The U.S. indices are down in early Tuesday trading after the single largest spike in oil prices in over a decade. The rise in prices is due to an attack on Saudi’s oil infrastructure that experts believe will take weeks if not longer to repair. WTI and Brent both surged more than 14% in the Monday session and threaten to send fuel prices up around the world. A rise in fuel prices would be another drag on global GDP and could send the economy into a recession. President Trump and experts say the attack originated in Iran although Iran denies the claims. At this point, 50% of Saudi Production is offline and that will affect about 5.0% of the global output.
In trade news, deputy-level talks are set to begin this week in Washington. The talks, scheduled for Thursday, are intended to pave the way to higher-level talks next month. In stock news, shares of Home Depot are moving lower after a downgrade from Guggenheim. The downgrade, to neutral, is a surprise following the firm’s initiation at Buy. About two-thirds of the analysts following HD, 21 of 34, rate the stock a buy. The Dow Jones is in the lead in early trading with a loss of -0.25%. The S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite are both down about -0.15%.