NEW YORK (AP) — Hour-to-hour swings for oil prices keep jerking financial markets around, and U.S. stocks wavered Thursday following the latest reversal.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and inched closer to its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 276 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.1%.
All three indexes erased early drops and gained strength following the latest U-turn for oil prices. Brent crude oil briefly got above $109 per barrel in the morning, threatening to worsen the world’s already high inflation, before quickly erasing all its gains in midday trading and falling 2.3% to settle at $102.58.
Oil prices are yo-yoing because of uncertainty about how long the war with Iran will keep the Strait of Hormuz shut. The closure has prevented oil tankers from exiting the Persian Gulf to deliver crude to customers worldwide, driving up oil’s price.
As oil prices eased Thursday, so did pressure on Wall Street that’s been building from the bond market.