S&P 500 falls slightly in volatile trading as traders try to keep up with Iran conflict developments: Live updates

The S&P 500 fell slightly on Tuesday in choppy trading as oil prices pulled back and traders kept an eye on the Iran war.

The broad market index dropped 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 38 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite also slipped 0.1%. The Dow had lost as much as 296.57 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, at their lows.

Oil prices, which spiked to nearly $120 a barrel Monday at height of fear around the Iran conflict, dropped as traders believed a group of countries would tap emergency crude reserves to mitigate disruption caused by the conflict.

Prices then slid further after Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a since-deleted social media post that the U.S. Navy was able to escort a tanker through the Strait of Hormuz. After the post appeared to be deleted, however, oil bounced back slightly off its lows, while stocks moved off their highs of the day.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Tuesday that the U.S. has, in fact, not escorted a tanker through the Strait passageway.

Also weighing on sentiment, CBS News reported that the U.S. has started to see indications that Iran is moving toward deploying mines in the Strait.

West Texas Intermediate futures were last down 8% to trade at around $86 a barrel. Brent crude shed 8% to roughly $90 a barrel.

Wall Street is coming off a wild session in which the Dow erased a more than 800-point deficit as crude prices eased. The turnaround was fueled by President Donald Trump on Monday hinting that the conflict could end soon. He later said, “We’re achieving major strides toward completing our military objective.”

To be sure, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that “today will be our most intense day of strikes inside Iran.” He also said that Iran is “badly losing.”

Mike Sanders of Madison Investments anticipates that if prices drop back to the low $70s and $60s range, it won’t be a big deal for the economy.

“If we stay elevated — which there should probably be a little bit more of a premium in the market, given all the uncertainty that we have — I do think it’s going to matter,” the portfolio manager and head of fixed income said. “It’s going to take a while to work its way through.”

The Dow lost 3% last week for its worst performance in nearly a year as oil prices ramped higher.