Oil Prices Fall Again, Easing Worries in Stock and Bond Markets
Oil prices fell for the second time in recent days, easing worries in the bond market and supporting stock prices. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.3% to edge closer to its all-time high set earlier this month.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 160 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.7%. Some of the strongest action was in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 3.6% to $87.27 after tensions between the US and Iran seemed to ratchet higher.
The drop came even though new sanctions were announced by the Trump administration to further hurt Iran's economy. However, a delegation from Pakistan left Iran on Tuesday after talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reviving negotiations to end the Iran-U.S. conflict.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.70% late Monday, helping to calm worries about high inflation that had driven Treasury yields higher through the summer.