Oil Spike to $104 Erases Corporate Earnings Gains

Lower- and middle-income consumers will see their purchasing power eroded as transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture costs rise. This follows a 7% spike in energy prices. WTI crude is now $104 per barrel and Brent crude is $102 per barrel. The price increase follows the U.S. move to block the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for nearly one-fifth of global oil supply, after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran failed over the weekend. Stock indexes opened sharply lower. The S&P 500 is down 33 points, the Nasdaq is down 111 points, and the Russell 2000 is down 14 points. The Dow fell 465 points. Goldman Sachs shares dropped 4% in pre-market trading despite a Q1 earnings beat of $17.55 per share on $17.23 billion in revenue. Macroeconomic shocks now outweigh corporate performance.