NEW YORK, New York - Ramblings from U.S. President Donald Trump over on-again, off-again, negotiations with Iran over a deal to end the war rattled investors on Thursday. Oil prices surged adding to the uncertainty.

Meantime the OECD in its interim March report says the world economy is facing headwinds over the ramifications of the war, adding that inflation is expeted to turn higher. The UK in particular is likely to experience significantly higher inflation, revised upwards form 2.5 percent to 4 percent.

"The energy supply shock from the evolving conflict in the Middle East is testing the resilience of the global economy. We project global growth will remain robust, but it will be slower than the pre-conflict trajectory, with significantly higher inflation," OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in a statement Thursday. 

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell by 114.74 points, or 1.74 percent, closing at 6,477.16 Thursday. The broad-market index traded between a low of 6,473.79 and a high of 6,573.22 during the session. Volume on the index reached 2.977 billion, as the benchmark continues to trade below its 52-week high of 7,002.28.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a more modest drop compared to the other major indexes, shedding 469.38 points to end the day at 45,960.11, a loss of 1.01 percent. The Dow fluctuated between 45,910.75 and 46,547.59 throughout the day. The index remains within its 52-week range of 36,611.78 to 50,512.79.

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was the hardest hit, plunging 521.75 points to settle at 21,408.08. The decline represented a sharp drop of 2.38 percent, reflecting significant weakness in large-cap technology and growth stocks. Trading volume for the composite reached 6.331 billion.

U.S. Dollar Takes Lead again as Yen Weakens Thursday; Commodity Currencies Slide

The U.S. dollar put in a stroing performance in global foreign exchange trading on Thursday, gaining ground against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc while also moving higher against the euro and the British pound. Commodity-linked currencies, including the Australian and New Zealand dollars, were among the session's biggest losers.

The euro fell against the greenback, with the EUR/USD pair diving to 1.1522, a loss of 0.31 percent.

The dollar advanced against the Japanese yen, with USD/JPY climbing to 159.82, up 0.23 percent. The pair remained elevated as the Bank of Japan maintained its ultra-loose monetary policy stance, widening the interest-rate differential with the United States.

The US dollar also pushed higher against the Canadian dollar, with USD/CAD trading at 1.3854, an increase of 0.32 percent. 

Sterling slipped against the dollar Thursday, with GBP/USD falling to 1.3315, a decline of 0.36 percent, as investors digested downbeat UK retail sales data that fueled expectations of an earlier interest-rate cut by the Bank of England.

The Swiss franc weakened against the dollar, with USD/CHF rising to 0.7956, a gain of 0.60 percent, reflecting broad dollar strength in the European session.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars were the worst performers of the major currencies. The AUD/USD pair dropped to 0.6880, tumbling 0.95 percent, while NZD/USD fell to 0.5754, losing 0.87 percent. Both currencies were pressured by falling commodity prices and risk-off sentiment across global markets.

Global Markets Close Mixed Amid Broad Sell-Off Thursday; South Korea Plunges While India Rallies

Global stock markets closed with a predominantly negative tone on Thursday, as investors grappled with a mix of geopolitical tensions and shifting monetary policy expectations. While most major indices in Canada, the UK, Europe and Asia finished in the red, India's benchmark Sensex stood out with a sharp rally, and New Zealand's market also managed to eke out gains.

Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index also finished the day in negative territory. The index fell by 495.08 points to close at 31,887.52, a loss of 1.53 percent, on volume of 300.127 million.

In the UK and Europe, selling pressure was widespread. The FTSE 100 in London fell 134.67 points, or 1.33 percent, to settle at 9,972.17. Germany's DAX P performed similarly, dropping 344.11 points to close at 22,612.97, a decline of 1.50 percent. In France the CAC 40 was off by 77.24 points, finishing the session at 7,769.31 for a loss of 0.98 percent.

The broader European indices also saw red. The EURO STOXX 50 I declined by 83.40 points, ending at 5,565.93, a decrease of 1.48 percent, while the Euronext 100 Index slid 19.45 points to 1,721.79, down 1.12 percent. Belgium's BEL 20 index closed at 5,006.12, losing 46.85 points, or 0.93 percent.

Asia-Pacific markets reflected a similar trend of caution, though with notable outliers. Mainland China's SSE Composite Index ended the day at 3,889.08, a decline of 42.75 points, or 1.09 percent, on volume of 1.468 billion shares.

In Hong Kong Thursday, the HANG SENG INDEX dropped sharply, shedding 479.52 points to finish at 24,856.43, a loss of 1.89 percent. In Southeast Asia, the STI Index in Singapore fell 16.78 points to 4,887.76, down 0.34 percent, while Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI slipped 5.79 points to 1,710.89, also a decline of 0.34 percent.

Australian markets edged lower, with the S&P/ASX 200 losing 8.60 points to close at 8,525.70 (0.10 percent) and the broader ALL ORDINARIES index falling 18.80 points to 8,726.50 (0.21 percent).

The most dramatic move of the session on Thursday came from South Korea, where the KOSPI Composite Index plunged 181.75 points, or 3.22 percent, to end at 5,460.46. Conversely, India's S&P BSE SENSEX defied the regional trend, surging 1,205.00 points to close at 75,273.45, a robust gain of 1.63 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE fell 138.03 points (1.89 percent) to 7,164.09, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS posted a modest gain, rising 47.69 points to 12,976.99, an increase of 0.37 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed slightly lower, dropping 145.97 points (0.27 percent) to 53,603.65, and Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index fell 101.49 points (0.30 percent) to 33,337.62.

In the Middle East and African markets, Israel's TA-125 slipped 36.98 points (0.88 percent) to 4,168.64. Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index closed at 47,001.90, down 496.00 points (1.04 percent), while South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index fell 143.12 points to 6,615.69, a loss of 2.12 percent. 

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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