Wall Street fell heavily again in the shadow of the war

TT

Nervous on Wall Street. The picture was taken on March 19. Photo: Seth Wenig/AP/TT

The stock markets in the US once again ended with strong red figures.

Fears of an escalation of the Iran war continue to make the markets nervous.

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average had lost 1 percent, the broad S&P 500 index 1.5 percent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 2 percent.

The grim development followed falling prices in Europe and Asia as well.

On Friday, several media outlets reported that Washington was sending additional forces, including ground troops, to the Middle East.

At the same time, the trend for oil prices continues to point upwards. At 9 p.m., a barrel of Brent oil costs just over $111 per barrel.

“If this is an escalation that includes troops on the ground, then we are going to see this kind of market with higher gas and oil prices for at least a few more weeks,” analyst Ross Mayfield told CNBC.