US: Wall Street indexes open lower as Middle East conflict continues
[NEW YORK] Wall Street's main indexes opened lower on Tuesday (Jun 17) as the Israel-Iran conflict entered its fifth day, denting global investor confidence ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming monetary policy decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 156.5 points, or 0.37 per cent, at the open to 42,358.62.
The S&P 500 fell 21.0 points, or 0.35 per cent, at the open to 6,012.15, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 74.1 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 19,627.082 at the opening bell. REUTERS
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Airlines to bring stranded Israelis back home, no outward flights
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Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Suspected Israeli hackers claim to destroy data at Iran's Bank Sepah
FILE PHOTO: A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/ File Photo An anti-Iranian government hacking group with potential ties to Israel and a track record of destructive cyberattacks on Iran claimed in social media posts on Tuesday that it had destroyed data at Iran's state-owned Bank Sepah. The group — known as Gonjeshke Darande, or 'Predatory Sparrow' — hacked the bank because they accused it of helping fund Iran's military, according to one of the messages posted online. The hack comes amid increasing hostilities between Israel and Iran, after Israel attacked multiple military and nuclear targets in Iran last week. Both sides have launched multiple missile attacks against each other in the days since. Reuters could not immediately verify the attack on Bank Sepah. The bank's website was offline on Tuesday and its London-based subsidiary, Bank Sepah International plc, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Customers were having problems accessing their accounts, according to Israeli media. Gonjeshke Darande did not respond to multiple messages sent via social media. 'Disrupting the availability of this bank's funds, or triggering a broader collapse of trust in Iranian banks, could have major impacts there,' Rob Joyce, the former top cybersecurity official at the NSA, said in a post on X. In 2022, Gonjeshke Darande claimed responsibility for a cyberattack against an Iranian steel production facility. The sophisticated attack caused a large fire at the facility, resulting in tangible, offline damage. Such attacks are usually beyond the capabilities of activist hackers, security experts say, and would be more in line with the capabilities of a nation state. The group has also been publicly linked by cybersecurity researchers to a 2021 cyberattack that caused widespread outages at gas stations across Iran. Israel has never formally acknowledged that it is behind the group, although Israeli media has widely reported Gonjeshke Darande as 'Israel-linked'. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
The Strait of Hormuz: the world's most important oil artery
The Strait of Hormuz: the world's most important oil artery Israel launched strikes against Iran on June 13, saying it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran, which has denied such intentions, has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz for traffic in retaliation to Western pressure. Experts have said that any closure of the strait could restrict trade and impact global oil prices. Below are details about the strait: The strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond. It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction. WHY DOES IT MATTER? About a fifth of the world's total oil consumption passes through the strait. Between the start of 2022 and last month, roughly 17.8 million to 20.8 million barrels of crude, condensate and fuels flowed through the strait daily, according to data from Vortexa. OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the strait, mainly to Asia. The UAE and Saudi Arabia have sought to find other routes to bypass the strait. Around 2.6 million bpd of unused capacity from existing UAE and Saudi pipelines could be available to bypass Hormuz, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in June last year. Qatar, among the world's biggest liquefied natural gas exporters, sends almost all of its LNG through the strait. Iran has threatened over the years to block the strait but has never followed through. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting commercial shipping in the area. HISTORY OF TENSIONS In 1973, Arab producers led by Saudi Arabia slapped an oil embargo on Western supporters of Israel in its war with Egypt. While Western countries were the main buyers of crude produced by the Arab countries at the time, nowadays Asia is the main buyer of OPEC's crude. The United States more than doubled its oil liquids production in the last two decades and has turned from the world's biggest oil importer into one of the top exporters. During the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, the two sides sought to disrupt each other's exports in what was called the Tanker War. In July 1988, a U.S. warship shot down an Iranian airliner, killing all 290 aboard, in what Washington said was an accident and Tehran said was a deliberate attack. In January 2012, Iran threatened to block the strait in retaliation for U.S. and European sanctions. In May 2019, four vessels - including two Saudi oil tankers - were attacked off the UAE coast, outside the Strait of Hormuz. In July 2021, an Israeli-managed oil tanker was attacked off Oman's coast, killing two crew members, with Israel blaming Iran for the incident, which Iran denied. Three vessels, two in 2023 and one in 2024, were seized by Iran near or in the Strait of Hormuz. On June 17, 2025, two oil tankers collided and caught fire, near the Strait of Hormuz, where electronic interference has surged during the conflict between Iran and Israel, but there were no injuries to crew or spillage reported. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
