Commodities
Oil Prices Soar Past $100 a Barrel as Iran Tensions Escalate
Stocks on Wall Street fell on Wednesday as oil prices surged back above $100 a barrel, driven by escalating tensions in the U.S. war with Iran.
The S&P 500 index dropped 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 327 points or 0.6% to 3:20 p.m. Eastern time.
Nearly every sector within the benchmark S&P 500 lost ground, but oil companies bucked the trend with Exxon Mobil rising 2.6% and Chevron up 2%.
The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.4% to settle at $101.21 a barrel, its highest level since July.