Wall Street Stocks Rise as Mideast Tensions Cool, Oil Prices Drop
Stocks on Wall Street opened higher Monday after tensions in the Middle East cooled, leading to a drop in crude oil prices.
The S&P 500 index rose by 0.6% as it came off two consecutive weekly losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 518 points, or 1%, to 9:55 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite also gained 0.7%.
The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 5.4% to $86.74 a barrel for October delivery after surging over $100 a barrel last week due to worries about global oil supplies. The war between the US and Iran has reduced traffic through the vital Strait of Hormuz, causing ripple effects throughout the world's economy.
Bond yields also dropped, alleviating pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.65% from 4.69% late Friday. Tech giants Microsoft and Alphabet saw their stock prices rise by 2.6% and 2.8%, respectively, after Chinese memory chipmaker CXMT's debut in Shanghai.