Stocks are falling and Oil is spiking after Saudi Arabia was attacked

Over the weekend oil refineries in Saudi Arabia were hit by drones.

The attack knocked out as much as 5.7 million barrels a day in oil production. This amounts to roughly half of Saudi Arabia’s daily production which represents 5% of the world’s production.

Oil stocks soared after the attacks. But most stocks were lower on the concern that escalating tensions and higher fuel costs could have an impact on the global economy and consumer spending. 

After opening the day lower, stocks traded sideways for most of the day.

Today’s drop brought the DOW’s 8-day win streak to an end.

Here’s where the major indices ended the day:

• The S&P finished with a 0.3% loss. Down 9 points, the S&P ended at 2,998.
• The DOW ended lower by 0.5%. Dropping 143 points, the DOW closed at 27,077.
• The NASDAQ was down 0.3%. With a 23 point loss, the NASDAQ finished at 8,154.

Crude Oil (CL) rocketed higher after the Saudi refinery attacks. With a 14.6% gain, CL ended at $62.88 a barrel.

President Trump gave authorization for oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to be available to help offset the production disruption. But Crude Oil still finished the day near highs on supply concerns.

Billionaire Harold Hamm was probably pleased with today‘s big jump in Crude Oil. The oil barron made $2 billion today after his company Continetnal Resources CLR) rallied 21.8%.

American Airlines (AAL) was hit hard after the Crude Oil news. The stock lost 7.3% with traders concerned about the impact that higher fuel costs could have on the airline. Jetblue (JBLU) was also lower, dropping 3.1%.

And General Motors (GM) lost 4.3% after 50,000 union workers went on strike.