· U.S. stocks ended higher on Wednesday, but the day’s uneven path showed investors’ sensitivity to any signs of turmoil in the Middle East, with stocks rising on comments by President Donald Trump and paring gains on reports of blasts in Baghdad.
Trump spoke at a White House briefing after Iran’s missile strikes overnight on military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. The U.S. president said the strikes had not harmed any Americans and that Tehran appeared to be standing down.
Comments earlier from Iran’s foreign minister that the country did not seek an escalation and a tweet from Trump that “All is well!” also helped calm investor jitters.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit record intraday highs, but major indexes cut their gains late in the day following reports of two blasts heard in Baghdad. After the bell, Iraq’s military said two rockets had fallen inside Baghdad’s Green Zone but there were no casualties.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 161.41 points, or 0.56%, to 28,745.09, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 15.87 points, or 0.49%, to 3,253.05, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 60.66 points, or 0.67%, to 9,129.24.
· Asia Pacific markets traded up Thursday morning after U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on the Iran conflict eased investor worries about further escalation of geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 1.63% in early trade while the Topix index was up 1.38%.
In South Korea, the Kospi added 1.42%.
Australia’s ASX 200 rose 0.97%, with the heavily weighted financials subindex gaining 1%.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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