Dow Falls Over 400 Points As Reports Say 2,200 Marines Set For Middle East Arrival On Trump’s Iran Deadline Day

U.S. equities declined in Tuesday’s opening trade amid reports of thousands of U.S. marines arriving in the Middle East on the same day as President Donald Trump’s deadline for Iran is set to end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled over 400 points, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.8%.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal citing two sources familiar with the matter, nearly 2,200 U.S. Marines are slated to arrive in the Middle East this Friday. The report adds that it would take a few more days for the unit to get to the Strait of Hormuz, which has currently been shut down by Iran in response to the intensifying attacks from the U.S. and Israel.

This comes after President Trump announced on Monday that the attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure had been postponed by five days following discussions with the Middle Eastern country.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday after cooling off the previous day. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures maturing in May soared nearly 5%, rising to more than $93 per barrel. Brent crude futures maturing in June gained 4%, reclaiming the $100 per barrel level.

At the time of writing, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was down 0.41%; the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) fell 0.39%; and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) declined 1.42%. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits regarding the S&P 500 ETF was in the ‘extremely bearish’ territory.

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