US stocks mostly lower as oil prices stay in focus

New York, March 20, 2026 (AFP)
Wall Street stocks mostly fell early Friday as markets monitored oil prices following an attack on a Kuwait oil refinery.
Despite the drone attack in Kuwait, which caused a fire that shut down several refinery units, oil prices edged lower.
But stocks still mostly retreated, with the broad-based S&P 500 down 0.2 percent at 6,591.63 about 15 minutes into trading.
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 21,980.10, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1 percent to 46,046.57.
Energy prices have spiked since the February 28 launch of the US-Israel war on Iran, and they rose further this week following attacks on major energy infrastructure in Qatar, Iran and other countries.
"We need to get clarity that traffic is resuming to some sense of normal and the flow of global energy product is healing," said Art Hogan of B. Riley Wealth Management.
"And it just doesn't really appear as though we're getting any closer to that."
Among individual companies, FedEx rose 2.3 percent as the goods delivery service reported better than expected profits and lifted its annual forecast.
Executives said they were monitoring the war in the Middle East, but noted that the region accounts for a relatively small part of the company's revenues.
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Sumber : AFP