Financial Markets                      04/07 09:25

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices are rising, and U.S. stocks are falling Tuesday 
as the countdown ticks toward the latest deadline set by President Donald Trump 
to destroy Iranian power plants and bridges.

   The S&P 500 fell 1% as Trump threatened that a "whole civilization will die 
tonight, never to be brought back again" if Iran does not meet his deadline at 
8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials, meanwhile, 
urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants that Trump has 
threatened to bomb.

   The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 397 points, or 0.9%, as of 10:10 
a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% lower. Their losses 
likewise accelerated as the morning progressed, the latest swings to rock 
financial markets as doubt turns to hope and back that the war with Iran could 
end soon.

   The moves were sharper in the oil market, where prices have spiked because 
the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian 
Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach 
customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.

   The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 3.8% to $116.72. 
Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.7% to $110.58 and is well 
above its roughly $70 level from before the war in late February.

   The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil 
prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing 
through the global economy. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire 
proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

   So far in the war, Trump has made a series of threats to blow up Iranian 
power plants if it doesn't open the Strait of Hormuz, but he has then delayed 
it several times. The possibility remains that Trump could back down again, 
among other scenarios, which is keeping uncertainty high.

   A year ago, Trump ultimately backed off many of the stiff tariffs that he 
initially threatened to put on other countries' imports, though they ended up 
higher than from before his second term.

   "Investors are likely to remain on edge and markets unable to establish 
trends, probably until there is a clear outcome later this evening: a deal, the 
U.S./Israeli strikes intensify, or Iran's retaliation becomes escalatory 
instead of proportional," according to Paul Christopher, head of global 
investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

   On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills fell to some of the market's 
sharpest losses as oil prices continued their ascent.

   Norwegian Cruise Line Holding dropped 4.2%, and United Airlines sank 3.3%.

   Companies whose customers may get squeezed the most by the recent jump in 
gasoline prices were also struggling. Dollar Tree slid 4.8%, and Dollar General 
fell 2.2%.

   The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the country has 
jumped to $4.14, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the 
United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

   Universal Music Group also helped to limit losses for global stock indexes 
after Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management offered to buy the 
record label behind Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny in a cash-and-stock deal valued 
at approximately $64 billion.

   The proposed purchase, which Pershing Square argued would clear uncertainty 
that's weighed on UMG's stock, would bring the company to Nevada and move its 
stock listing from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange.

   UMG's stock in Amsterdam jumped 9.8% but remains well below what Pershing 
said its bid is worth. That could indicate investor doubt that the deal will 
happen.

   Stock indexes fell across much of Europe, which turned toward more 
decisively toward losses as U.S. Indexes accelerated their declines.

   Asian stock indexes were a touch stronger, with South Korea's Kospi rose 
0.8% for one of the world's bigger gains.

   In the bond market, Treasury yields were holding relatively steady ahead of 
Trump's looming deadline. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to 4.35% 
from 4.34% late Monday.

   It's well above its 3.97% level from before the war. The rise has pushed up 
rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, 
which slows the economy.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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