Oil Prices Surge Above $100 as Iran War Escalates, Dragging Down Wall Street

The Iran war has sent shockwaves through Wall Street, causing stocks to fall on Wednesday as oil prices jumped back above $100 a barrel.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.5%, with retailers such as Amazon, Starbucks, and Home Depot pulling the market lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% and the Nasdaq composite gave up 0.6%. Every sector within the benchmark S&P 500 declined except for energy, which rose as oil companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron notched gains.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 3.4% to settle at $101.21 a barrel, its first time above $100 since July. President Donald Trump said the Iran war is likely to keep oil prices elevated through the U.S. midterm elections in November.