Business & Markets
Wall Street ends lower as Middle East fighting lifts oil prices
Wall Street stocks fell on Monday after early gains faded, as escalating fighting between the United States and Iran pushed oil prices higher and investors waited for major technology earnings.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described Iran as being engaged in a full-scale war with the United States. Yemen's Houthi rebels, described in the report as Tehran's allies, announced a blockade of Saudi ports, threatening Saudi Arabia's ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for some of its oil exports. The source also reported that the United States announced three new military fatalities and one service member missing in action over the weekend.
Brent crude futures finished up 1.3 percent at $89.22 per barrel after earlier moving above $90. West Texas Intermediate rose 0.9 percent to $83.23 per barrel. AAA said US gasoline prices rose back above $4 a gallon.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said the US-Iran situation appeared uncertain and that investors lacked conviction. He said investors were also cautious about whether large technology companies could exceed high expectations linked to artificial intelligence. Alphabet and Tesla were among the companies being watched.
Asian stock markets had ended mostly lower earlier in the day, pressured by higher oil prices and concerns that the artificial intelligence sector may be overbought. Crude prices have risen over the past week as Washington and Tehran traded fire, raising fears of longer disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which the report said about one fifth of the world's oil normally passes.
Markets also weighed aggressive statements from Tehran and Washington against more conciliatory signals. Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said messages had been received through mediators and that Iran's diplomatic apparatus had been active in recent days.
Saudi Arabia had continued exporting millions of barrels of oil a day despite the Hormuz blockade, though at levels far below prewar totals, through its Red Sea port of Yanbu. The report said oil markets had for months feared a return by the Houthis to attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis did not say how they would enforce their blockade.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.6 percent at 51,839.26. The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 7,443.28, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1 percent to 25,508.07.
In Europe, London's FTSE 100 lost 0.7 percent to 10,524.76, Paris's CAC 40 was flat at 8,340.11 and Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.1 percent to 24,846.69. The pound weakened to $1.3438 from $1.3452 on Friday after Andy Burnham took over as Britain's prime minister and named former defence secretary John Healey as finance minister. The euro fell to $1.1416 from $1.1439, while the dollar rose to 162.48 yen from 162.40 yen.
In Asia, Tokyo was closed for a holiday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 2.4 percent and Shanghai's Composite Index gained 0.9 percent.
Update
Wall Street stocks ended lower after early gains faded.
Brent crude closed up 1.3 percent at $89.22 per barrel and had earlier moved above $90.
West Texas Intermediate closed up 0.9 percent at $83.23 per barrel.
AAA said US gasoline prices rose back above $4 a gallon.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described Iran as engaged in a full-scale war with the United States.
Yemen's Houthi rebels announced they would blockade Saudi ports, threatening Saudi Arabia's ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz for some oil exports.
The source reported three new US military fatalities and one service member missing in action over the weekend.
The Dow closed down 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq down 0.1 percent.
The British pound weakened against the dollar as Andy Burnham took over as Britain's prime minister and named John Healey as finance minister.
London's FTSE 100 closed down 0.7 percent.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 20:38:40 UTC.
Update
Brent rose above $91 a barrel, its highest level since June 11, before easing to $88.16 around 1530 GMT.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said diplomatic exchanges had continued through mediators and that ideas had been conveyed to Iran.
A Pakistani interior ministry source said Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was set to travel to Islamabad on Monday, without confirming the reason.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia on Monday.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF was up 1.7 percent in morning New York trading after losing nearly nine percent the previous week.
The British pound fell against the dollar after Andy Burnham took over as Britain's prime minister, with markets awaiting his finance minister choice.
The source gives market levels around 1530 GMT, including Wall Street gains, European closes, oil prices and currency moves.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 16:11:26 UTC.
Update
Updated market levels around 1330 GMT, including Brent at $88.05 a barrel and WTI at $81.61 a barrel.
Wall Street opened higher while European markets were mostly stable and Asian markets ended mostly lower.
Iran's interior minister was set to travel to Pakistan's capital, according to a Pakistani interior ministry source.
Yemen's Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia.
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF rose 2.8 percent in early New York trading after falling nearly nine percent the previous week.
The British pound was steady against the dollar as Andy Burnham took over as Britain's prime minister.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 13:52:30 UTC.
Update
Brent rose above $91 a barrel, its highest level since June 11, before paring gains.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said messages and ideas had been conveyed through mediators.
The British pound rose against the dollar and euro ahead of the UK confirming Andy Burnham as prime minister and his expected appointment of a finance minister.
Boeing said it received an order for 100 737 MAX jets from SMBC Aviation Capital at the Farnborough airshow.
The item adds market levels for oil, equities and major currencies around 1100 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 11:12:11 UTC.
Update
Oil gave back part of its earlier gains after Iran said diplomatic exchanges with the United States were continuing through mediators.
Brent rose above $91 a barrel, its highest level since June 11, before trading at about $89 a barrel.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran had received messages and ideas through mediators.
The report added updated market moves in Asia and Europe, including gains in Hong Kong and Shanghai and a 4.46 percent fall in Seoul.
The report added comments from Stephen Innes on oil prices, inflation and growth risks, and from Chris Weston on market reaction to Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 model.
Gold eased by 0.25 percent while silver rose a little over one percent.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 08:35:29 UTC.
Update
Brent rose above $91 a barrel and was described as reaching its highest price since June 11.
The source reported fresh US strikes on Iranian targets and Iranian attacks on regional military assets in the Gulf over the weekend.
West Texas Intermediate also extended gains after rising more than four percent at the end of the previous week.
Asian markets were mixed, with Hong Kong up more than two percent and Seoul down 4.46 percent.
London, Paris and Frankfurt opened lower.
The report added analyst comments from Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management and Chris Weston of Pepperstone.
The report included market figures around 0715 GMT, including Brent at $90.81 and WTI at $84.59.
The report said Chinese startup Moonshot AI released a model that experts said could rival more advanced US lab offerings.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 July 2026 at 07:31:02 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The Houthis had not said how they would enforce their announced blockade.
The report describes market caution over whether technology companies will beat high earnings expectations by enough.
Source
AFP news report published on .