The New York Stock Exchange fell on Thursday. At the same time, the price of crude oil soared due to the conflict in the Middle East, as the fighting is feared to affect supply.
The price increase was fueled by a statement from President Joe Biden. When asked if the US is considering supporting potential Israeli attacks on Iranian oil fields, Biden replied:
We're discussing it. I think it would be a little …, said the President, without completing the sentence.
The price of North Sea oil rose 5.5 percent to almost 78 dollars per barrel. On the stock market, energy giants such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron benefited, rising 0.9 and 0.2 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, jeans giant Levi Strauss suffered. The stock plummeted 7.7 percent, despite the company reporting a higher profit for the previous quarter than analysts had predicted. On the other hand, revenues were worse than expected.
The broad S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones industrial index dropped 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq's technology-heavy composite index closed unchanged.
