World Markets Take a Hit From Trump's Iran Remarks

Oil prices rose, and stock markets dropped in shaky trading worldwide after President Trump raised doubts about the temporary truce in the war with Iran.

• The S&P 500 fell 21.14 points, or 0.3%, to 7,482.71.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 576.76 points, or 1.1%, to 52,348.39.
• The Nasdaq composite rose 51.96 points, or 0.2%, to 25,870.65.

The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.1% after Trump said the agreement to pause fighting was "over," but the index then trimmed its loss to after Trump said the most recent exchange of fire with the Islamic Republic did not herald a return to full-scale war, the AP reports. They're his latest mixed messages on what will happen with the war, which threatens to worsen inflation for the world.

The action was stronger in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 5.2% to $78.02 and briefly topped $80. That's still below its peak from earlier in the war, when the price for the most actively traded contract reached nearly $120. But the jump is unsettling because oil prices had just dropped back to where they were before the war. The worry is that a continuation of the war will block the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the delivery of crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide. That could worsen inflation, which economists expected would ease with oil prices, and in turn force the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates.

On Wall Street, stocks of companies in the housing industry helped lead the way lower. They were hurt by worries that rising Treasury yields in the bond market will mean higher rates for mortgages and chill the industry. Builders FirstSource, which sells countertops, windows and other building supplies, fell 5.4%. Homebuilders PulteGroup fell 5.4%, and D.R. Horton sank 4.6%. Companies with big fuel bills also sank. American Airlines lost 4%, and cruise operator Carnival fell 3.9%.

Helping to offset those losses was a steadying for some influential stocks in the artificial-intelligence industry. Nvidia rose 3.7% and was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500 because it's the largest stock on Wall Street. Close behind was Broadcom, which climbed 4.8% after Apple announced a multiyear commitment where Broadcom will design and produce custom components for its products. Apple said the agreement's value could top $30 billion.

• In stock markets abroad, European markets turned sharply lower after Trump said, "For me, I think it's over" about the status of the ceasefire. He added that US representatives can continue negotiations, "but I think they're wasting their time." Germany's DAX lost 2.2%, and France's CAC 40 sank 2.2%. In Asia, South Korea's Kospi dropped 5.3% and continued its sharp swings amid seesawing worries and euphoria about the AI stocks that dominate its market.