Stocks on Wall Street are falling in early trade, as
surging oil prices threaten to worsen the world’s already high inflation.

The S&P 500 was 0.9% down after US oil rose as high
as $130 per barrel overnight on the possibility the US could ban crude oil
imports from Russia. Stock around the world witnessed sharp losses earlier in
the day, but they recovered losses as oil receded toward $117 per barrel.

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European stock markets briefly erased all of their steep
losses. Stocks in Paris were close to flat after having plunged as low as 5% in
the morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 301 points or 0.9%
down at 33,313, as of 10.07 am Eastern time zone, and the Nasdaq composite was
1% lower.

Treasury yields jumped, with the 10-year rising to 1.77%.

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A measure of fear on Wall Street was also higher, but not
by as much as it had been when oil prices were at their peak. Gold price
briefly crossed the $2,000 per ounce mark before trading at $1,975.80, up 0.5%.

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The market took much of their hints from oil prices,
which have soared recently on worries that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will
affect already tight supplies. Russia is the second-largest energy producer in
the world, and oil prices were already surging before the attack because the
global economy is demanding more fuel following its coronavirus-caused
shutdown.

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US crude oil was trading at $117.67 per barrel, up 1.7%,
after touching $130.50 per barrel. International oil benchmark Brent Crude was
up 2% at $120.47 per barrel.

Markets across the world have swung widely amid concerns
about how high prices for oil, wheat and other commodities produced in the
region will go because of Russia’s invasion, worsening the world’s already high
inflation. In the United States, prices for consumers rose last month from
their year-ago level at their fastest rate in four decades.

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The list of companies shutting operations in Russia has
increased including Mastercard, Visa and American Express, as well as Netflix.