Wall Street opens slightly higher as focus shifts to US Pres. Trump's statement
- Energy shares underperform as oil prices turn south following earlier spike.
- Reports suggest there were no casualties in Iran missile attacks.
- US President Trump is expected to deliver a statement at 1600 GMT.
Wall Street's main indexes opened the day with small gains on Wednesday as investors hope for the escalation of the US-Iran conflict to come to an end. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat on the day while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were adding 0.15% and 0.05%, respectively.
Although the initial reaction to Iran firing missiles at US military bases in Iraq triggered flight-to-safety and caused US stock futures to fall sharply, reports suggesting that there were no casualties in those attacks allowed market sentiment to recover. US President Donald Trump is expected to deliver a statement on Iran at 1600 GMT.
Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, the Energy Index is down 0.6% in the early trade amid falling crude oil prices. The defensive sectors, Utilities and Real Estate, are also in the negative territory. On the other hand, rebounding Treasury bond yields help the Financials Index, which was last up 0.55% on the day, gain traction.