US stock markets declined on Thursday. By the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was calculated at 52,064 points, marking a decrease of 0.6 percent compared to the previous trading day. Minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 was also down 0.6 percent, recording around 7,592 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 registered a 1.1 percent decrease at roughly 29,104 points.
The markets continued to be pressured by the ongoing military conflict involving the US and Israel against Iran. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that the country’s oil production has dropped to its lowest level since 1990. The price of a barrel of Brent crude rose to $107.90 by the end of the German evening, representing a 6.6 percent increase from the close of the preceding trading session.
US markets also saw notable movement due to labor market data and producer prices. Andreas Lipkow, Head Market Analyst at CMC Markets, commented: “This points to a continued robust condition of the US economy and are particularly interesting in the overall context ahead of the Fed meeting next week.” He noted that producer prices increased by 5.4 percent year-on-year.
In currency markets, the Euro weakened on Thursday evening; one Euro cost $1.1610, meaning the Dollar was available for 0.8613 Euros. Meanwhile, the price of gold dropped significantly, reaching $4,321 per fine ounce in the evening, which corresponded to a 1.8 percent decline. This equates to a price of 119.67 Euros per gram.
