Oil Prices Plunge Again, Calming Bond Market Worries

New York (AP), Oil prices are falling for the second time this week, which is helping to calm worries in the bond market and support stock prices.

The S&P 500 rose 0.2% and edged closer to its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 52 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 3.1% to $87.74 after the United States announced new sanctions on Iran. A delegation from Pakistan left Iran Tuesday after talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, but oil prices continued to fall despite the positive meeting.