Wall Street opens lower as crude oil prices climb again

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street, giving back some of the big gains they made a day earlier. Crude oil prices were rising sharply again, renewing worries that prices could climb even more for gas and many other kinds of goods. The S&P 500 gave up 0.8% in the early going Wednesday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 0.8%. Crude oil prices were up more than 4%. Bond yields were easing lower after shooting higher a day earlier. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.35%.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. markets edged lower in advance of the market open Wednesday as President Joe Biden heads to Europe for a NATO meeting and EU Summit Thursday, where sanctions and the Russian oil embargo will likely top the agenda.

The futures for the Dow Jones Industrials fell 0.4% Wednesday and the same for the S&P 500 slipped 0.5%. Global shares were mixed, with Asia mostly higher despite worries about rising energy costs.

U.S. benchmark crude edged up 16 cents to $111.92 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, the international pricing standard, rose $3.11 to $118.59 per barrel.

Energy and commodity prices were already high as demand outpaced supply amid the global economic recovery, but the war in Ukraine has pushed oil, wheat and other prices even higher. Those higher costs and shipping problems make it more expensive for businesses to operate. Many of those costs have been passed on to consumers and higher prices for food, clothing and other goods could lead them to cut spending, resulting in slower economic growth.

“With few levers remaining to pressure Russia short of military intervention, the market is...