US Crude Tops $110 a Barrel

Stocks overcame early losses Thursday to finish with slim gains and close out their first winning week since the start of the Iran war.

• The S&P 500 rose 7.37 points, or 0.1%, to 6,582.69 after slumping as much as 1.5% in early trading. Several days of solid gains this week helped the benchmark index notch a 3.1% gain for the week.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.1%, to 46,504.67
• The Nasdaq composite rose 38.23 points, or 0.2%, to 21,879.18.

Oil prices remained elevated, however, having soared after a national address late Wednesday from President Trump, where he vowed the US will continue to attack Iran and failed to offer a clear timetable for ending the conflict in the Middle East, the AP reports. Stock markets will be closed for Good Friday.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel. Benchmark US crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 per barrel in the biggest one-day dollar gain since April 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports. Prices had been sliding back toward $100 per barrel prior to Trump's address on Wednesday. The US only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market, meaning a disruption anywhere affects prices everywhere.

• "For markets, a prolonged conflict increases the risk of sustained pressures on inflation, global growth, interest rates, and equity valuations," wrote Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist for LPL Financial, in a note to investors.

Airlines and other travel-related companies were among the biggest losers on Thursday. United Airlines fell 3% and Carnival shed 3.5%. Tesla fell 5.4% after deliveries for the first quarter fell short of estimates. Several big technology stocks gained ground to help offset losses elsewhere in the market. Intel jumped 4.9% and Advanced Micro Devices rose 3.5%.

Wall Street is worried that higher energy prices are adding to already stubbornly high inflation. Directly, gasoline prices in the US have surged 36% from a month ago to average $4.08 per gallon, according to the auto club AAA. Indirectly, rising fuel prices tend to make a wide range of services and goods more expensive. Flights become more expensive as airlines raise ticket prices to offset rising fuel costs. Consumer goods become more expensive as shipping and transportation costs rise.

• The war with Iran has overshadowed many of the other moving pieces within the economy that the Federal Reserve and Wall Street have been monitoring. It remains a mixed picture. Reports this week revealed that consumers remain confident and are still spending, though inflation remains a big concern. A report Thursday showed that mortgage rates continue climbing, posing an obstacle for prospective home buyers. Another update Friday will give a more detailed view of the job market.