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S&P 500 drops from record high due to Middle East concerns
Wall Street fell?from its record highs Monday, after a South Korean vessel was struck by an explosion on the 'Strait of Hormuz' and Tehran exhibited its grip on Middle East Oil. This dampened optimism about a strong first-quarter earning report. The energy stocks increased after reports of the latest clashes. The explosion aboard a South Korean ship may have convinced commercial shippers that the Strait is still dangerous after U.S. president Donald Trump announced the U.S. Navy will open it. Tehran claimed it had forced a U.S. ship to turn around after it tried to enter the strait. The UAE also reported an oil installation fire following an Iranian drone strike. Uncertainty related to the Middle East conflict weighed on U.S. stocks after the S&P 500 hit ?a record high last Friday amid a stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings season. Ross Mayfield is an investment strategist with Baird Private Wealth Management. According to LSEG, the S&P 500 is expected to post aggregate earnings growth of 28 percent year/year in the first quarter. This is double what was anticipated at the beginning of April. Wall Street's AI giants are responsible for much of this optimism. Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that the company was a net stock seller for the fourteenth consecutive quarter. Investors pay close attention to the conglomerate because it is often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economic situation. It also provides valuable insight into market valuations. GameStop shares fell 8.5%, while eBay's rose 5.4%. This was after the video game retailer announced a proposal for a cash and stock deal to purchase the online marketplace. GameStop has a stock market worth of about $11 billion. The S&P500 was down by 0.33% to 7,206.53. The Nasdaq fell 0.12%, to 25,083.19, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.91%, to 49,050.99. Materials, which fell 1.37% and industrials, which lost 0.89%, were the two worst performing S&P 500 sector indexes. FedEx and United Parcel Service both fell by about 9% after Amazon.com announced that it would be rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services," which will open up its logistics network to other businesses. FedEx and UPS declined, dragging the Dow Jones Transportation Average down 4.3%. It was its lowest level for nearly a week. Norwegian Cruise Lines fell about 8% after reducing its annual forecast because of higher fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict. The S&P 500's declining stocks outnumbered the rising ones by a ratio of 2.1 to one. The S&P 500 recorded 26 new highs, and 22 new lowers. The Nasdaq registered 115 highs, and 70 lows.
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Airline cancellations in response to Middle East conflict
Middle Eastern carriers increased capacity following the disruption caused by the Iran War, while airlines outside of the Gulf have rerouted flights between Europe and Asia away from major hubs within the region. The latest flight information is listed below alphabetically: AEGEAN AIRLINES On May 21, Greece's biggest carrier will resume flights from Heraklion to Tel Aviv, as well as Rhodes and Larnaca. Thessaloniki-Tel Aviv flights are cancelled up until June 26. Flights will resume to Beirut, Riyadh, and Amman on May 12. Flights from Dubai to Erbil and Baghdad will be cancelled until July 2, while flights to Dubai until June 29 are still in effect. AIRBALTIC Latvian airline airBaltic has announced that flights to Tel Aviv are cancelled until 28 June. Dubai flights are cancelled until 24 October. AIR CANADA The Canadian carrier has canceled flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai and Abu Dhabi until September 7. AIR EUROPA Spanish Airlines has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv till May 31. Air France-KLM Air France suspended flights to Riyadh, Riyadh and Dubai until the 20th of May. KLM suspends flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until the 22nd of June. CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong Airlines has suspended its flights to Dubai, Riyadh and cargo services to Dubai, Riyadh and Dubai until June 30, and May 31, respectively. The airline plans to continue operating?all scheduled flight beyond June. The U.S. carrier plans to resume New York JFK-Tel Aviv service on September 6 and has extended the suspension of Atlanta-Tel Aviv services through November 30, 2018. The launch of the Boston-Tel Aviv route that was scheduled for late October has been postponed until further notice. EL AL ISRAEL AIRLINES From April 27, the Israeli carrier will be operating flights to around 40 active gateways. Until May 31, all flights to Dubai have been cancelled. Emirates Airlines, the UAE's national airline, has announced that it now operates to 137 destinations. ETIHAD Airways The United Arab Emirates carrier announced that it operates a commercial flight schedule from Abu Dhabi to around 80 destinations. FINNAIR The Finnish airline has cancelled all Doha flights up until July 2. It continues to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran Syria and Israel. The airline will not resume Dubai flights until October. British Airways, owned by IAG, will reduce flights to the Middle East once services resume. Jeddah is no longer a destination and it will be permanently removed. From July, it plans to reduce the number of flights to Dubai, Doha, and Tel Aviv from two daily flights to just one. Riyadh will be reduced from two daily flights down to just one starting in mid-May. The changes will apply until the end of the summer season on October 24. One Dubai service will restart on October 16. Iberia Express, the Spanish low-cost carrier of IAG, has cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until May 31. JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines has suspended its scheduled Tokyo-Doha and Doha-Tokyo flight until May 31, and Doha-Tokyo until June 1. LOT, the Polish airline, has suspended its flights to Tel Aviv up until May 31. The airline also cancelled flights from March 31 through May 30 to Beirut and Riyadh. LOT will operate its winter route from Dubai to Riyadh in October. LUFTHANSA GROUP Lufthansa has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Dubai until July 11 and Swiss, Austrian Airlines Brussels Airlines, and Edelweiss until May 31. Amman, Beirut Dammam Riyadh Erbil Muscat and Tehran flights are suspended until 24 October. Eurowings, a low-cost airline, has suspended flights from Tel Aviv to June 22, Beirut to June 12, Erbil to June 22, Dubai to Abu Dhabi and Amman to October 24. ITA Airways has extended the suspension of flights from Tel?Aviv to Riyadh, Dubai and Riyadh until May 31. MALAYSIA Airlines will resume limited service to Doha on June 2. NORWEGIAN AIR Low-cost airline, AirAsia, has delayed the launch of its Tel Aviv and Beirut services until June 15, 2019. PEGASUS Pegasus Airlines, Turkey's national airline, has cancelled all flights to Iran, Iraq, Amman Beirut Kuwait, Bahrain Doha Dammam Riyadh Dubai Abu Dhabi Sharjah and Abu Dhabi until June 1. QANTAS, Australia's flag-carrier, is increasing flights to Rome and Paris in response to a surge in demand for European destinations. The number of flights to Paris is increasing to five return flight?per week, up from three. Perth-Singapore will also increase from daily service to ten a week. A new schedule will be implemented gradually for flights starting in mid-April. It will run until late July. QATAR AIRWAYS It said that it would resume passenger flights from Baghdad to Basra, Erbil and Baghdad airports in Iraq on May 10. The airline said that it will expand its international flight network from June 16 to more than 150 destinations. ROYAL MAROC The Moroccan airline said that flights to Doha and Dubai were cancelled until the end of June. SINGAPORE Airlines In response to increased demand, the carrier has extended its Singapore-Dubai suspension until May 31 and added services on the Singapore-London Gatwick route from late March until 24 October. SunExpress, Turkish Airlines joint venture with Lufthansa has cancelled flights from Dubai to June 7. WIZZ AIR Low-cost carrier suspends flights from Europe to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman until mid-September. All flights to Medina are suspended indefinitely. (Compiled by Josephine Mason and Jamie Freed. Elviira Lioma, Tiago Branao, Agnieszka Oenska, Bernadette HOG, BoleslawLASOCKI, Romolo TOSIANI. Rod Nickel, Lisa Shumaker Jonathan Ananda Matt Scuffham, Alexander Smith and Rod Nickel edited the book.
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US and Gulf Arab nations draft a new UN resolution on Strait of Hormuz
The United States is drafting with?Gulf Arab countries a 'U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn?Iran's blocking of?the Strait?of Hormuz?as a response to?an U.S. Mike Waltz, the U.S. Ambassador to U.N. said Monday. Waltz stated that negotiations on the resolution will be held this week. This follows the blocking of a resolution by permanent Security Council members Russia, and China last month. Washington had hoped the resolution would galvanize international efforts to restore the freedom of navigation along the waterway. Key Details The United States is co-drafting the new resolution with?Bahrain, and has input from?Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Waltz, who spoke to reporters during a press briefing, said that the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are contributing their inputs in the co-drafting of the new resolution. * The resolution will require Iran to stop attacking merchant shipping and attempting to impose tolls in the strait. It will also demand that 'Iran cease placing sea mines, and reveal the locations of mines. Waltz claims that the draft resolution is "narrower" than the failed previous?resolution, and is being drafted while there is a 'ceasefire' with Iran. He said that the focus of this resolution is on?mining of international waterways, and on 'tolling', both of which are detrimental to all economies, but particularly those of Asia. (Reporting and editing by Cynthia Osterman; Simon Lewis)
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SAC begins sale of controlling interest in Sicily's Catania Airport
SAC, the operator of Sicily’s Catania Airport, announced?on Monday that it had?launched a?process for selling a stake of?at least 51% of the company. Catania, Sicily's principal airport, is Italy's fifth-busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic. SAC, owned by local authorities and chambers, operates the airport under a concession that runs until 2049. SAC manages Comiso Airport?in southern Sicily. SAC stated in a press release that bidders are required to submit their?offers? by June?3. Since 2022, the privatisation of Catania Airport has been planned. Italian investment bank Mediobanca is the adviser appointed to guide the sale process. Sources told? ?in October. The sources said at the time that ADQ, Abu?Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, had also?emerged? as a possible suitor. Two people who are familiar with the situation also said that Italian infrastructure fund F2i and infrastructure?firm Mundys could be bidders. Reporting by Gianluca Smeraro, Elvira pollin and Susan Fenton.
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Wall St. falls as Middle East tensions cause new jitters
Wall Street's major indexes fell on Monday as conflicting reports about a U.S. Warship near the Strait of Hormuz exacerbated tensions in the Middle East and dampened the?optimism of the previous week's earnings. Tehran claimed that it had forced a U.S. Warship to turn around 'after it attempted to enter the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency reported that two missiles hit the warship. However, the United States has denied this report. The United Arab Emirates said that it also intercepted 3 missiles fired by Iran over its territorial water, and a 4th one crashed into the sea. Investors paused after a strong week of earnings to assess the aggressive rhetoric from Washington and Tehran, and the potential for a new escalation. Oil prices remain high, and the?conflict is now in its third monthly. This has continued to exacerbate the effects of this conflict on global economic growth. Brent crude futures jumped 5.4% on Sunday and are now trading at $114 per barrel. The longer oil prices remain above $100 per barrel, the more fiscal stimulus provided by the tax cuts that were passed in 2025 will act as a shock-absorber, said Brock Weimer. At 12:01 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 429.90 points or 0.87% to 49,069.37. The S&P 500 shed 32.63?points or 0.45% to 7,197.49. At 12:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 429.90?points or 0.87% to 49,069.37. The S&P 500 lost 32.63 points or 0.45% to 7,197.49. And the Nasdaq Composite fell 101.96?points or 0.41% to 25,012.49. Weimer stated that after a 10% increase in the S&P?500 index in April, a consolidation period is?reasonable? and that the pace of growth may slow down in the coming weeks. Ten of the eleven main S&P sectors were in red. The CBOE Volatility Index (Wall Street's "fear indicator") was up 1.44 at 18.39. The markets are also preparing for a historically lower six-month period for stocks, starting in May. According to Fidelity data, from 1945 to April 2026 the S&P 500 gained on average about 2% between May and October. This compares to an average gain of 7% between November and April. Adam Turnquist is chief technical strategist for LPL Financial. He said that seasonal patterns are useful in the past, but not always reliable indicators of what's to come. "An ease in tensions in the Middle East, and a drop in oil prices could provide ongoing support for stocks, especially if earnings are resilient." Berkshire Hathaway announced on Saturday that they were a net seller of stocks for the fourteenth consecutive quarter. Conglomerate is often seen as a bellwether for the U.S. economic climate. Its insights into market conditions and valuations are closely monitored. GameStop shares fell 8.5%, while eBay's rose 5.8%. This is after the video game retailer announced a proposal for a cash and stock deal worth $56 billion. Shares in logistics firms FedEx and United Parcel Service dropped nearly 10% after Amazon.com announced on Monday that it would be rolling out "Amazon Supply Chain Services", allowing other businesses to access its logistics network. The pair lowered the Dow Jones Transportation Average to its lowest level in almost a month, 4.3%. Norwegian Cruise Lines dropped by 8.5% after reducing its annual forecast because of higher fuel prices. On the NYSE, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1.98 to 1 and 1.29 to 1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 recorded 26 new 52-week lows and 17 highs, while Nasdaq Composite registered 111 highs and 50 lows. (Reporting and editing by Arun K. Koyyur, Pooja D. Desai and Utkarsh H. Hathi from Bengaluru)
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UAE claims it intercepted Iran's missiles after drone attack on Fujairah Oil Zone
Authorities said that a fire broke out in a?major UAE zone of the oil industry on Monday following a?drone attack from Iran. The Gulf?state's?military intercepted separately three?Iranian?missiles over its?waters?and a forth crashed into the ocean. The Fujairah Media Office released a statement saying that civil defence teams were immediately deployed to contain the fire at the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. Three Indian citizens were also moderately injured and were taken to hospital. The UAE defence minister said on X, that their forces intercepted 3 missiles. A fourth fell into the sea. Iranian news agencies reported that the Revolutionary Guards Navy of Iran released a map which'showed the expansion of areas under Iranian Control near the Strait of Hormuz. This included the UAE ports of Khorfakkan and Fujairah, as well as coast of the Umm al?Quwain Emirate. The drone attacks have shattered the relative calm that had been prevailing in the UAE after a ceasefire mediated by Pakistan between Washington and Tehran was implemented on 8 April, pausing over two months of intense combat in the Gulf Region. The UAE claimed that during the intense conflict it intercepted thousands of missiles and drones. UAE authorities issued alerts on mobile phones in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Monday warning of the possibility of missile attacks. The?energy infrastructure of Fujairah has been targeted before. On March 14, a drone had struck the Port of Fujairah causing fires and suspending some oil loading operations. Fujairah was crucial to UAE oil exports in the Iran War as it is located at the end of Abu 'Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline which transports?crude oil from inland fields directly into the Gulf of Oman without having to go through the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE has been able to ship oil to the global market even though the waterway was under threat. (Reporting and editing by Alexander Smith; Bureaus)
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UKMTO receives a report of a fire on a cargo vessel 36 nautical mile north of Dubai
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, (UKMTO),?said Monday that it received a report about a 'cargo vessel' incident which occurred 36?nautical -miles north of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. UKMTO's advisory note stated that the vessel reported an engine room fire, whose cause was not immediately determined. It also noted that all crew members were safe andaccounted for. UKMTO reported that it received a second report about a?another incident' 14 nautical miles west from Mina Saqr in the United Arab Emirates. UKMTO was notified by a third party that "a vessel was on fire." The cause of the fire is not known at this time. It?added that no environmental impact had been reported. On Monday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accused Iran of using drones to attack an empty crude-oil tanker owned by the Abu Dhabi State Oil Company ADNOC as it attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz. UKTMO warned Monday that maritime security threats in the Strait of Hormuz remain critical due to regional military operations. The U.S. urged vessels to "coordinate" with Omani authorities on VHF channel 16, and to "consider" routing through the 'Omani territorial waters to the south of the traffic-separation scheme where it has set up an enhanced security zone. Since the U.S. began its attack on Iran in February, Iran has prohibited most non-Iranian vessels from entering and leaving?the Gulf. Tehran has threatened 'to attack unauthorised vessels that 'transit the Strait of Hormuz. This is a conduit used for about a fifth of all oil and gas shipping in the world. Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly, Hatem Maher and Susan Fenton
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Think tank: High oil prices will not save Russian growth
A think tank near the government stated on Monday that high?global oil?prices will not boost Russian economic growth in this year, as new sanctions from the West and drone attacks by Ukraine weigh on crude output and exports. TsMAKP, an influential think tank, has lowered its forecast of gross domestic product growth. The pressures have led to lower than expected outputs for Russia's primary export commodity by 2026. Many analysts had predicted that Russia would benefit from the increase in oil prices after the U.S., Israel and Iran attacks and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The forecast for Russian oil exports and petroleum products in 2026-2029 was revised to the?downward. In this year's exports, Russia will likely be down on 2025, TsMAKP analysts stated in a report, without divulging the actual numbers due to confidentiality. In updating the external conditions of the baseline scenario for?Russia's Socio-Economic Development, the main considerations were the risks of decreased production and, therefore, exports from Russia of hydrocarbons due to new attacks against port infrastructure and oil refining. Only one month earlier, they had cut their GDP growth predictions for this year from 0.9% to 1.3% to 0.5% and 0.7%. Officially, the government predicts growth at 1.3%. However, officials have stated that this number is optimistic and will be revised. Later this month, new government forecasts will be released. The Russian economy shrank by 0.3% during the first quarter of this year, marking its first quarterly decline since early 2023. Last month, President Vladimir Putin asked his top officials to come up new ideas to boost the economy. According to a report published last month, Russia had to cut oil production in April due to drone attacks by Ukraine on ports and refineries as well as the halting of crude oil supplies via the only remaining Russian pipeline into Europe. Last week, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov announced that the state budget'received windfall oil revenue of 200 billion roubles thanks to higher oil price. He claimed that the windfall oil revenues made up for the shortfall of the previous two month. (Reporting and writing by Darya Kosunskaya, Editing by Andrew Heavens).
Admiral: US destroys six Iranian small vessels, shoots down drones and missiles
U.S. military said Monday that it had destroyed six Iranian small boats, intercepted Iranian drones and cruise missiles fired by Tehran and launched an operation to 'free up shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper declined to say whether he believed the ceasefire that began on April 8 was still in effect. He acknowledged that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) aims to "interfere with" President Donald Trump’s efforts to open up the vital waterway for commercial traffic.
The IRGC launched drones and small boats as well as cruise missiles at the ships that we are protecting. He said that defensive munitions had been used to defeat each of these threats.
Cooper stated that he had "strongly advised' the Iranian forces to keep a safe distance from U.S. military assets as they launched this operation. He said it involved 15,000 U.S. soldiers, U.S. Navy Destroyers, more than 100 aircraft, both land and sea-based, and undersea resources.
He said that the U.S. commanders on the ground have all the authority necessary to protect their units, and to "defend" commercial shipping.
Cooper, when asked if the U.S. Military escorted ships, said that there was no traditional escort but rather a multi-layered, larger defensive arrangement which included ships, aircrafts, helicopters and 'electronic warfare' to defend against Iranian threats.
"If you are escorting the ship, it's like playing one-on-one. He said, "I think we have a better defensive arrangement with this process." "We have much more defensive options than you could have had if you were just escorting."
Cooper stated that a "U.S. Cooper said a?U.S.
(source: Reuters)