WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving modestly higher over the course of the previous session, stocks pulled back sharply during trading on Friday. The major averages all moved significantly lower, with the Dow and the S&P 500 pulling back well off yesterday's three-month closing highs.
The major averages staged a recovery attempt in late morning trading after an early slump but moved back to the downside as the day progressed.
The Dow plummeted 769.83 points or 1.8 percent to 42,197.79, the Nasdaq plunged 255.66 points or 1.3 percent to 19,406.83 and the S&P 500 tumbled 68.29 points or 1.1 percent to 5,976.97.
With the steep drop on the day, the major averages also moved lower for the week. The Dow slumped by 1.3 percent, the Nasdaq slid by 0.6 percent and the S&P 500 fell by 0.4 percent.
The sell-off on Wall Street came 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 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 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 turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 4.3 percent to its lowest closing level in over a month.
Substantial weakness was also visible among computer hardware and semiconductor stocks, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 2.7 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
Housing, networking and financial stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, while energy and gold stocks bucked 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 also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index decreased by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index slumped by 1.0 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries gave 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, jumped 6.7 basis points to 4.424 percent.
Looking Ahead
Developments in the Middle East may impact trading next week, while traders are also likely to keep a close eye on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement. Several key U.S. economic reports may also attract attention.
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