Dow ends day in correction territory
And finally, the US’s Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen into a correction as investors’ worries about the Iran war mount.
The DJIA has ended the day down 1.7%, or 792 points, at 45,167 points.
That’s more than 10% below its record high in February, of 50,512 points, putting the Dow into an official correction.
Closing summary
Time for a recap…
Wall Street has hit a six-month low as the Middle East war weighs on investor sentiment at the New York stock exchange.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have both dropped to their lowest levels since September, sparking speculation that Donald Trump had ‘lost his grip’ on markets.
Oil has risen again, with Brent crude up 3.4% at $111.68 a barrel, as traders shrug off Trump’s 10-day extension for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz.
The Middle East conflict has also hit US consumer confidence this month.
UK government borrowing costs have risen above 5% amid an intensifying global bond market sell-off fuelled by the Iran war.
The yield – or interest rate – on 10-year debt hit its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis, rising 13 basis points to 5.081%, as investors acted on concerns about the economic fallout from the conflict.
The boss of Asda has warned of “temporary shortages’” at petrol pumps as supplies are squeezed by the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up average UK petrol prices to above 150p a litre.
Fewer cars rolled off UK production lines in February in what the industry called an “extremely worrying” slump even before the impact of the Iran war was felt.
Vehicle production was 17% lower last month on the same period in 2025, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, as exports dropped sharply.
The UK competition watchdog has launched investigations into five companies including Autotrader and Just Eat over concerns they have not done enough to tackle fake and misleading online reviews.
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