By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices and stock markets worldwide swung through a shaky Monday with uncertainty about what will happen with the Iran war.
The S&P 500 swiveled between gains and losses before finishing with a dip of 0.1%, its second loss since setting an all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 159 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5% after both indexes likewise yo-yoed.
Stock prices moved in the opposite direction of oil prices, which have been twitchy because of uncertainty about how long the Iran war will keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and prevent oil tankers from delivering crude. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, went from a high of $112 overnight to below $107 in the morning before turning back higher.
After settling at $112.10 per barrel, Brent’s price then fell back below $109 after President Donald Trump said late in the day that he would hold off on a military attack on Iran planned for Tuesday, at the request of allies in the region. That kept alive hopes that a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz may still be possible.
The moves for oil prices have helped make the world’s bond markets the center of the action recently. Climbing yields there have cranked up the pressure on economies and stock markets worldwide.
Higher yields make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, which U.S. homebuyers know because of higher mortgage rates. Higher interest rates could also make it more difficult for companies to borrow to build data centers for artificial-intelligence technology, which has been driving much of the U.S. economy’s growth.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury got as high as 4.63% before falling back to 4.59%, where it was late Friday. The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond rallied toward its highest level since the late 1990s.
Yields worldwide have been climbing on fears about higher inflation caused by higher oil prices, which could push central banks not only to abandon the possibility of cutting interest rates but also consider hiking rates. Higher rates would slow inflation at the cost of hurting the economy and dragging on prices for stocks and other investments.
Several solid reports on the U.S. economy recently, along with worries about the U.S. government’s huge and growing debt problem, are also pushing upward on yields.
On Wall Street, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals dropped 9.8% to help lead the U.S. stock market lower after reporting discouraging data from a trial of a treatment for melanoma.
NextEra Energy fell 4.6% after agreeing to buy Dominion Energy in an all-stock deal to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility by market value. Dominion rallied 9.4%.
Delta Air Lines finished essentially flat after swinging up and down through the day because of oil prices. It got a boost early following news that Berkshire Hathaway bought more than $2.6 billion of the airline’s stock. Berkshire Hathaway built a reputation as a value investor able to buy stocks at low prices under its former leader, Warren Buffett.
Boston Scientific was another winner and climbed 6.2% after saying it would spend $2 billion of its previously announced $5 billion stock buyback program by the end of June. Such purchases send cash directly to investors and boost the company’s per-share earnings.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 5.45 points to 7,403.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 159.95 to 49,686.12, and the Nasdaq composite fell 134.41 to 26,090.73.
This upcoming week will offer little in terms of data on the U.S. economy, but a heavily anticipated report on Nvidia’s latest quarterly results will arrive Wednesday. The chip company has routinely blown past analysts’ expectations each quarter, while forecasting even bigger growth than Wall Street had thought. It will likely need to keep up such momentum to keep AI stocks driving the market to more records.
Target, Home Depot and Walmart will also report their latest quarterly results this week.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in much of Asia but reversed losses in Europe to finish higher. Japan’s Nikkei 225 sank 1%, but Germany’s DAX returned 1.5% for two of the world’s bigger moves.
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.