Oil Prices Surge, Stocks Stumble

0:00All prices are surging back toward $100 a barrel today, while stocks around the world hit the brakes after yesterday's big rally. The main trigger? Disagreements between the United States, Iran, and Israel over that two-week ceasefire, cooling the optimism that juice markets before. Meanwhile, crude oil jumps 6.8% to $100.79 a barrel. That spike came after Iranian news outlets hinted their forces mind the Strait of Hormuz that key chokepoint for global oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf. Stradages say these tensions could lock in higher prices for weeks, especially if fighting flares up and buyers start hoarding supplies. Wall Street felt the pullback too, with the S&P 500 down a tenth of a percent, the Dow off 40 points or a tenth, and Nasdaq slipping. Two tenths, earnings stole some spotlight. Simply good foods tank 15% on week revenue from Quest & Atkins brands, while constellation brands popped.

1:00Over 5% on solid beer and wine sales, from Modelo and Robert Mondavi. Economic data kept things mixed, shown February inflation a bit hotter than expected, and more folks friling for unemployment last week. That nudged 10-year treasury yields up to 4.31%, hiking costs for mortgages and loans, and putting the Federal Reserve in a tough spot, if oil fuels more inflation, rate cuts might stall, or even reverse. Global markets took harder hits, like South Korea's cost be down 1.6% and Germany's DAX off 1.4. With oil risks lingering and Fed watchers eyeing hikes, expect this volatility to keep markets on edge through the weekend. Vancouver News today, powered by AI bringing you what matters.