Oil prices are climbing Monday following the latest rise of tensions between america and Iran, however the moves are more modest than they were earlier in the war. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, are giving back a little bit of their record-breaking rally.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.4 per cent from its all-time high and is on the right track for just its second drop in 14 days after america seized an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 115 points, or 0.2 per cent, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.7 per cent lower.
The worth for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, climbed 5.1 per cent to $94.98 on worries that Iran could keep petroleum pent up within the Persian Gulf if it continues to dam tankers from exiting the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s a turnaround from the last trading day on Wall Street, when stocks soared and oil prices tumbled Friday after Iran said it was reopening the strait to industrial traffic. That enthusiasm vanished quickly after Iran closed the strait again Saturday following the U.S. decision to press ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
The following big deadline is looming on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time, which is early Wednesday Tehran time, when a ceasefire agreement between america and Iran is scheduled to run out.
Still, oil prices remain well below the high points reached to date within the war. Brent crude’s price briefly got above $119 per barrel when fears were at their highest. And the S&P 500 remains to be above where it was before the war.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.
The muted moves suggest investors still see a possibility of a U.S.-Iranian agreement that might get oil flowing again from the Middle East to customers worldwide. It might be in each countries’ economic interests to finish the war.
Firms with big fuel bills fell to a few of Wall Street’s larger losses following the rise in crude’s cost, as they’ve through much of the war.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 5.1 per cent, and Carnival lost 1.4 per cent.
United Airlines slipped 2.4 per cent, and American Airlines fell five per cent after American said it’s not taken with a merger with United. Airline stocks had flown higher last week following a report saying United desired to mix with its rival.
On the winning side of Wall Street was TopBuild, a distributor of insulation and constructing products, which jumped 16.4 per cent. QXO is buying it in a deal valued at roughly $17 billion.
QXO said the deal would make it the continent’s second-largest publicly traded constructing products distributor, and its stock fell 8.2 per cent.
One big reason the U.S. stock market has been so strong recently is the large profits that U.S. firms have been reporting for the primary three months of 2026, in addition to expectations for continued growth.
While reporting stronger profits for the newest quarter than analysts expected, several of the largest U.S. banks said recently that they see the U.S. economy remaining resilient, particularly due to solid spending by U.S. consumers.
“Despite geopolitical risks, the earnings recovery stays intact,” in line with Morgan Stanley strategists led by Michael Wilson. It’s remained so solid that analysts have even raised their profit expectations because the war began for the spring of 2026.
Together with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other big banks, about 10 per cent of firms within the S&P 500 have already reported their results for the beginning of 2026. Nearly nine out of 10 have delivered a much bigger profit than analysts expected, in line with FactSet.
If the remainder of the businesses within the index just match analysts’ expectations, overall earnings per share for S&P 500 firms will find yourself 13 per cent higher than a 12 months earlier, in line with FactSet.
That’s big because stock prices are inclined to follow the trail of corporate profits over the long run. Other big firms scheduled to report their results this week include UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday, Tesla on Wednesday and Procter & Gamble on Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a greater finish in Asia. Germany’s DAX lost 1.2 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.8 per cent for 2 of the world’s larger moves.
© 2026 The Canadian Press