Oil jumps to $100 per barrel and stocks sink worldwide with no clear end in sight for the Iran war

NEW YORK (AP) — Worries about the war with Iran are sending oil prices back to $100 per barrel and stocks sinking worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% Thursday (March 12, 2026) and looks to be returning to big swings following some relative calm. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 583 points, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%. The center of action was again in the oil market, where the price of a barrel of Brent crude got as high as $101.59 before pulling back just below $100. Treasury yields climbed on worries about higher inflation and fewer cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.