Wall Street stocks have tumbled as oil prices shot higher on worsening effects of the US-Iran war, while Tesla and Google parent Alphabet fell sharply after earnings reports.
International oil benchmark Brent North Sea crude topped $100 a barrel on Thursday after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels struck oil tankers in the Red Sea. The attack brought the war roiling the Middle East to a new front.
Alphabet dropped about six percent while Tesla slid more than 10 percent, reflecting investor angst over hefty capital spending investments on new technologies.
About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.8 percent to 51,783.21.
