Wall Street Stocks Waver Amid Iran War Escalation and Trade Tensions

Stocks on Wall Street experienced a mixed finish last Friday as oil prices fell for the first time in a week, according to recent data. The S&P 500 barely budged in trading, rising just 3.68 points or less than 0.1% to 7,411.98.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.60 points or 0.5% to 51,947.25 while the Nasdaq fell 161.87 points or 0.6% to 24,975.82 due in part to sharp losses from big tech stocks like Micron Technology and Broadcom.

Heavy fighting in the Middle East has threatened to slow oil production, with Brent crude falling 3.9% to $96.78 after rising earlier in the week.

The U.S. is also ramping up its global trade war with new tariffs on dozens of nations, which may lead to higher inflation and pressure from the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.