New York stock markets entered the weekend on Friday with mostly losses, as Wall Street investors focussed heavily on the results of major banks and concern over an escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas hung over the market.
Oil prices moved sharply higher on the fears of greater unrest in the Middle East due to the threat of a large-scale ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The Dow-Jones index ended with an increase of 0.1% at 33,670.29 points. The broad S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 4327.78 points and the Nasdaq technology gauge lost 1.2%, ending on 13,407.23 points. At opening, plusses had still been seen for the main indices.
JPMorgan Chase gained 1.5%. The largest bank in the United States benefited from higher interest rates customers have to pay on loans and posted higher-than-expected profits in the third quarter. Wells Fargo also exceeded expectations and was up more than 3%. Citigroup, however, lost 0.2%.
UnitedHealth advanced 2.6%. The major health insurer posted higher-than-expected profits last quarter and had a slightly more positive result for the year. Asset manager BlackRock also saw its quarterly profit rise, but lost 1%.
The price of a barrel of U.S. oil rose by 5.8% to $87.71 while Brent oil became 5.7% more expensive at $90.89 a barrel. There are fears that Israel could come into direct conflict with Hamas ally Iran, which could disrupt oil deliveries through the Persian Gulf, for example if Iran attacks tankers. Oil companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil posted price gains of up to 4.7%.
Gold prices also went up sharply as the precious metal is seen as a safe investment in troubled times. Gold producers such as Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold soared up to 4% higher.
There was also a dent in U.S. consumer confidence according to the University of Michigan. Confidence fell sharply, mainly because of concerns among Americans about higher inflation undermining purchasing power.
The euro was quoted at $1.0512, down from $1.0503 at the close of trading in Europe.
