New York stocks fell for the fourth straight session on the 10th, driven by gains in crude oil futures. The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 stocks finished down $316.56 at $52,064.10, while WTI's front-month contract broke above $100.
New York stocks fell for the fourth straight session on the 10th as crude oil futures surged, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 stocks closing down $316.56 from the previous day's close at $52,064.10. The Nasdaq Composite finished down 171.62 points at 20,081.72, while NYSE volume rose by 670,000 shares from the previous day to 1,168,570,000 shares.
WTI's October front-month contract broke above $100 per barrel in morning trading. The settlement price was up $6.43 from the previous day at $102.48, its highest close in about four months. Expectations that turmoil in the Middle East would flare up again strengthened, providing a factor pushing up crude oil prices.
As concerns over the situation in the Middle East affected the stock market as a whole, reports that the Houthis were active along the Red Sea coast and that Saudi Arabia had reported a sharp month-on-month decline in its previous month's crude oil production to OPEC heightened concerns over energy transportation. Expectations for long-term interest rates to rise also strengthened ahead of next week's FOMC meeting.
Among individual stocks, IBM fell about 2.5%, NVIDIA about 2.3% and Home Depot about 1.5%, while some defensive stocks, including Apple and Alphabet, were bought. Concerns over higher crude oil prices and rising interest rates affected a broad range of sectors.