Worries about the war with Iran sent oil prices back to $100 per barrel and stocks sinking worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Thursday and returned to big swings following a couple days of relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.8%. The center of action was again the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude got as high as $101.59. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market on worries about higher inflation and fewer cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.
Shares of major U.S. companies in the energy sector are sharply higher after President Donald Trump announced plans to take control of Venezuela's oil industry and said American companies would revitalize it after capturing President Nicolás Maduro. While the U.S. action is unlikely to have an immediate impact on crude prices given the current glut in the market, it could upend energy markets. Venezuela's oil industry is in disrepair after years of neglect and international sanctions. Some oil industry analysts believe that Venezuela could double or triple its current output of about 1.1 million barrels of oil a day and return the nation to historic production levels relatively quickly, others see a much longer road ahead.
