Global stock futures fell sharply on Wednesday after U. S.
President Donald Trump announced at the NATO summit in Turkey that the ceasefire with Iran has ended, sparking renewed market anxieties over Middle East hostilities.
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Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 351 points, or 0.67%, by 4:30 a.
m. ET.
S&P 500 futures fell 0.44%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 0.54% following the announcement in Ankara.
In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index declined 1.46% early Wednesday.
Germany's DAX led losses by dropping 1%, as nearly all major regional bourses and sectors fell into negative territory.
The market downturn followed a series of powerful military strikes launched by the U. S.
Central Command on Tuesday evening against Iran. The strikes retaliated for recent attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Additionally, the U. S.
Treasury Department revoked a license that previously allowed Iran to globalize its oil sales.
This prompted West Texas Intermediate crude futures to jump 5.38% to $74.31 per barrel, and Brent crude to rise 5.31% to $78.10 per barrel.
The Iranian foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday condemning the military actions and asserting their geopolitical stance.
"The powerful armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as they have repeatedly shown, will not hesitate to defend Iran's territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and national security against American military aggression," the ministry said.
Responding to the escalation, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed journalists at the summit in Ankara on Wednesday to back the American military response.
