US stocks mixed as markets digest latest rise in oil prices

NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks were mixed early Monday as worries about rising oil prices due to the Middle East war were countered by the robust US corporate earnings outlook. Oil prices edged higher as Iran’s military warned that US forces would be attacked if they entered the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States would help guide ships through the waterway. But major indices remain at or near records, a sign “the stock market seems to not really pay much attention” to rising oil prices, said CFRA’s Sam Stovall. READ MORE: Wall St Week Ahead: US stocks rally could find fuel in earnings About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0. 5 percent at 49, 248. 75. The broad-based S&P 500 was little changed at 7, 228. 06, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0. 2 percent to 25, 160. 86. Stovall said the market is still feeling a high after last week’s trove of earnings report, which included updates from tech giants that were mostly well received. “The focus is on corporate profits and right now first-quarter earnings estimates have doubled compared with what was expected on March 31st, ” Stovall said. “So really the focus is almost exclusively on this earnings reporting period. ” This week’s earnings calendar includes reports from Disney, Pfizer and McDonald’s. The Labor Department will also release the April jobs report on Friday.

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