Major US defence stocks such as Lockheed Martin Corp., General Dynamics Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. opened in the red on Thursday.
As of 11 a.m. EST, Lockheed Martin traded over 1% lower at $657.07, Northrop Grumman plunged over 2% to trade at $737.81, and General Dynamics traded 1.8% lower at $359.28.
Other defense stocks like Boeing Co., Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc., and Howmet Aerospace Inc. also fell sharply.
Boeing traded nearly 3% lower at $221.06, Kratos plunged nearly 5% to trade at $84.80 and Howmet traded 2.4% lower at $253.84.
US defence stocks have been whiplashing ever since Washington's armed conflict with Iran began. In the initial days, Wall Street investors' showed faith in the defence sector, which fuelled a winning streak. While Lockheed and Northrop extended Wednesday's losses, General Dynamics slipped to red.
On Wednesday Lockheed ended 0.5% lower at $664.48, Northrop closed 0.69% lower at $753.84, whereas General Dynamics settled 0.4% higher at $366.12.
News of Iran agreeing to "abandon" their nuclear programme if US presented "satisfactory" alternative had aided global market sentiment early on Thurday. However, dismissal of these claims after being fact-checked rattled the markets worldwide.
The US defence forces have taken hits from Iranian forces, with six confirmed soldier deaths so far. In a statement on Monday, US Joint Chief of Staff General Dan Caine had said that he expects additional losses from the conflict.
Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 1.74% lower at 47,891.67, slumping over 800 points, S&P 500 traded 0.87% lower at 6,813.79, and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite traded 0.5% lower at 22,695.93.
ALSO READ: S&P 500, Nasdaq Back In Red; Dow Jones Plunges As Iran Crisis Deepens
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