U.S. stock markets were mostly down on Monday, though the Dow actually ended the day slightly in the green. By the New York close, it stood at 45,216 points-a gain of 0.1 percent from the previous trading day. A few minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 was down about 0.4 percent at roughly 6,345 points, and the technology‑focused Nasdaq was down around 0.8 percent at about 22,955 points.
At the market open there was a spark of optimism on Wall Street after President Donald Trump’s recent comments about the Iran conflict. Trump said that negotiations to end the war in the Middle East were making good progress. However, analysts immediately cautioned that the truth of those statements was hard to verify, and investors in New York seemed to grow increasingly skeptical as the day unfolded.
The euro slipped on Monday evening, trading at $1.1459 per unit, meaning one U.S. dollar was worth €0.8727.
Gold moved higher: by the evening, one fine ounce fetched $4,510, up 0.4 percent. That is €126.53 per gram.
Oil rose noticeably as well. At about 10 p.m. German time on Monday, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude was priced at $113.80-1.1 percent above its close the previous trading day.