Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
new york stock exchange
dow futures Oil prices fell late Wednesday as they continued to rise in extended trading.
Futures, which track the Dow Jones Industrial Average, fell 461 points, or nearly 1%. S&P500 futures Although it decreased by approximately 0.9%, Nasdaq 100 futures It also fell by 0.9%.
Late Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the United States would release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Fuel delivery takes approximately 120 days. The announcement came after President Donald Trump said in an interview with Cincinnati station WKRC that he intends to tap into the reserves.
Oil prices resumed their rise in extended trading, and the market remained under pressure. West Texas Intermediate Futures It was most recently trading at about $93 per barrel, up more than 7%.
In the regular parliament, S&P500 While the Dow 30 stocks fell, Nasdaq Composite made a small profit. Energy, technology and communications services were the only sectors to close in positive territory, led by gains in artificial intelligence infrastructure giants. oracle and refinery companies valero energy and marathon oil.
Throughout the day, investors were wary of the impact the U.S.-Iran war would have on oil prices as rising costs raised concerns about inflation.
WTI futures and Brent crude oil futures both settled more than 4% higher. Oil prices rose even after the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil to help with supply disruptions caused by the ongoing conflict.
The US military sunk 16 mine-laden Iranian ships near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, as oil tanker traffic remains backed up due to threats of Iranian attack. Insurance company Chubb has been announced as the lead underwriter of a U.S. government-led program to provide insurance to ships attempting to transit the strait.
The move comes after President Trump said earlier this week that the war would be over “soon,” ending a soar in oil prices that had topped $100 a barrel.
In addition to the Middle East conflict, investors will also be watching the weekly unemployment claims and housing starts numbers, which will be released Thursday morning. The release of the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index is scheduled for Friday.
For the week so far, the S&P 500 is up 0.5% and the Nasdaq is up nearly 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lagged the three major stock indexes, dropping nearly 0.2% this week.
