New York, May 21 (EFE) – Wall Street opened lower on Thursday, with its main indicator, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, falling 0.55 percent after Texas crude oil prices climbed back above 100 dollars per barrel amid fading optimism over a near-term end to the conflict following reports suggesting that Iran’s supreme leader may delay negotiations with the United States.
At the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones dropped 273 points to 49,735, while the S&P 500 declined 0.51 percent to 7,395 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also slipped 0.53 percent to 26,132 points.
The stock market extended its losses this week after reports indicated that Iran’s supreme leader would not allow the country’s enriched uranium to be sent abroad, a stance likely to complicate peace talks with Washington.
According to Reuters, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered that Iran’s enriched uranium remain inside the Islamic Republic, citing two senior Iranian sources.
The fate of Iran’s nuclear material remains one of the key issues in negotiations with the United States.
The optimism that boosted markets on Wednesday — following another meeting between Pakistani mediators and representatives from Tehran, as well as the safe passage of 26 vessels, including oil tankers, through the Strait of Hormuz under Iranian escort — quickly faded.
Not even the strong performance of the technology sector, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), was enough to reverse market losses after industry leader Nvidia reported better-than-expected earnings on Wednesday.
The semiconductor giant announced after Wednesday’s closing bell that it posted a net profit of 58.321 billion dollars in the first quarter of its fiscal year, representing a 210 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
However, Nvidia shares were down 0.80 percent shortly after the market opened.
In other markets, gold — considered a safe-haven asset — fell 0.82 percent to 4,498 dollars per ounce, while silver dropped 1.62 percent to 74.94 dollars per ounce.
