U.S. stocks began trading lower after reports of an Iranian attack on a patrol ship

US stocks opened the main session on May 4 with a slight decline. Market uncertainty increased after contradictory reports that Iran allegedly forced a U.S. patrol ship to turn around near the Strait of Hormuz by launching missiles at it. The U.S. denied this statement.

- The blue-chip index Dow Jones Industrial Average fell the most at the beginning of trading - it was losing 0.4%.

- The S&P 500 broad market index was down 0.2 percent.

- The Nasdaq Composite Technology Sector Index was losing less than 0.1 percent.

- In London, meanwhile, Brent crude was adding 1.7% at $110.03 a barrel.

Iran's navy said on Ma. 4 that it had prevented "enemy warships" from entering the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters quoted the country's state television as saying. Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that a U.S. warship was hit by two missiles while passing near the port of Jask - the southern entrance to the Strait of Hormuz - and was forced to abandon its attempt to pass through it.

In turn, the U.S. Central Command, part of the Pentagon, said no U.S. ships were attacked.

The incident came hours after Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would, starting on Ma. 4, help neutral countries' merchant ships get out of the Persian Gulf, where they were blocked because of the war. The operation will be humanitarian in nature and called Project Freedom, Trump said.

The initiative involves the creation of a mechanism for countries, insurance companies and shipping organizations to coordinate the movement of ships through the strait, a high-ranking source explained to The Wall Street Journal. There are no plans to escort commercial ships with U.S. Navy ships, he said.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor