[New York Stocks] Markets Open Higher Amid Iran War and FOMC Watch

Stock Market Highly Sensitive to Iran Conflict and International Oil Prices
High Probability of March FOMC Rate Freeze

New York Stock Exchange

On the 17th (local time), as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting began, the three major U.S. stock indices opened higher, closely monitoring developments after reports that Israel had eliminated Iran's security chief, Ali Larijani.

At 9:36 a.m. on this day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 437.56 points (0.93%) from the previous trading day, standing at 47,383.97. The S&P 500 index, which is focused on large-cap stocks, had risen 43.89 points (0.66%) to 6,743.27, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index was trading at 22,251.91, up 141.73 points (0.63%).

The market continues to be influenced by highly volatile international oil prices and the uncertain outlook for the Iran war. In a war situation assessment meeting, Israel's Minister of Defense stated, "Larijani and a commander of the Basij militia were eliminated overnight, and they have joined all the other members of the 'axis of evil,' including Khamenei, who have already been eliminated, in the depths of hell."

The Israeli Minister of Defense warned in a televised statement that this assassination operation would continue. He said, "I have instructed the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to continue to track down the leadership of the Iranian regime."

Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was effectively in charge of Iran's security and foreign negotiations, supporting the regime after the death of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile, international media outlets including the Financial Times (FT) reported that Iran's new Supreme Leader, Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, has rejected a U.S. proposal for de-escalation and a ceasefire that was conveyed through a third country.

At this time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is up 1.22% from the previous session, trading at $93.65, while Brent crude is up 1.06% at $101.17.

Refining stocks ExxonMobil (+0.48%) and Chevron (+0.40%) are both on the rise. Airline stocks have also rebounded sharply, with Delta up 5.04%, American Airlines up 4.39%, and United Airlines up 3.55%.

Citing CNBC, market participants attribute the continued rise in the stock market to a relatively resilient U.S. economy, subdued inflation, and solid corporate earnings.

On this, Holly Mazzocha, President of Bartlett Wealth Management, pointed out, "The risks to this growth trend are increasing," adding, "While we started the year on a fairly solid footing, the labor market in particular has weakened significantly."

She continued, "The most important question for investors now is to realistically recognize that the overall risk to continued growth has increased compared to just a few weeks ago."

Technology stocks showed mixed results. Nvidia was up 0.95%, Amazon up 0.51%, Alphabet up 0.06%, and Meta up 0.15%. On the other hand, Apple was down 0.02%, Microsoft down 0.02%, and Tesla down 0.03%.

Meanwhile, the March FOMC meeting will be held for two days from today through the 18th. The market is expecting the benchmark interest rate to remain unchanged. According to CME FedWatch, there is a 99.2% probability that the Fed will keep the current benchmark rate at 3.5-3.75% per annum.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.