Nasdaq dives 2.6% as U.S. and Israel gear up for more attacks on Iran

Lola Evans
23 Oct 2026, 01:33 GMT+10

The NASDAQ Composite posted the sharpest drop, plunging 694.00 points to 26,008.86, a loss of 2.60 percent.
The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 93.78 points to 7,663.39, a decline of 1.21 percent.
The NASDAQ Composite posted the sharpest drop, plunging 694.00 points to 26,008.86, a loss of 2.60 percent.

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks, other than the Dow, tumbled on Thursday, dragged down by a sell-off in technology-related shares. Oil prices surged again after reports emerged that Israel and the United States plan to resume the bombing of Iran after the midterm elections. The plunge in stocks was accompanied by a spike in demand for Treasury bonds, sending prices higher and yields lower.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 93.78 points to 7,663.39, a decline of 1.21 percent, on volume of 3.407B. The index traded between 7,637.36 and 7,702.94 during the session, against a 52-week range of 6,316.91 to 7,844.52.

The NASDAQ Composite posted the sharpest drop, plunging 694.00 points to 26,008.86, a loss of 2.60 percent, on volume of 6.768B. It traded between 25,918.09 and 26,359.41, within a 52-week range of 20,690.25 to 27,722.75.

In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 10.76 points to 52,866.85, a gain of 0.02 percent, on volume of 482.919M. The blue-chip index ranged between 52,508.38 and 52,927.88, against a 52-week range of 45,057.28 to 54,744.33.

U.S. Dollar Mixed as Euro and Aussie Slip; Yen, Pound, Loonie and Franc Gain

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against major currencies on Thursday, with the euro and Australian dollar moving lower while four other currencies strengthened against the greenback.

The euro slipped against the dollar, with EUR-USD at 1.1219, a decline of 0.12 percent.

The Australian dollar also weakened, with AUD-USD at 0.7020, down 0.13 percent.

Four currencies posted gains versus the dollar. The Japanese yen strengthened, with USD-JPY at 156.8100, a move of 0.84 percent. The British pound edged higher, with GBP-USD at 1.3400, up 0.04 percent. The Canadian dollar firmed, with USD-CAD at 1.4006, a gain of 0.29 percent. The Swiss franc also advanced, with USD-CHF at 0.8205, up 0.47 percent.

Global Stock Markets Retreat as Canadian, UK, European and Asian Stocks Close Lower; Brussels Defies the Trend

World stock markets closed mostly lower on Thursday, with steep declines across Asia and a broad sell-off in Europe, though Belgium's BEL 20 stood out as a rare bright spot.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index closed lower, shedding 351.54 points to 35,973.45, down 0.97 percent, on volume of 291.847M. It traded between 35,806.38 and 36,161.69, within a 52-week range of 29,530.90 to 37,069.10.

In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 10,725.03, down 27.85 points or 0.26 percent. The session saw a low of 10,669.39 and a high of 10,757.87, against a 52-week range of 9,423.90 to 10,989.50.

On the continent, Germany's DAX P fell 273.29 points to 25,371.75, a loss of 1.07 percent, trading between 25,318.18 and 25,563.13. The CAC 40 in Paris dropped 110.42 points to 7,811.26, down 1.39 percent, within a range of 7,791.63 to 7,859.66. The EURO STOXX 50 I slid 120.51 points to 6,087.01, a decline of 1.94 percent, after trading between 6,084.11 and 6,192.11. The Euronext 100 Index lost 30.20 points to close at 1,844.41, down 1.61 percent.

Buckling the regional trend, the BEL 20 in Brussels gained 110.70 points to 5,736.27, up 1.97 percent, with a session range of 5,586.04 to 5,756.51.

Asian markets suffered heavier losses. Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX plunged 717.19 points to 22,934.68, a drop of 3.03 percent, trading between 22,879.11 and 23,513.79. Japan's Nikkei 225 tumbled 1,713.40 points to 62,907.84, down 2.65 percent. South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index fell 201.89 points to 5,533.77, a loss of 3.52 percent. Taiwan's TSEC CAPITALIZATION WEIGHTED ST dropped 846.34 points to 46,041.43, down 1.81 percent. The SSE Composite Index in Shanghai declined 55.00 points to 3,658.03, down 1.48 percent on volume of 819.523M.

Elsewhere in the region, Singapore's STI Index slipped 22.85 points to 5,415.14, down 0.42 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 [XJO] fell 38.10 points to 8,793.20, down 0.43 percent, while the ALL ORDINARIES [XAO] lost 39.50 points to 8,917.10, down 0.44 percent. India's S&P BSE SENSEX shed 460.30 points to 73,249.39, a decline of 0.62 percent. The IDX COMPOSITE in Jakarta bucked the downward trend, adding 59.54 points to 5,387.90, up 1.12 percent. Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 5.87 points to 1,608.14, up 0.37 percent. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS edged down 14.45 points to 13,746.84, off 0.11 percent.

In the Middle East and Africa, Israel's TA-125 fell 38.36 points to 4,067.91, down 0.93 percent. Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index dropped 1,802.60 points to 51,052.30, a loss of 3.41 percent on volume of 229.367M. South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index declined 128.35 points to 6,544.22, down 1.92 percent.