By Angus Berwick
Oil prices rose after President Trump ramped up pressure on Venezuela, ordering a blockade of sanctioned tankers entering and exiting the country.
Brent crude futures moved higher toward $60 a barrel, after skidding Tuesday. Shares of energy companies, including Exxon Mobil, BP and Shell, rallied.
The Nasdaq composite lost ground Wednesday, falling more than 1% with Nvidia, Broadcom and Oracle all down on the day. The Dow industrials surrendered early gains, dragged down by a slide in shares of Caterpillar.
Warner Bros. Discovery rejected an unsolicited bid from Paramount, saying it believes a planned deal with Netflix is still superior. Paramount and Warner shares both fell, while Netflix gained.
The dollar strengthened against a range of currencies. The British pound fell after data showed U.K. inflation slowed to an eight-month low, making a Thursday rate cut all but certain.
In other markets:
--Global markets largely advanced. China's Shanghai composite and Hang Seng Index both rose about 1%, boosted by AI stocks. The FTSE 100 rose 1.5%, bolstered by energy and bank stocks.
--Silver futures rallied to another record intraday high. Gold prices also gained.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 17, 2025 12:29 ET (17:29 GMT)
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