The morning began with modest losses for Wall Street following drops for Asian and European stocks. But the S&P 500 erased its dip and was up by 0.7% in afternoon trading after Israel said it would begin direct negotiations with Lebanon. That helped calm worries that the two-week ceasefire announced late Tuesday could already be in trouble because of Israel's bombardment of Lebanon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 382 points, or 0.8%, as of 1:56 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher after both indexes likewise recovered from early losses.
Crude oil prices pared some of their gains, but they nevertheless remained higher for the day on continued uncertainty about when oil tankers can start fully flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway has been at the center of President Donald Trump’s demands of Iran, and blockages there have kept oil and natural gas stuck in the Persian Gulf and away from customers worldwide.
The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.4% to $95.78 after briefly nearing $103 in the morning. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.1% to $94.87 per barrel.
