WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have regained ground after an early move to the downside but remain mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Earlier in the session, the Dow and the S&P 500 dropped to their lowest intraday levels in over a month.
Currently, the major averages are still in negative territory. The Dow is down 234.71 points or 0.5 percent at 52,145.95, the Nasdaq is down 104.21 points or 0.4 percent at 26,149.13 and the S&P 500 is down 31.76 points or 0.4 percent at 7,604.60.
The initial weakness on Wall Street came amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring above $100 a barrel for the first time since May.
Crude oil prices have given back some ground since then but remain up by more than 4 percent amid concerns about a prolonged war between the U.S. and Iran.
A Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials said top White House advisers have privately raised the prospect with President Donald Trump that the war could drag on through the remainder of his term.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran war would end immediately after the midterm elections, although he has repeatedly claimed that the seven-month-old conflict would end soon.
The spike in crude oil prices has contributed to a continued surge in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to its highest levels in almost three years.
Higher crude oil prices and treasury yields have added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 67.6 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point following the meeting.
A rate hike is still expected after the Labor Department released its report on producer price inflation in the month of August.
While the report showed producer prices increased in line with economist estimates on a monthly basis, the annual rate of price growth accelerated by slightly more than expected.
Sector News
Housing stocks have moved sharply lower amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 2.4 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a year.
Substantial weakness is also visible among gold stocks, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index tumbling by 2.3 percent amid a step drop by the price of the precious metal.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and oil service stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while networking and brokerage stocks are bucking the downtrend.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved sharply higher, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 7.9 basis points at 4.916 percent.
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