Wall Street is continuing its move toward less risky investments, as oil prices climbed to their highest level in five months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points, or 1.23%, to 52215.16. The S&P 500 lost 39.75 points, or 0.52%, to 7623.68 and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 53.52 points, or 0.21%, to 25955.34.
Thursday's selloff of AI-related stocks cooled down, allowing the tech-heavy Nasdaq to outperform. Treasury yields rebounded slightly after weathering their biggest one-day decline in more than three years.
The yield on the two-year Treasury gained 0.044 percentage point to 4.680%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 0.110 percentage point to 4.987% and the yield on the 30-year bond added 0.028 percentage point to 5.314%.
The Brent crude oil rose 3.1% to $116.72, its highest point since April, after Iran promised to retaliate if the U.S. and Israel restart their air strikes. Iran said it would respond with strikes not only on U.S. military bases, but also on airports, pipelines and civilian targets in the Persian Gulf. The energy sector led gains in the S&P 500 following the gains in oil.
Investors are continuing their move to less volatile stocks. So far this month, the consumer staples sector has climbed 9.6%, putting it on pace for its best month in 26 years. Other safe-haven sectors, including utilities and health care, are leading S&P 500 gains this month.
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