WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday, extending the upward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages have all climbed into positive territory following an early pullback.
Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The Dow is up 250.27 points or 0.5 percent at 47,991.07, the Nasdaq is up 138.56 points or 0.6 percent at 22,834.51 and the S&P 500 is up 26.24 points or 0.4 percent at 6,822.23.
The strength on Wall Street comes amid a sharp pullback by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery plummeting $10.49 or 11.1 percent to $84.28 a barrel.
Crude oil prices have surged to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday amid concerns about the conflict in the Middle East before giving back ground as the day progressed.
The volatility in the oil markets comes amid uncertainty about the U.S. war with Iran after President Donald Trump's latest remarks about the conflict.
Trump said in a press conference on Monday that the war against Iran could end 'very soon' but provided few details about his end game.
The president claimed in a subsequent post on Truth Social that Iran would be hit 'twenty times harder' if they do anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz.
'We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again - Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them - But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!' Trump said.
Echoing Trump's confidence, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asserted in a press conference this morning that Iran is 'badly losing' but said the U.S. will still be launching its 'most intense day of strikes' in Iran today.
Sector News
Gold stocks have moved sharply higher along with the price of the precious metal, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surging by 2.5 percent.
Significant strength is also visible among networking stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent jump by the NYSE Arca Networking Index.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and steel stocks are also seeing considerable strength, while software stocks have shown a notable move to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 2.9 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shot up by 2.2 percent.
The major European markets have also shown strong moves back to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 2.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 2.0 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1.7 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.3 basis points at 4.113 percent.
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