Wall Street logs worst day since start of Iran war

World shares mostly fell while oil gained again on Friday as Wall Street saw its worst day since the start of the Iran war, owing to growing doubts over de-escalation.In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent to 9,939.96. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.7 per cent to 7,718.97, and Germany’s DAX lost 1.3 per cent to 22,314.28.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.4 per cent lower at 53,373.07. South Korea’s Kospi also lost 0.4 per cent to 5,438.87, narrowing the sharp drop earlier in the day at trading close. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.4 per cent to 24,951.88 after dipping earlier in the day, while the Shanghai Composite index traded 0.6 per cent higher at 3,913.72. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.1 per cent to 8,516.30.

Taiwan’s Taiex was 0.7 per cent lower, while India’s Sensex lost 2.1 per cent.On Thursday, Wall Street fell to its worst drop since the Iran war began, with the S&P 500 sinking 1.7 per cent for its worst day since January to 6,477.16. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1 per cent to 45,960.11. The Nasdaq composite slumped 2.4 per cent to 21,408.08, and is off 10 per cent below its recent all-time high in what is considered a “correction”.Expectations this week of de-escalation negotiations between Washington and Tehran have sent markets into disarray.

Shortly after Wall Street trading closed Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he was further postponing the deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz until April 6.