Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
US open: Wall Street slips amid Hamas-Israel conflict, oil price gains
(Sharecast News) - US stocks were trading on the back foot in the wake of heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. As of 1544 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average was drifting lower by 0.21% to 33,377.01, while the S&P 500 was down 0.31% to 4,294.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was off by 0.72% to 13,335.60.
In parallel, front-dated West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were running up 4.47% to $86.46 a barrel on the NYMEX.
"A sharp rise in energy prices, along with concerns over an escalation outside the current counterparties of Hamas and Israel, as Israeli forces hit back hard, is keeping investors on edge," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.
Crude prices, which dropped sharply last week, were rebounding strongly after a surprise assault by Hamas terrorists on Israel on Saturday morning that killed more than 700 people, including 260 at a music festival.
Israel swiftly retaliated, launching air strikes in Gaza, which were said to have killed more than 500.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Hamas would "pay a price it has never known before".
"As we saw following the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the focus will now be on attempting to assess the ramifications of the conflict, and whether it will widen to include other states," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG.
No major economic data was due for release in the States with the US observing Columbus Day, but speeches from Fed members Lorie Logan and Philip Jefferson will be closely watched, especially in the aftermath of last Friday's forecast-smashing jobs report.
Non-farm payrolls surged by 336,000 last month, double what economists had pencilled in (170,000). What's more, that was on top of upwards revisions to figures for the previous two months by a combined 119,000.
The strong beat led to commentary that the Fed may once again tighten monetary policy to cool down an overheating economy; though others believe that the recent surge in bond yields may force policymakers to be more cautious about further rate hikes just yet.
"We will look to the tone of Fed speak to send a clearer message about the potential for another hike later this year and generally expect rates to remain choppy with a bias to higher," said analysts at TD Securities in an email.
Oil stocks surge
In stock movements, gains in oil futures were benefitting the likes of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conocophillips, EOG Resources and Occidental Petroleum.
Disney was also rising after activist investor Nelson Peltz raised his stake to over 30m shares, worth over $2.5bn, through his firm Trian Fund Management. Peltz is said to be pushing for multiple seats on the board.
Financial stocks were under pressure as investors scaled back their appetite for risk, with Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase & Co futures falling ahead of the opening bell.
Dow Jones - Risers
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $166.93 2.90% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $268.79 1.03% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $269.46 0.75% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $83.37 0.52% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $30.99 0.45% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.84 0.16% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $53.48 0.06% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $162.98 0.02% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.28 0.00% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $153.48 -1.87% Intel Corp. (INTC) $35.61 -1.60% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $141.84 -1.56% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $52.47 -1.26% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $308.86 -1.16% Visa Inc. (V) $233.01 -0.86% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $205.67 -0.82% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $140.93 -0.78% Nike Inc. (NKE) $96.36 -0.77% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $144.08 -0.70%
S&P 500 - Risers
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $461.77 9.10% L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $175.22 6.91% Gen Dynamics Corp. (GD) $234.75 6.73% Halliburton Co. (HAL) $40.98 5.92% Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $424.22 5.86% National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV) $19.91 4.98% Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $25.80 4.92% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $40.43 4.88% Hess Corp. (HES) $152.61 4.78% Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $27.99 4.42%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.50 -7.28% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $12.39 -6.56% American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.98 -6.11% United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $39.43 -5.71% Delta Airlines Inc. (DAL) $34.90 -5.66% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $15.82 -4.97% Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $86.84 -4.45% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $33.63 -4.11% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $26.05 -3.80% VF Corp. (VFC) $15.64 -3.78%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $103.78 2.81% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $242.96 1.25% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $318.64 1.02% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $435.26 0.95% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $215.64 0.94% Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $118.29 0.76% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $269.46 0.75% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.22 0.50% Fastenal Co. (FAST) $56.34 0.39% Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $247.24 0.35%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.98 -6.11% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $44.89 -3.25% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $135.69 -3.09% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $32.99 -2.67% Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $191.13 -2.47% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $446.99 -2.32% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $254.49 -2.32% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $98.19 -2.28% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,980.92 -2.25% DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $31.76 -2.22%
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.