The index had been down as much as 2.5% in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.

The war between the U.S. and Iran is threatening to widen and jolt global energy supplies.

The index had been down as much as 2.5% in the morning because of worries that the war may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.

The U.S. stock market is holding steadier Wednesday following two days of punishing swings driven by worries about how high oil prices will go because of the war with Iran.

Sharp increases there are raising worries that a long-term spike could exhaust households’ ability to spend, grind down the global economy and push interest rates higher.

The Dow Industrials lost nearly 785 points in Thursday’s sell-off as oil prices leapt. The blue-chip index is on track for its worst week since October.