20 in Q1, up 50% year-on-year, while revenue rose to a record $6.2bn.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $185.64 2.02% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $207.79 1.29% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.74 0.73% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $82.16 0.63% Visa Inc. (V) $305.53 0.20% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $291.13 0.19% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $241.67 0.12% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $44.10 -4.85% 3M Co. (MMM) $143.99 -2.74% Boeing Co. (BA) $194.36 -2.63% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $365.97 -2.48% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $822.64 -2.28% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $703.19 -2.20% Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.07 -1.72% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $291.66 -1.27% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $94.75 -1.25% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $328.43 -1.23%

S&P 500 - Risers

Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $25.74 9.58% Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $248.14 5.80% Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $19.49 5.52% Apache Corp. (APA) $42.80 4.90% Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $63.21 4.65% Gartner Inc. (IT) $156.60 4.24% Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $64.36 4.06% HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $63.22 3.81% Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $202.19 3.55% CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $132.56 3.47%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $122.55 -9.23% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $547.54 -8.97% Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $118.70 -8.39% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $211.62 -8.06% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $355.46 -7.67% Corning Inc. (GLW) $135.32 -7.54% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $168.85 -7.49% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $378.79 -7.31% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $338.55 -7.01% Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $203.77 -6.53%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $92.27 3.38% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $191.06 2.72% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $93.32 2.17% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $29.18 1.74% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.95 1.41% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $756.73 1.03% Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $55.55 0.89% CSX Corp. (CSX) $39.55 0.64% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $82.16 0.63% Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $57.58 0.61%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $547.54 -8.97% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $211.62 -8.06% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $355.46 -7.67% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $168.85 -7.49% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $378.79 -7.31% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $338.55 -7.01% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,451.13 -6.38% Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $18.97 -5.67% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $372.11 -5.57% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $185.75 -5.49%