NEW YORK — Crude prices jumped on worries about worsening tensions in the Middle East, while U.S. stocks pulled back further from their records. The S&P 500 edged down by 0.2% Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped less than 0.1%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude leaped 5% and is potentially on track for its biggest weekly gain in nearly two years.
Oil prices rose after President Joe Biden suggested on Thursday that U.S. and Israeli officials were discussing a possible strike by Israel against Iranian oil facilities. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose after reports suggested the U.S. economy remains solid. One showed growth for real estate, health care and other U.S. services businesses accelerated to its strongest pace since February 2023 and topped economists' expectations, though employment trends may be slowing.
Stocks are near their records because of hopes the U.S. economy will indeed continue to grow, now that the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates to give it more juice. The Fed last month lowered its main interest rate for the first time in more than four years and indicated more cuts will arrive through next year.
On Wall Street, Levi Strauss dropped 7.4% despite reporting better profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The denim company’s revenue fell short of forecasts, and it said it’s considering what to do with its Dockers brand, whose revenue fell 7% last quarter.