At 9:37 am Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 342.51 points, or 0.90 percent, to 38,325.75. The S&P 500 had gained 36.24 points, or 0.71 percent, to 5,159.65, while the Nasdaq Composite had gained 69.03 points, or 0.43 percent, to 16,244.12 at the same early hour.
Following a suspected Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Syria on April 1, which resulted in the deaths of senior Revolutionary Guard leaders, Iran launched the attack.
Positive economic statistics also helped to elevate investor mood. According to a survey, retail sales in the US increased by 0.7% in March. Late on Friday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury increased to 4.65% from 4.52%. Goldman Sachs had a 3.8% increase after revealing higher profits. Following the release of its first-quarter earnings report, M&T Bank saw a 5.9% increase in shares. Defense stock prices increased by 1.1% to 1.5%, including those of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and RTX Corp.
Britain’s FTSE 100 increased by less than 0.1% to 7,999.51 in Europe. The CAC 40 for France increased 1.2% to 8,107.97. The DAX in Germany increased 1.3% to 18,158.40. The Euro Stoxx 50 increased by 1.3% to 5,021.60. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7% to 16,600.46 on Asian stock markets. The Shanghai Composite of China increased 1.3% to 3,057.38. The Nikkei 225 of Japan fell 0.7% to 39,232.80.
Crude oil prices
By 1335 GMT, June delivery Brent futures had dropped 81 cents, or around 0.9 percent, to $89.64 per barrel, while May delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures had down 69 cents to $84.97.
Bullion: Gold prices
As of 10:31 GMT, spot gold was up 0.3% at $2,349.67 an ounce. US gold futures dropped by 0.3% to $2,366.10.
