Wall Street Stocks Drift Amid Mideast Tensions Easing
Stocks on Wall Street experienced a mixed close Monday as oil prices fell after the US and Iran paused their attacks. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1% after spending much of the day bouncing between small gains and losses, coming off two weekly losses in a row. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.2%, its fourth straight loss.
The three major stock indexes are on pace to close out this month in the red, marking the second consecutive monthly loss for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Oil prices reversed course from a week ago, when a sharp escalation in fighting between the US and Iran worsened worries about global oil supplies. The price of Brent crude dropped 6.3% to settle at $85.87 a barrel for October delivery, while U.S. crude oil for September delivery fell 7.5% to settle at $82.61 a barrel.
Chris Larkin, managing director at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley, stated that 'this is a week with more than its fair share of potential surprises, good and bad.'