Stocks Rise and Oil Prices Ease After U.S. Airstrikes on Iran

U.S. stock indexes rose and oil prices fell Thursday after the United States launched new airstrikes against Iran. The S&P 500 climbed 0.8 percent and more than recovered its loss from the day before, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 139 points, or 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3 percent.

Oil prices gave back much of their previous gains. Brent crude fell 2.2 percent to $76.30 per barrel, down from $78.02 the day before but still above the $71.80 level recorded at the end of last week.

Trump raised doubts Wednesday about the temporary truce in the war with Iran. He also said the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in long-term military action. Markets remain focused on whether renewed conflict could block oil tankers from the Strait of Hormuz and prevent crude deliveries from the Persian Gulf.

Such a development could worsen inflation and prompt the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline rose five cents overnight to $3.85, up 68 cents from a year earlier, according to motor club AAA.

Shares of computer-chip makers supported broader stock indexes. Micron Technology rose 4.5 percent after citing surging demand for memory in the AI era and providing an update on its semiconductor manufacturing site in central New York. In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.6 percent after falling 5.3 percent the previous day.

SK Hynix shares jumped 5.3 percent in Seoul. Stock indexes also rose in Shanghai and Paris, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.7 percent. Bond yields declined, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 4.54 percent from 4.56 percent the day before.