Financial Markets Wall Street

Oil prices climbed following the latest rise of U.S.-Iran tensions, but the moves were more modest than they were earlier in the war. U.S. stocks meanwhile gave back a bit of their record-breaking rally Monday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil topped $95 again. The relatively muted moves suggest investors still see a possibility of a U.S.-Iranian agreement that could get oil flowing again from the Middle East to customers worldwide.

U.S. stocks and oil prices flip-flopped as uncertainty rose about what will happen following a two-week ceasefire in the war with Iran, which is set to expire Wednesday. The S&P 500 erased an early rise to fall 0.2% Tuesday after U.S. Vice President JD Vance called off a trip to Pakistan, where he was expected to lead U.S. negotiators in talks with Iran to extend the ceasefire. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 148 points, after erasing an earlier rise of 400 points, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. The moves were more modest than the swings that rocked Wall Street earlier in the war.