The US stock market closed lower on Friday after recording mixed readings yesterday.
The situation occurred when investors' attention was focused on the publication of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index data, which is the Federal Reserve's (Fed) preferred inflation gauge.
The data is scheduled to be published at 8:30 tonight.
In terms of the performance of the major indices, the S&P 500 fell 1.52%, the Dow Jones fell 1.56% and the Nasdaq Composite plunged 1.78%.
All three major indices closed at their lowest levels since November last year.
Eight of the 11 S&P 500 sectors including the industrials, consumer discretionary and health sectors ended lower.
The fall also occurred following a surge in global oil prices after Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed to ensure the Strait of Hormuz was completely closed.
In response to the ongoing US and Israeli attacks on Iran, Tehran is now escalating attacks on US shipping assets.
