U.S. Stocks Turn Lower After Oil Jumps 3%

Barry Adams
31 May, 2022
New York City

U.S. stocks turned lower after crude oil prices extended gains and eurozone inflation touched multi-decade higher.  

The S&P 500 index declined 1.1% to 4,114.08 and the Nasdaq Composite index fell 1.2% to 11,984.17. 

Crude oil futures in New York gained 3.5% to $119.10 a barrel after the European Union imposed a partial ban on the import of Russian crude oil and energy products. 

Euro zone consumer price index jumped to more than expected 8.1% and France and Austria also reported record high inflation not seen in the last several decades. 

The latest data from the Eurostat, the statistics office in the currency union, showed consumer prices harmonized in May rose 8.1% after rising at 7.4% in April, seventh monthly record increase in a row. 

May Inflation in France jumped to 5.8% from 5.4% in April and in Germany surged to 8.7% from 7.8% in April. 

Harmonized inflation in Italy rose 7.3% in May from 6.3% in April.

The main driver of inflation in the region is the 39.2% surge in crude oil prices in May after rising 37.5% in April. 

In today's trading crude oil prices increased 1.5% to $119.81 in London, U.K. trading after the European Union leaders proposed to partially ban Russian oil imports. 

The popular indexes in New York reversed course after a week of rise that lifted the S&P 500 index 6.5% and the Nasdaq Composite index 6.8%. 

The indexes were also under the pressure after the oil prices reached a new 8-year high and investors recalibrated economic slow down prospects. 

Crude oil prices also gained after China eased restrictions on return to office work and social gathering in Beijing and Shanghai. 

 Investors are also looking ahead to earnings from more than 150 companies this week including results from Salesforce.com, Victoria's Secret, HP, Chewy, Lululemon Athletica, and Veeva Systems.