Wall Street stock indexes were lower in Friday morning trading as the war with Iran continues to pressure oil prices and destabilize the global economy.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% after rising as much as 0.9% early on. As of 11:06 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.4%.
The recent volatile trading follows market turmoil at the beginning of the week, with major indexes heading for a third consecutive week of declines.
In the extremely chaotic energy market, iran war Taking into account the impact on oil and gas supplies, the price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose above $100 per barrel, but is still 0.2% below Thursday’s closing price of $100.46. It rose more than 37% for the month.
U.S. crude rose 0.1% to $95.83 per barrel after settling at $95.73 per barrel. It’s up about 43% this month.
Since the start of the Iran war, oil prices have fluctuated wildly. Iran’s actions effectively halted cargo transport through the narrow Iran Strait of HormuzTypically, one-fifth of the world’s oil sails there. As a result, oil producers are forced to cut production because there is nowhere for the crude oil to go.
If war continues to disrupt oil production and transportation from the Persian Gulf; sharp increase in inflation it can hurt world economy. Analysts say oil prices could soar to $150 relatively quickly if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed.
The International Energy Agency said on Wednesday that member countries would: Making record 400 million barrels of oil available Some economists believe that drawing back emergency reserves will do little to reassure markets.
President Donald Trump signaled earlier this week that he would take further action to address the oil supply squeeze. The move follows the government’s decision to temporarily allow India to purchase Russian crude oil.
A new snapshot of consumer spending on Friday shows that inflation rose gradually in January, even before the Iran war caused oil and gas prices to soar.
The Ministry of Commerce stated: Prices rose 2.8% in January Comparison with one year ago. But excluding the volatile food and energy categories that the Fed is watching more closely, core prices rose 3.1%, up from 3% a month earlier and the highest level in nearly two years.
Still, the report found that consumers still increased their spending at a solid 0.4% pace in January, and their incomes grew at the same pace.
Economists closely monitor trends in income and spending because consumer spending drives about two-thirds of the economy.
The latest measure of consumer sentiment released by the University of Michigan on Friday showed consumer sentiment fell slightly to its lowest point this year as gas prices rose the most since the start of the Iran war.
Meanwhile, the Department of Labor said on Friday in the United States: Job information The number soared to nearly 7 million in January, exceeding economists’ expectations.
Wall Street also received an update on US economic growth for the October-December quarter. A 43-day government shutdown last fall hobbled the economy. Slow growth at 0.7% per yearThis has been lowered from the initial forecast last month.
“While GDP and the job market are expanding, the rate of change is slowing, leading to concerns about the broader economy, and that was before the Middle East wars that sent oil prices skyrocketing,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Northlight Asset Management, said in an email.
Most sectors in the S&P 500 rose on Friday, with financials and health care stocks driving most of the gains. JPMorgan rose 1.1% and Eli Lilly rose 1.6%.
Software maker Adobe fell 6% even though sales and profits beat Wall Street expectations. Investors were likely underwhelmed by the company’s projections for subscription revenue.
Ulta Beauty fell 10.5%, the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks, after the beauty and cosmetics retailer’s latest quarterly results missed analysts’ profit targets. Ulta’s profits were weighed down by a 23% increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, which soared to $1 billion in the same period.
Bitcoin rose 4.6% to about $72,777, giving a boost to companies trading and hoarding the cryptocurrency. Coinbase Global rose 2.4%, while Strategy rose 4.9%.
In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.25% from 4.26% late Thursday. Before the war, it was only 3.97%.
Higher yields make all types of borrowing more expensive. mortgage loan We offer debt issuance for potential U.S. home buyers and for companies looking to expand their operations. They also drive down the prices of all kinds of investments, from stocks to cryptocurrencies.
In overseas stock markets, indexes rose in Europe after falling in Asia as well.
In early trading in Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.2%, Germany’s DAX index rose 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.4%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 1.2%. Some technology-related stocks fell more sharply, with SoftBank Group dropping 4.5%.
