US stocks fall sharply amid fears of Middle East escalation

U.S. stocks fell sharply Tuesday amid fears of a sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East, handing back some of the previous month's gains ahead of a raft of important economic data, News.Az reports citing Investing.

By 09:50 ET (13:50 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 250 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 traded 40 points, or 0.7%, lower, while NASDAQ Composite dropped 170 points, or 1%.

All three of the main averages on Wall Street advanced in both September and the third quarter, the first positive September for the S&P 500 since 2019.

The S&P 500 is now up more than 20% this year - the first time since 1997 that the benchmark index has risen 20% or more through the first nine months of the year.

News.Az