NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are sinking again Monday as oil prices keep climbing because of uncertainty about when the war with Iran could end.
The S&P 500 fell 0.7% and deepened its losses since the war began to pull 9.3% below its record set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 50 points, or 0.1%, as of 3:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.
Caution was prevalent throughout financial markets. After jumping to an initial gain of 0.9%, the S&P 500 quickly erased nearly all of it before seesawing lower. Stock indexes rose in Europe but fell sharply in some Asian markets, while the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 3.3% to settle at $102.88
The mixed movements followed a whirlwind of action in the war over the weekend, including an entry into the fighting by Houthi rebels in Yemen. The main issue for investors is whether oil and natural gas can resume their full flow from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide and prevent a brutal blast of inflation.
Shortly before the U.S. stock market opened for trading Monday, President Donald Trump said on his social media network that “great progress has been made” with “A NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME to end our Military Operations in Iran.”
