Highlights
Stocks retreated again on Wednesday to add to Tuesday’s losses on broad weakness amid rising oil prices and bond yields as fighting continued to ramp up in the ongoing US-Iran war. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.8 percent while the S&P 500 fell 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq was off 0.6 percent. The dollar index was flat.
Bond yields were spurred higher by rising oil prices as Brent crude broke decisively above $100 a barrel and WTI approached it with both benchmark crude prices rising more than 3 percent on the day to add to the week’s rally. The market was focused on news that the US military destroyed more Iranian oil tankers while Iran fired ballistic missiles directly at US military ships and a US airbase, signaling a stepped up aggressiveness.
Stocks were on defense in response with cyclicals and consumer stocks among the worst hit.
The US Treasury announcement that it had stepped up buybacks of long-term debt to $6 billion from $2 billion last week was nowhere near as aggressive as expected and did not engender any enthusiasm as yields continued to rise.