NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks opened higher early Monday as oil prices eased, with energy markets still in turmoil due to the US-Israeli war on Iran and a US central bank meeting later this week.
Around 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7 percent to 46,890.68.
The broad-based S&P 500 Index went up one percent to 6,697.71, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 1.2 percent to 22,378.72.
International benchmark Brent North Sea crude was down 1.4 percent – after rising about three percent earlier in the day – and the main US contract West Texas Intermediate dropped four percent.
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“When you get a bit of a reprieve in the energy price, it’s not surprising to see a bounce in equity markets,” Art Hogan, from B. Riley Wealth Management, told AFP.
But he added that the day has just started and that other news could emerge.
Traffic through the key Strait of Hormuz has come to a virtual standstill, with Iran vowing to block the key waterway as long as the war against it remains ongoing.
On Monday, however, monitor Marine Traffic said a Pakistani oil tanker transited the strait with its automatic transponder system activated.
Hogan said the downward move in oil prices on Monday was “more technical” than anything else.
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