Oil prices are climbing Monday and threatening to add more upward pressure on inflation, while stock markets worldwide were making only modest moves.
The S&P 500 was 0.1% higher in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 226 points, or 0.7%, at 33,500, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% lower.
It’s the first day of the year’s second quarter for markets, and the 6% jump in oil prices is denting one of the main themes that helped stocks rise in the first quarter: that turmoil in the banking system and a continued slowdown in inflation could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to take it easier soon on their hikes to interest rates.
