(Bloomberg) — US stocks churned as traders weighed the prospect of escalating conflict in the Middle East against positive economic data. Crude and the dollar extended advances.
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The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 ended the day marginally lower after choppy trading for much of the morning. The mood on Wall Street soured after puzzling comments from President Joe Biden on if he would support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities.
Oil benchmarks surged. Brent crude climbed above $77 a barrel for the longest run of daily gains since August, while West Texas Intermediate passed $73. Investors are concerned that, should Israel strike critical Iranian assets, the Islamic Republic will lash out and escalate the conflict, dragging in more countries and potentially disrupting global energy shipments.
That’s left mainstay US equity benchmarks on course for their first weekly loss in four as the world awaits an…
