Stock market today: Oil prices climb following the latest Gaza war, but stocks rise with rate hopes
Oil prices climbed with worries about violence in the Middle East
NEW YORK — Oil prices climbed Monday on worries about violence in the Middle East. The stock market was less fearful, though, and flipped from early losses to gains.
The S&P 500 rose 27.16, or 0.6%, following some potentially encouraging news on interest rates, which have been dragging Wall Street mainly lower since the summer.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 197.07 points, or 0.6%, to 33,604.65, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 52.90, or 0.4%, to 13,484.24.
Stocks perked higher after two officials at the Federal Reserve suggested they may not need to raise interest rates again at their next meeting Nov. 1, because a jump in longer-term bond yields may be helping to cool inflation without further market-rattling hikes by the Fed.
That gave stocks some oxygen and helped them erase modest losses from the morning. The S&P 500 had sagged by as much as 0.6% in its first trading after Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, which then formally declared war.
The area under conflict is not home to major oil production, but fears that the fighting could spill into the politics around the crude market sent a barrel of U.S. oil up $3.59 to $86.38. Brent crude, the international standard, rose $3.57 to $88.15 per barrel.
One potential outcome of the violence is a slowdown in Iranian oil exports, which have been growing this year, according to Barclays energy analyst Amarpreet Singh. Less supply of crude would raise its price, all else equal.
The conflict could also hurt the possibility of improving relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which is the world’s second-largest producer of oil. Traders may be taking off some bets that Saudi Arabia
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