U.S. Stocks Slip as Oil Swings Test Iran War Deal Hopes

Wall Street pulls back from records amid Brent crude volatility at $100/bbl, Strait of Hormuz uncertainty, mixed earnings), softer jobs data and rising 10-year Treasury yields to 4.38%.

U.S. stocks fell from their records Thursday after oil prices yo-yoed as Wall Street waits to see whether its hopes for a deal to end the Iran war are warranted or just wishful.

The S&P 500 fell 0.4% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 313 points (0.6%) and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1% from its own record.

Brent crude oil settled at $100.06 per barrel, down 1.2% from over $115 earlier this week, amid sharp swings. Iran's review of U.S. proposals to end the war sparked hopes of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, freeing trapped tankers. Prices briefly dipped near $96 on Pakistan's mediation optimism before rebounding above $102.

Oil and gasoline remain far pricier than pre-war levels due to the strait's closure, with Iran now taxing vessels for passage. Yet, strong U.S. corporate profits have buoyed stocks despite volatility from dashed Hormuz hopes.

Datadog leaped 31.3% to help lead the U.S. market after the monitoring and security platform for cloud applications topped analysts? expectations for profit in the latest quarter. Albemarle rose 3% after the lithium products and specialty chemicals company likewise delivered better-than-expected results. Taser maker Axon Enterprise rallied 10.6% after raising its forecast for revenue this year in part because of big growth for its counter-drone products. Whirlpool tumbled 11.9% after reporting much weaker results than analysts expected. Shake Shack dropped 28.3% after its results for the latest quarter fell well below analysts? expectations. McDonald?s stock held steadier and slipped 0.1% after its revenue for the latest quarter edged past analysts? expectations. CEO Chris Kempczinski said high gasoline prices and consumer anxiety over the Iran war could dent its sales this spring.

Several reports on the U.S. economy came in mixed. One said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the increase was not as bad as economists expected. Another report suggested that productivity for U.S. workers improved by only half of what economists expected for the latest quarter.

In the bond market, Treasury yields rose after oil prices pared their drops. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.38% from 4.36% late Wednesday. Higher yields can raise rates for mortgages and other kinds of loans going to U.S. households and businesses which in turn can slow the economy. Higher yields also tend to push downward on prices for stocks and other kinds of investments. The 10-year Treasury yield was at just 3.97% before the war.

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