US stocks fall for 4th straight session; Dow sheds 316 points

US stocks declined for a fourth consecutive session at Thursday’s close, as oil prices reached levels that threaten to sharply exacerbate inflationary pressures. This fueled bets on monetary tightening and pushing bond yields higher.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.60%, or 316 points, to 52,064.

The broader S&P 500 declined 0.58%, or 44 points, to 7,591, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.65%, or 171 points, to 26,081.

Across the Atlantic, the STOXX Europe 600 fell 0.69% to 635 points.

The UK’s FTSE 100 declined 0.57% to 10,608 points, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.84% to 25,361 points, and France’s CAC 40 shed 0.49% to 8,116 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.20% to 65,270 points, while the broader TOPIX gained the same percentage to 4,054 points.

In oil markets, Brent crude futures for November delivery jumped 6.34%, or $6.42, to $107.63 per barrel.

US Nymex crude futures for October delivery climbed 6.70%, or $6.43, to $102.48 per barrel.

As for gold, futures for December delivery fell 1.19%, or $53.40, to $4,407.30 per ounce.

The continued sharp rise in oil prices intensified inflation concerns and pushed bond yields higher, increasing investor bets that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week, particularly after producer price inflation accelerated.