Major US stock indices dropped on Thursday, as crude oil prices gained amid uncertainty over de-escalation in the Middle East conflict.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 84.8 points, or 0.18%, to 46,344.64. The S&P 500 fell 36.0 points, or 0.55%, to 6,555.86​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 236.7 points, or 1.08%, to 21,693.175.

US President Donald Trump has cautioned Iran to begin peace negotiations “before it is too late,” yet Tehran openly dismissed American proposals.

Continuous strikes persist on both sides, with Israel asserting it eliminated the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ naval forces.

Brent North Sea crude, the international benchmark jumped 4.4% to $106.67 per barrel on Thursday morning, while the main US oil contract, West Texas Intermediate, rose 3.9% to $93.81.

“Hearing a lot of different things come out, you have the market trying to figure out exactly what’s going on. We’re watching oil prices … We’re still a little bit cautious there because some of the downside scenarios aren’t good for the global economy,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone, according to Reuters.

“But overall if we can get a quick resolution of this thing, the backdrop for another good year in the market is there with some of the fundamentals and growth numbers we’re seeing,” added Herr.

Key Stock Movers

Chip stocks were hit hard on Thursday after Google parent Alphabet unveiled its new research showed more efficient ways to use AI-related storage.

Shares of Micron Technology lost 3.2%, with Western Digital falling 2.7% and Sandisk slipping 4.7%.