Stocks fall and oil rises as Wall Street swings back to doubt about a possible end to the Iran war
BNN Bloomberg
Doubt is taking over again on Wall Street from hope about a possible end to the war with Iran, and stocks are back to sinking as oil prices rise on Thursday.
The S&P 500 fell 0.8 per cent and more than erased its gain from the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 256 points, or 0.6 per cent, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1 per cent lower.
Stock markets fell even more in much of Asia and Europe. They’re the latest flip - flops in an exhausting week that began with U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of productive talks about ending the war, which only led to Iran’s public dismissal. Iran issued its own plan for a ceasefire, which includes reparations for the war.
On Thursday, fighting continued, and Iran and the United States appeared at an impasse. Thousands more U.S. troops neared the region, while Tehran tightened its grip on the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway typically sees a fifth of the world’s oil sail through it to exit the Persian Gulf and reach customers worldwide. The secretary-general of a bloc of Gulf Arab countries said Iran is charging fees for ships to safely transit the strait.
A barrel of Brent crude oil climbed 3.9 per cent to US$101.03 as hopes dimmed for a potential return to normal for the strait. That’s up from roughly $70 before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude climbed 4.1 per cent to $94.01 per barrel.
Crude oil prices have dipped slightly amid hope for an easing of conflict in the Middle East, but remain far above prices before the United States launched its attack against Iran.
Hopes for a possible end to the war with Iran pushed stocks higher on Wall Street Wednesday, while oil prices eased.
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