U.S. Stocks End Tuesday with Losses

(MENAFN) Wall Street closed in the red Tuesday as persistent uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict eroded investor confidence, pushing all three major indices into negative territory.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 84.41 points, or 0.18%, settling at 46,124.06. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite bore the steepest losses, tumbling 184.87 points, or 0.84%, to finish at 21,761.89. The S&P 500 slipped 24.63 points, or 0.37%, to close at 6,556.37.

Risk appetite across markets remained suppressed as geopolitical tensions showed no clear path toward resolution. The Volatility Index (VIX) — widely known as Wall Street’s “fear index” — climbed 3.06% to 26.95, reflecting heightened anxiety among traders.

Markets had drawn brief relief earlier in the week after US President Donald Trump described talks with Iran as “productive” and signaled that both sides were pursuing a diplomatic agreement. Iranian officials, however, flatly denied that any direct negotiations had occurred.

Trump doubled down Tuesday, insisting talks were ongoing and offering a cryptic characterization of a recent development: “gave us a present and the present arrived today. It was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.” He later clarified the remark was connected to oil and natural gas.

Adding to the tension, US press reports indicated that the Pentagon has advanced plans to deploy roughly 3,000 troops to the region in support of potential operations against Iran — though no formal deployment order has been issued. Separately, Gulf states were reported to be deepening their alignment with Washington, edging closer to backing a military posture against Tehran with each passing day.

Energy markets reflected the unease. Brent crude, which had briefly dipped below $100 per barrel on Monday, rebounded sharply — surging approximately 4% to $103.80 as of 2000 GMT.

European Markets
European equities presented a mixed picture. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.43% to close at 579.28.

The UK’s FTSE 100 led gains, rising 0.72% to 9,965.16, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.23% to reach 7,743.92. Italy’s FTSE MIB 30 climbed 0.42% to 43,369.53, and Spain’s IBEX 35 edged up 0.13% to 16,910.20. Germany’s DAX 40 bucked the regional trend, slipping 0.07% to close at 22,636.91.

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