Wall Street stocks have retreated early, while oil prices have pushed higher as US President Donald Trump doubled down on threats to massively bomb Iran if it doesn’t accept Washington’s war demands, AFP reports.

Stocks had risen on Monday on hopes for a ceasefire, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen 0.7 per cent to 46,368.33.

About 10 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 dropped 0.5pc to 6,576.59, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.6pc to 21,859.32.

Markets view Trump’s extreme rhetoric as a negotiating tactic, David Waddell, chief investment strategist at Waddell and Associates, says.

“The markets are taking it in stride because they’ve learned not to over-index Trump’s threats, recognising it’s probably more negotiation than reality,” Waddell adds.