Brent oil shot to more than $100 per barrel on Thursday, its highest level since May, extending a five-day rally after attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea heightened concerns over global oil supply disruptions.
Houthi rebels in Yemen have widened the conflict by targeting vessels carrying Saudi oil in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi shipments, raising the prospect of disruptions at another key oil transit chokepoint alongside the Strait of Hormuz.
At the same time, sharp drops for two of Wall Street's most influential companies, Alphabet and Tesla, yanked the U.S. stock market lower.
The S&P 500 sank 1.3% and is heading toward its first back-to-back weekly loss since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 537 points, or 1%, as of 12:50 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.2% lower.
Stocks fell under the pressure of rising oil prices, which raise costs for businesses and erode their customers' ability to spend. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, jumped 7.1% to $100.74.
