Stocks are drifting near their record levels on Wall Street, while the price of oil jumps. Tesla fell after reporting a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
— U.S. stocks are drifting near their record heights on Thursday, as oil prices jump after President Donald Trump announced “massive” new sanctions on Russia’s crude industry.
The S&P 500 added 0.4% and crept back within 0.4% of its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 70 points, or 0.2%, and was near its own record set earlier this week. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.5%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time.
Big U.S. oil companies helped drive the market higher, including gains of 1.1% for Exxon Mobil, 3.8% for ConocoPhillips and 4.1% for Diamondback Energy. They rose with prices for crude, which leaped roughly 5% after Trump announced sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
The hope is to convince Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to end the brutal war with Ukraine, and sanctions could constrict the global flow of oil. The jumps helped oil prices recover some of their sharp recent losses, taken because of expectations for supplies of crude in inventories to remain plentiful. Oil prices are still down more than 10% for the year so far.
