Dow Jones leads fall as Goldman slips and Trump's Iran blockade begins

9.55am: Dow Jones leads fallers as Goldman slides Wall Street opened in the red, as expected, with the Dow Jones leading the way, before losses were quickly pared. The Dow was down 0.4% and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.1% in opening trades. At the front of the fallers on the Dow is Goldman Sachs, down 4% despite earnings beating consensus forecasts. Next are Sherwin-Williams, Nvidia, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase, all down less than 1.4%. The top risers across the three main indices included Chevron, Salesforce, Albemarle, Intel, Marvell Technology and SanDisk. 8.20am: Goldman beats forecasts thanks to record stock trading Goldman Sachs has reported a second quarterly record in a row, as the war in Iran fueled market volatility and led to stronger trading. Net revenues came in at $17.23 billion, exceeding the Wall Street consensus of around $17 billion, with diluted earnings per common share of $17.55, beating the analyst consensus of around $16.40. The investment bank’s equities arm generated revenue of $5.3 billion, beating the previous record of $4.31 billion set at the end of last year. CEO David Solomon says: "We delivered a very strong performance for our shareholders this quarter, even as market conditions became more volatile. Our clients continue to depend on us for high quality execution and insights amid the broader uncertainty, and we remain confident in how we’ve positioned our businesses. The geopolitical landscape remains very complex – so disciplined risk management must remain core to how we operate." 7.45am: Wall Street futures called lower after US-Iran talks break down US futures pointed moderately lower at the start of the week, after the first round of talks between the US and Iran broke down and Donald Trump said there would be a blockade of the Persian Gulf. Futures for the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were all down around 0.5% as oil prices rebounded, drawing a lot of the attention as earnings season kicks into gear. Markets softened globally, though moves remain contained. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei ended down 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.9%, while in Europe, Germany’s DAX was down 1% and the FTSE 100 slipped 0.3%. Investor focus remains on the Middle East as talks are set to continue between the US and Iran. President Trump said the discussions "went well" but warned "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions". He said the blockade of Iran's ports and the Strait of Hormuz would begin at 10am Eastern Time. Iran criticised the plans, warning of a "harsh response" and calling restrictions on shipping "an illegal act". WTI crude leapt 7.7% to over $104 a barrel on Monday morning. Despite the tensions, there are still hopes for further negotiations, with mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkiye pushing to "bridge the gaps" ahead of a ceasefire deadline on Tuesday next week. "All parties still believe a deal is possible," a report from Axios said, with the US demanding a 20‑year freeze on nuclear enrichment and free navigation in Hormuz without tax payments. Investors will also be turning to corporate earnings, with quarterly results from 27 S&P 500 companies this week, with banks a major focus this week. This includes Goldman Sachs today; then JP Morgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Tuesday, along with Johnson & Johnson; then Morgan Stanley and Bank of America round off the major US banks on Wednesday, with ASML on the same day; and then tech earnings season sees Netflix on Thursday, along with TSMC, Pepsico, Abbott Labs, Charles Schwab and Prologis."