Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq recover from steep losses as oil’s surge eases
US stocks cut losses on Thursday as oil prices trimmed gains in afternoon trading on hopes of a deescalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) ended the day down 0.4%, coming off a bruising session that dragged the blue-chip benchmark to its lowest close this year. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) both shed around 0.3%.
Brent (BZ=F) futures dropped as much as 2% as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would help the US open the Strait of Hormuz and that the war would end faster than people think. The comments raised hopes of a deescalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
Earlier in the session, crude futures surged as much as 10% to as high as $119 per barrel as Iran and Israel exchanged attacks on highly important oil and gas facilities. Markets were already contending with rising inflation forecasts from the Federal Reserve, which dampened expectations for interest rate cuts.
While the Fed signaled one cut could still be on the table this year, bets are policymakers will stand pat — especially after hawkish comments from Chair Jerome Powell.
On the corporate front, shares of Micron (MU) dropped as the chipmaker’s AI spending plans overshadowed strong earnings. Meanwhile, Alibaba (BABA) stock slid after a 67% plunge in quarterly profit underscored the need for returns on its AI investments.
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