Wall Street opens mixed as oil prices rise

Wall Street stocks were mixed early Wednesday as markets weighed another rise in oil prices during increased US-Iran fighting in the Middle East.

Crude prices were up more than two percent early Wednesday. The source said the US military struck Iran's Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Tuesday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was questioned in Congress about tens of billions of dollars in requested additional funding for the Iran war.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent at 52,326.69. The S&P 500 was down 0.1 percent at 7,500.58, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.4 percent to 25,727.18.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said concerns that the US-Iran standoff could intensify, rather than ease soon, were behind the increase in oil prices. He described the oil move as one factor in a more defensive turn in equities.

Among individual companies, AMD rose 0.7 percent after saying it plans to invest up to $5 billion in artificial intelligence start-up Anthropic. The companies announced a partnership that also includes a large processor order.