Wall Street stocks dipped early Monday, giving back a fraction of their recent bounty as oil prices jumped following Iran’s renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Analysts described Monday’s early losses as a mild retreat following an almost unbroken string of gains so far in April.
“The sell-off reaction to the bad news has, throughout the course of this entire war, been much less in terms of percentage moves than the celebrations of potential end of the war,” said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
About five minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1 percent at 49,417.01.
The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent to 7,115.44, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index also lost 0.2 per cent at 24,430.94.
Oil prices fell sharply on Friday after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was reopened to commercial shipping. But Iran quickly shut the crucial waterway down again, citing the United States’ blockade of its ports.
US investors perceive US President Donald Trump’s posture in the war as similar to his approach to tariffs last year, when Trump retreated on the heaviest levies following a negative response in financial markets.
“The administration tends to change their mind on things, especially as directed by the markets,” Hogan said.