US Stock Market Falls 1.6% on Nasdaq Due to Economic Slowdown Concerns and Middle East Tensions

Gold prices and oil prices rise due to Israel's Gaza attack

Economic indicators interpreted as signs of economic slowdown

On the 18th (local time), the US stock market is extending its decline as Middle East tensions rise amid concerns about a US economic slowdown that emerged the previous day.

As of 10 AM Eastern Standard Time, the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5%. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.8%.

The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points (1bp=0.01%) to 4.32%. Gold prices once again surpassed the all-time high of $3,040, and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%.

Nvidia, which is ahead of Jensen Huang's speech at the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) Technology Conference (GTC) today, is trading at $114, down 3.8%. Intel, which has been on an upward trend with the appointment of new executive Lip Butan, continued to rise for the fifth consecutive trading day, reaching $25.

Tesla, which fell for eight consecutive weeks until last week, is trading at $223, down another 6% today.

Market sentiment is deteriorating as recent economic data shows signs of economic slowdown amid Trump's tariff and labor policies, while government officials, including Treasury Secretary Bessent, have signaled that there will be no policy support to back the market.

In addition, Middle East tensions have escalated as Israel broke a two-month ceasefire and launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. Russia reportedly demanded a halt to all weapons supplies to Ukraine during the ceasefire period proposed by Trump.

Due to these factors, international oil prices rose for the third consecutive day, and gold prices again exceeded $3,000 per ounce. West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $68.04 per barrel, up 0.7%.

Investors are also watching the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that begins today. According to CME's FedWatch tool, interest rate swap traders expect a 99% probability that the Fed will maintain the federal funds rate.

The mood in European markets is positive, with the Stoxx 600 index rising 0.8%. European markets have been rising for consecutive days due to the possibility of Germany spending hundreds of billions of euros in additional expenditure as the German parliament prepares to vote on a groundbreaking fiscal bill. This plan, which is expected to stimulate economic growth across Europe, has pushed the euro to its highest level in five months. Optimism about Europe was amplified by Germany's positive economic sentiment survey.

Kim Jung-a, Contributing Writer kja@hankyung.com