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After seesawing between diplomacy and threats, the president may find it harder to knock down prices by suggesting pauses in attacks or progress in talks.
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Oil Markets Seem More Skeptical of Trump's Peace Signals The New York TimesDow closes lower as Trump comments dampen traders' hopes for Iran war ending: Live updates CNBCCharting the Global Economy: Oil Storms Higher on War Escalation bloomberg.comU.S. oil has its biggest one-day price increase in six years, driving up the cost of gas NBC News
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Gasoline prices have jumped about a dollar a gallon since the war with Iran began. And diesel prices are up even more. That's tough on truckers, fishermen, and just about everyone else.
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Middle East conflict has posed a fresh test to central banks, with fears of an oil shock and renewed inflation risks changing their bid to shore up growth.
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Stocks closed higher Wednesday as bargain hunters swooped in following a lengthy stretch of losses for the major indexes.
Today's positive price action came as the 10-year Treasury yield eased back from yesterday's two-month high, finishing down 6.7 basis points at 3.273%. A basis point is one-one hundredth of a percentage point.
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And the buying persisted even after Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said in an early afternoon speech that the central bank is "in this for as long as it takes to get inflation down." The Fed will meet later this month, with the market largely pricing in the probability of a third straight 75 basis-point rate hike.
Nearly all sectors finished higher, with utilities ( 3.1%) and consumer discretionary stocks ( 3.1%) leading the charge. The one outlier was energy, which slumped 1.2% as U.S. crude futures tumbled 5.7% to $81.94 per barrel - their lowest close since Jan. 11, according to Dow Jones Market Data - amid expectations of slowing global economic growth. "Oil's breakdown today is a bigger shot across the bow, pointing to further struggles ahead in our opinion," says Dan Wantrobski, technical strategist and associate director of research at Janney Montgomery Scott. "We believe the commodity can break below $80 from here, targeting the mid-$70s range in the weeks ahead."
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As for the major indexes, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.1% to 11,791 - snapping its seven-day losing streak, its longest one since 2016. The S&P 5
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