NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were sold off Thursday, as U.S. President Donald Trump kept the world dangling, as to whether he intends to carry out another attack against Iran, even though the U.S. intelligence community confirms Iran is not developing, or on the road to developing, nuclear weapons. Mr Trump however is regularly briefed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has a different view, which is the one the U.S,. president prefers.

Regardless talks are underway between the U.S. and Iran although their real purpose is more likely for the president to demonstrate he engaged in talks but Iran was not willing to cooperate, to justify an attack.

"So now we may have to take it a step further, or we may not," Mr Trump told members of his Board of Peace at its inaugural meeting on Thursday. "Maybe we're going to make a deal. You're going to be finding out over the next probably 10 days," he said.

The Standard and Poor's 500 dipped 19.42 points, or 0.28 percent, to settle at 6,861.89, with trading volume reaching 2.848 billion shares. The index remains within striking distance of its recent highs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed relative to the broader market, falling 267.50 points to close at 49,395.16. The blue-chip index's decline of 0.54 percent was driven by losses in industrial and financial components. Despite the drop, trading activity was notably high, with 427.293 million shares changing hands.

Tech stocks also faced selling pressure. The NASDAQ Composite declined by 70.91 points, finishing the session at 22,682.73. The tech-heavy index recorded the heaviest trading volume of the day at 5.711 billion shares, representing a loss of 0.31 percent.

U.S. Dollar Mixed Against Majors Thursday 

The U.S. dollar presented a stronger performance in global foreign exchange trading on Thursday, gaining ground against the euro, British pound, Swiss france but dipping against commodity currencies.

Euro and Pound Struggle
The euro traded lower against the greenback, with the EURUSD pair slipping 0.13 percent to settle at 1.1767. The British pound also saw declines; GBPUSD fell by 0.26 percent to trade at 1.3457 by the close of the session.

Swiss Franc and Yen Slide
In a move non-typical of risk-off sentiment, the Swiss franc felld against the dollar. The USDCHF pair rose 0.32 percent to 0.7754, meaning more francs were needed to buy one dollar. The dollar also managed to gain ground against the Japanese yen. The USDJPY pair firmed 0.21 percent to 155.09, indicating a weaker yen.

Commodity Currencies Find Support
The Australian and New Zealand dollars both posted gains against the U.S. dollar. The AUDUSD pair climbed 0.16 percent to reach 0.7053, while the NZDUSD pair increased by 0.12 percent to trade at 0.5970.

The Canadian dollar held nearly flat but in positive territory against its U.S. counterpart. The USDCAD pair edged down by a marginal 0.01 percent to 1.3693, signaling a tiny appreciation for the loonie.

Overall, currency markets remained range-bound as traders remained on edge as to a potential attack by the U.S. and Israel against Iran. 

Global Stock Markets End Mixed on Thursday; KOSPI Surges While Egyptian Exchange Slumps

Global stock markets presented a mixed picture on Thursday, with major indices in Europe closing in the red while several Asian benchmarks, and Canaian markets posted solid gains. Trading volumes were varied as investors weighed regional economic data and corporate earnings.

Canadian Market Bucks the Trend
In contrast to its southern neighbors, Canada's benchmark index posted solid gains. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose by 205.25 points to close at 33,594.98, a gain of 0.61 percent. The move was supported by strength in energy and materials sectors, as rising commodity prices buoyed investor sentiment. Volume on the TSX reached 284.64 million shares.

London's FTSE 100 Dips 
In London, the FTSE 100 declined by 59.14 points, closing at 10,627.04, a drop of 0.55 percent. France's CAC 40 also edged lower, losing 30.25 points, or 0.36 percent, to finish at 8,398.78.

European Markets Drift Lower
European bourses ended the session lower, weighed down by losses in the automobile and financial sectors. The pan-European EURO STOXX 50 Index fell by 43.75 points, or 0.72 percent, to settle at 6,059.62. 

Germany's DAX saw a more pronounced decline, tumbling 234.64 points to end at 25,043.57, a loss of 0.93 percent. The broader Euronext 100 Index slipped 7.92 points (0.43 percent) to 1,813.81, while Belgium's BEL 20 closed at 5,664.43, down 13.40 points, or 0.24 percent.

Asian Benchmarks See Green
In contrast to Europe, markets across Asia-Pacific mostly finished higher. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 advanced, adding 323.99 points to close at 57,467.83, a gain of 0.57 percent. Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX also rose, climbing 138.82 points, or 0.52 percent, to end the day at 26,705.94.

Singapore's STI Index posted a strong performance, jumping 62.98 points to finish at 5,001.56, an increase of 1.28 percent. Australian markets followed suit, with the S&P/ASX 200 rising 79.20 points (0.88 percent) to 9,086.20, and the broader ALL ORDINARIES index gaining 77.90 points (0.84 percent) to close at 9,316.60.

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index was the standout performer of the day, soaring 170.24 points, a massive gain of 3.09 percent, to close at 5,677.25. Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index also had a strong session, rallying 532.71 points, or 1.61 percent, to finish at 33,605.71. Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 10.85 points to end at 1,752.11, a gain of 0.62 percent, while New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX climbed 197.18 points (1.49 percent) to 13,444.20.

Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE bucked the regional trend, edging lower by 36.15 points to 8,274.08, a loss of 0.43 percent. Mainland China's SSE Composite Index also finished in the red, dropping 51.95 points, or 1.26 percent, to 4,082.07.

Mixed Results in India and the Middle East
India's S&P BSE SENSEX was one of the biggest decliners globally, plunging 1,236.11 points to close at 82,498.14, a steep loss of 1.48 percent. In the Middle East, Israel's TA-125 index fell 29.51 points, or 0.70 percent, ending at 4,173.00.

The EGX 30 Price Return Index in Egypt suffered the heaviest losses of the day, tumbling 1,554.60 points to settle at 50,667.70. The drop represents a significant decline of 2.98 percent on trading volume of 344.597 million.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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