By Angus Berwick
Oil prices are falling again, improving the mood on Wall Street.
Futures for Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped about 10% to around $89 a barrel, deepening a decline that began after they briefly surged to their highest intraday level since 2022.
Behind the slide: hopes the world's biggest economies will release strategic oil reserves and comments from President Trump signaling a limit to the duration of hostilities. The Group of Seven has asked the International Energy Agency to prepare plans to release oil from reserves. IEA countries are set to meet later Tuesday.
Those factors helped boost stocks around the world on Tuesday and stabilize U.S. indexes, which reversed small losses and drifted higher after data showed a rebound in home sales.
Tech led gains in the S&P 500. Caterpillar added around 2.5% to boost the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Still, plenty of signs remain that an immediate end to the war isn't in sight yet: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday's airstrikes against Iran would be the most intense yet, while a few hours earlier, Iran's foreign minister said ceasefire talks were off the table.
Saudi Aramco sounded a further note of caution, with its CEO warning of "catastrophic consequences for oil markets" the longer the disruption to energy flows continues.
Treasury yields edged lower. The dollar weakened. Gold rose around 2.6%.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 10, 2026 12:51 ET (16:51 GMT)
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