Stock Markets Mixed, Oil Prices Surge

0:00It's March 30, Vancouver news today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Corey with the story. U.S. stock markets are showing mixed signals today after their worst week since the war with Iran kicked off. The S&P 500 crept up 0.1% in early trading while the Dow climbed 164 points or 0.4% by 10 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq dipped 0.1% shrugging off some early gains. Global markets are all over the place too. European indexes like London's FTSE 100 rose 1.1% and Paris's CAC 40 of 0.4%. But Asia took hits with Seoul's Coast Speed down 3%. Tokyo's Nikkei 2.8% and Hong Kong's Hong-Seng of 0.8%. Oil prices jump to Brent Crude for June delivery up 3.2% to $108.73 a barrel. Investors are on edge over the weekend's war twists, wondering if oil can flow freely from the Persian Gulf without sparking wild inflation.

1:07President Trump tweeted about great progress toward a new deal to wrap up military ops in Iran. But he also warned of obliterating their power plants if the Strait of Hormuz doesn't reopen fast. That flip-flopping has folks tuning out his words a bit, but stocks look like bargains now. The S&P is 7.4% off its January peak in correction territory, and seems 17% cheaper based on expected profits. Morgan Stanley strategists say it's nearing the end of this dip, unless the Fed hikes rates to fight oil-driven inflation. Bond yields ease the touch, with a 10-year treasury at 4.35%, giving markets some relief. Alcoa shares surged 10.7% on hopes of rival damage in the Middle East boosting their revenue. Eyes stay glued to the Gulf for the next move that could steady or shake things up.