Wall Street is mixed and oil prices stabilize with war in Iran entering a fifth day
BNN Bloomberg
Wall Street futures were mixed early Wednesday while oil prices stabilized after President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy may escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 0.1 per cent before the bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2 per cent. Nasdaq futures were essentially unchanged.
Oil prices are up about 11 per cent since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran five days ago.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that he had ordered the U.S. Development Finance Corp. to provide political risk insurance and guarantees for financial security of all maritime trade.
“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” Trump said in a social media message posted by the White House.
The price of U.S. benchmark crude oil fell slightly to US$73.94 per barrel early Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 37 cents and fell to $81.03 per barrel.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about US$1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes.
The Bank of Canada will be balancing a last-minute flood of economic data with uncertainty around trade and war in the Middle East as it prepares to make its second interest rate decision of 2026 this week.
The Trump administration has expanded its trade investigations to 60 countries, including Canada, in an effort to shore up the president’s tariff policies.
Canada has committed to supplying 23.6 million barrels of oil as part of a larger International Energy Agency plan to help stabilize energy markets as the war in the Middle East continues.
Canada’s energy-heavy index may cushion stocks from oil shocks, but rising crude prices could boost inflation and pressure consumers.
Venture Global will proceed with phase 2 of its CP2 liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the company said on Friday.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Telus Corp.’s global IT and customer services arm says it’s investigating a breach of its systems.
When Jensen Huang strides onto the stage of a packed hockey arena to kick off Nvidia’s annual developer conference on Monday, he is likely to reveal products and partnerships geared toward keeping the AI chipmaker atop a growing array of competitors.
The current Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) crackdown on Canada’s growing army of gig workers has gone beyond Uber drivers, contractors, consultants, handy-people and freelancers.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said late on Thursday it had begun Section 301 unfair trade practices probes of 60 economies in relation to what it called failures to take action on forced labor.