Stocks Fall as Oil Tops $100 Amid War  09/09 09:26

   Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday as the price of crude oil rose above 
$100 a barrel amid further escalation in the U.S. war with Iran.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks fell on Wall Street Wednesday as the price of crude 
oil rose above $100 a barrel amid further escalation in the U.S. war with Iran.

   The S&P 500 index fell 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 407 
points, or 0.8%, as of 9:52 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4%.

   The losses were broad, with retailers among the companies leading the market 
lower. Amazon fell 1.9% and Starbucks fell 1.5%. Nearly every sector within the 
benchmark S&P 500 lost ground, but oil companies pushed higher. Exxon Mobil 
rose 2.5% and Chevron rose 2.3%.

   Oil prices drove much of the action on Wall Street. The U.S. destroyed five 
Iranian tankers on Tuesday in a series of attacks between the two nations. The 
conflict that began in February has essentially shut down traffic in the vital 
Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil supply passed before the war 
began.

   The price of Brent crude, the international standard, rose 2.8% to $100.62 a 
barrel. It marks the first time the price surpassed $100 a barrel since July.

   The jump in oil prices over the course of the war has fueled already high 
inflation. Gasoline prices in the U.S. are up about 32% from a year ago to 
$4.22 per gallon. Higher fuel prices cut into household budgets directly when 
it comes to the cost of driving, but they also indirectly raise prices for 
goods because of higher shipping costs.

   Diesel prices, which can have an outsized impact on consumers because it is 
used in shipping and production, hit an all-time high Friday and have continued 
to climb since. The average price for a gallon reached $5.94 overnight and is 
now 9 cents higher than it was Friday.

   Inflation was already stubbornly high when the U.S. started its war against 
Iran because of the ongoing U.S. trade war with much of the world. That trade 
war is also heating up, especially between the U.S. and its close ally and 
trade partner Canada.

   Elsewhere in the market, shares of Meta Platforms rose 5.6% as the parent 
company of Instagram and Facebook launched a personal artificial intelligence 
agent, Muse, for people 18 and over who are looking for help with day-to-day 
tasks like schedules and shopping.

   Markets in Europe fell while markets in Asia closed mixed.