Oil Prices Surge Amid Inflation and Middle East Tensions
Investors remained cautious on Tuesday as global markets felt the weight of inflation and Middle East tensions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all dipped, with the Dow closing down 1.18%, the S&P 500 down 0.58%, and the Nasdaq slipping 0.32%. MSCI's gauge of global stocks was last down 0.55%.
The surge in oil prices was a major contributor to the gloomy market sentiment, with Brent crude oil up 2.13% at $99.07 a barrel and U.S. crude jumping 2.82% to $94.05 a barrel. This comes after Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi energy facilities.
The European Central Bank is expected to raise euro zone rates by a quarter point on Thursday, while the Federal Reserve's decision to reconsider its rates looms large, with traders attaching a 58% chance of a rate rise based on U.S. inflation data due out this Friday.