Oil prices rise and US stocks give back a bit of their record-breaking
rally
[April 21, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices climbed Monday following the latest rise of
tensions between the United States and Iran, but the moves were more
modest than they were earlier in the war. U.S. stocks, meanwhile, gave
back a bit of their record-breaking rally.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its all-time high for just its second drop
in 14 days after the United States seized an Iranian-flagged cargo
vessel that it said had tried to evade its blockade of Iranian ports.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 4 points, or less than 0.1%, and
the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard,
climbed 5.6% to settle at $95.48 on worries that Iran could keep
petroleum pent up in the Persian Gulf if it continues to block tankers
from exiting the Strait of Hormuz.
It’s a turnaround from the prior trading day on Wall Street, when stocks
soared and oil prices tumbled after Iran said Friday it was reopening
the strait to commercial traffic. That enthusiasm vanished quickly after
Iran closed the strait again Saturday following the U.S. decision to
press ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.
The next big deadline is looming on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern
time, which is early Wednesday Tehran time, when a ceasefire agreement
between the United States and Iran is scheduled to expire.
Still, oil prices remain well below the high points reached so far in
the war. Brent crude’s price briefly got above $119 per barrel when
fears were at their highest. And the S&P 500 is still above where it was
before the war.
Monday’s relatively muted moves suggest investors still see a
possibility of a U.S.-Iranian agreement that could get oil flowing again
from the Middle East to customers worldwide. It would be in both
countries’ economic interests to end the war.
Companies with big fuel bills fell to some of Wall Street’s larger
losses following the rise in crude’s cost, as they have through much of
the war.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 3.5%, and Royal Caribbean Group
lost 1.1%.
United Airlines sank 2.8%, and American Airlines fell 4.2% after
American said it’s not interested in a merger with United. Airline
stocks had flown higher last week following a report saying United
wanted to combine with its rival.
On the winning side of Wall Street was TopBuild, a distributor of
insulation and building products, which jumped 19.4%. QXO is buying it
in a deal valued at roughly $17 billion.
QXO said the deal would make it the continent’s second-largest publicly
traded building products distributor, and its stock fell 3.1%.
[to top of second column] |
Trader Michael Milano, left, works on the floor of the New York
Stock Exchange, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.92
points to 7,109.14. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 4.87 to
49,442.56, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 64.09 to 24,404.39.
One big reason the U.S. stock market has been so strong recently is
the big profits that U.S. companies have been reporting for the
first three months of 2026, as well as expectations for continued
growth.
While reporting stronger profits for the latest quarter than
analysts expected, several of the biggest U.S. banks said last week
that they see the U.S. economy remaining resilient, particularly
because of solid spending by U.S. consumers.
“Despite geopolitical risks, the earnings recovery remains intact,”
according to Morgan Stanley strategists led by Michael Wilson. It’s
remained so solid that analysts have even raised their profit
expectations since the war began for the spring of 2026.
Along with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and other big banks,
about 10% of companies in the S&P 500 have already reported their
results for the start of 2026. Nearly nine out of 10 have delivered
a bigger profit than analysts expected, according to FactSet.
If the rest of the companies in the index match analysts’
expectations, overall earnings per share for S&P 500 companies will
end up 13% higher than a year earlier, according to FactSet.
That’s big because stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate
profits over the long term. Other companies scheduled to report
their results this week include UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday, Tesla
on Wednesday and Procter & Gamble on Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a better
finish in Asia. Germany’s DAX lost 1.2%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
added 0.8% for two of the world’s bigger moves.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to
this report.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
