Wall Street's losses deepened on Friday as the ongoing fallout from the war in Iran keeps pushing oil prices higher, ratcheting up inflationary pressure on the global economy.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent after having been up as much as 0.9 percent in the early going. The benchmark index is now down 3.1 percent so far this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq composite finished 0.9 percent lower. The indexes also ended the week with their third straight weekly loss.

After briefly easing early Friday, crude oil prices rose again, bringing the benchmark oil price back above US$100 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, closed 2.7 percent higher at US$103.14 per barrel. It's up about 40 percent for the month.

A barrel of US crude oil rose 3.1 percent to settle at US$98.71. It’s risen around 46 percent this month.

Long-term bond yields continued to rise on Friday as bond market traders reacted to the latest rise in oil prices, a key driver of inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28 percent from 4.26 percent late on Thursday. It was just 3.97 percent before the war started.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 40.43 points to 6,632.19. The Dow lost 119.38 points to finish at 46,558.47, and the Nasdaq dropped 206.62 points to 22,105.36. (AP)



Edited by Robert Kemp