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Major stock indices on Wall Street opened lower this Friday as the ongoing Middle East conflict persisted, even as the United States deferred its timeline for potential strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.9 points, or 0.12%, to 45,904.25. The S&P 500 fell 23.3 points, or 0.36%, to 6,453.89​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 120.9 points, or 0.56%, to 21,287.187.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump pushed back a self-imposed deadline to "obliterate" Iran’s power facilities to April 6, contingent on Tehran permitting oil tankers to resume passage from the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to open waters.

Despite this second delay announced by Trump within the week, hostilities in the region showed no signs of abating.

Iran indicated no intention of retreating, while Israel issued threats to "escalate and expand" its military operations against Iranian targets.

“Any further statements by Trump about a deal are white noise to the markets,” Jim Bianco, president and macro strategist at Bianco Research, wrote in a social media post.

“Only if the IRANIANS say the talks are going well will it impact markets,” Bianco added.

Crude oil prices experienced a brief dip following Trump’s remarks but soon resumed their upward trajectory due to enduring fears that the conflict will cause long-term disruptions to the production and shipment of oil and natural gas across the Persian Gulf.

The price of Brent crude increased by 2.2% to $104.15 per barrel, a significant jump from the roughly $70 recorded before the outbreak of war. Meanwhile, benchmark U.S. crude climbed 3% to reach $97.28 per barrel.

In the fixed-income market, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.46%, from 4.42% on Thursday.

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