US Stocks Leap After Oil Prices Slow   03/31 08:55

   U.S. stocks are bouncing back on Tuesday as the spike for oil prices because 
of the war with Iran slows.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are bouncing back on Tuesday as the spike for 
oil prices because of the war with Iran slows.

   The S&P 500 jumped 1.2%, a day after it fell more than 9% below its all-time 
high set early this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 400 points, 
or 0.9%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6% higher.

   The rebound came as steadying oil prices took some pressure off Wall Street. 
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, inched 
down by less than 0.1% to $107.37. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.7%.

   Oil prices have been dictating the U.S. stock market's sharp swings since 
the war began, with Brent shooting from roughly $70 per barrel to as high as 
$119 at times. The worry is that the war may last a long time and keep oil and 
natural gas from the Persian Gulf out of global markets, which could create a 
brutal blast of inflation.

   Analysts said optimism entered markets overnight following a report from The 
Wall Street Journal saying President Donald Trump told aides he's willing to 
end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz 
remains largely closed. The strait is a narrow waterway off Iran connecting the 
Persian Gulf to the open ocean, and a fifth of the world's oil sails through it 
on a typical day.

   To get the strait open, Trump could try diplomatic talks with Iran and then 
push allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead, according to the report.

   On his social media network, Trump on Tuesday morning urged the United 
Kingdom and other countries to "build up some delayed courage, go to the 
Strait, and just TAKE IT."

   Trump's own words have become less impactful for financial markets, after he 
touted what he called productive talks with Iran over the last week, only to 
turn around and threaten the "obliteration" of Iranian power plants.

   Oil prices have already shot high enough that inflation in Europe 
accelerated to 2.5% in March, up from February's 1.9%.

   In the United States, the price for a gallon of gasoline topped $4 per 
gallon for the first time since 2022. That's squeezing budgets for U.S. 
households and preventing them from spending on other things. The effects are 
also carrying far past gasoline pumps and affecting companies that use any 
ships, trucks or planes to move their products.

   Tuesday's slowdown for oil prices helped boost stocks of companies that have 
big fuel bills. Norwegian Cruise Line Holding steamed 2.9% higher, and American 
Airlines climbed 1.3%.

   Tech stocks were the strongest forces lifting the market. Marvell Technology 
climbed 7.6% to help lead the market after Nvidia invested $2 billion in the 
company and announced a partnership with it.

   Nvidia, which is Wall Street's most influential stock because it's the 
largest, rose 1.9%.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields eased again. The yield on the 10-year 
Treasury fell to 4.30% from 4.35% late Monday and from 4.44% at the end of last 
week. That's a significant move for the bond market.

   Lower yields should pull downward on rates for mortgages and other loans for 
U.S. households and businesses, which have shot upward since the war began.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at just 3.97% in late February, before 
worries about high oil prices erased traders' hopes for a possible cut to 
interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose in Europe following a tougher finish 
in Asia. South Korea's Kospi fell 4.3%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.6% for 
two of the bigger moves.