US stocks drift as oil prices rise on worries about a potential US-Iran conflict

Booking Holdings dropped 7.1% for one of the market's sharpest losses, even though the company behind the Booking.com, Priceline and OpenTable brands reported a profit for the latest quarter that edged past analysts’ expectations. Its stock has been under pressure because of worries that competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology could upend its industry and take away customers at some point, and it's lost roughly a quarter of its value so far this year already.

Such worries about AI have been rolling through the U.S. stock market recently, hitting industries as far flung as software and legal services and trucking logistics. Investors have so suddenly and aggressively been punishing stocks of companies seen as under threat that analysts have likened it to a “shoot first-ask questions later” mentality.

Carvana sank 5.3% despite also reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Investors may have been paying more attention to how much profit the auto retailer made per vehicle sold, which was lower than expected.

Helping to keep the market in check was Walmart, which rose 2% after swinging between gains and losses in premarket trading. The retail giant delivered stronger results for the end of its last fiscal year than analysts expected, but it gave a profit forecast for the upcoming year that fell short of estimates.

Also on the winning side of Wall Street was eBay, which rose 2.8% after reporting stronger profit and revenue than analysts expected. It also said it was buying secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2 billion in cash. The deal could help eBay find younger customers.

The biggest gains on Wall Street came from stocks of oil companies, which climbed with the price of crude. A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude added 1.8% to $66.19, while Brent crude climbed 1.2% to $71.20 as worries rise again about a possible military confrontation between the United States and Iran.

President Donald Trump has been raising the pressure on Iran, which is home to some of the world’s largest oil reserves, because of its disputed nuclear program. If a conflict were to break out, it could constrict the global flow of oil.

Occidental Petroleum jumped 7.3% after it also reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady after a report said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits eased last week. That could be a signal that the pace of layoffs is slowing.

A solid job market, in turn, could keep the Federal Reserve on hold for longer before it resumes its cuts to interest rates. Fed officials said at their last meeting that they want to see inflation fall further before they would support cutting rates further this year.

If oil prices keep rising, that would push upward on inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.09%, where it was late Wednesday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following better performances in Asia.

South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.1% as trading resumed following a Lunar New Year holiday. Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai, though, remained closed.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.