WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Friday, more than offsetting the modest gains posted in the previous session. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the Dow and S&P 500 pulling back well off yesterday's three-month closing highs.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 689.84 points or 1.6 percent at 42,277.78, the Nasdaq is down 244.03 points or 1.2 percent at 19,418.45 and the S&P 500 is down 62.57 points or 1.0 percent at 5,982.69.
The sell-off on Wall Street comes amid geopolitical concerns after Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran earlier this morning.
The Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear facilities and ballistic missile factories killed at least three of Iran's senior military leaders.
Iran retaliated by launching more than 100 drones toward Israeli territory, which the Israel Defense Forces said they are working to intercept.
The attacks have led the worries about a wider conflict, and the price of crude oil has spiked amid concerns about supply disruptions.
Responding to the news in a post on Truth Social, President Donald Trump urged Iran to reach a nuclear agreement before an escalation of the attacks.
'There has already been great death and destruction, but there is still time to make this slaughter, with the next already planned attacks being even more brutal, come to an end,' Trump said.
'Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire,' he added. 'No more death, no more destruction, JUST DO IT, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.'
Meanwhile, traders have largely shrugged off a report from the University of Michigan showing a substantial improvement by consumer sentiment in the month of June.
The University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index surged to 60.5 in June after holding at 52.2 in May. Economists had expected the index to rise to 53.5.
Sector News
Airline stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 4.6 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
Substantial weakness is also visible among computer hardware and semiconductor stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.5 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
Financial, networking and housing stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while energy and gold stocks bucking the downtrend.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.8 percent.
The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. The German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving notably higher over the two previous sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.8 basis points at 4.405 percent.
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