Stock Selloff Builds, Oil Climbs as Iran War Widens

Good morning. Stocks drop and oil surges on fears of a widening Iran war. The conflict may usher in a new nuclear age. And young people are being shut out of London’s job market. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Stocks extended a selloff and Brent crude advanced above $116 a barrel as Iran-backed Houthi militants joined the Middle East war and an expanded US military presence stoked fears of a prolonged confrontation. Aluminum jumped after Tehran attacked two production sites in UAE and Bahrain. Pimco and JPMorgan warned that financial markets are underestimating downside growth risks posed by the conflict.

Donald Trump claimed that Iran “gave” the US most of the 15 demands it issued to Tehran to end the war, even as it remains unclear whether either side is negotiating. Earlier, Trump said he wanted to seize Iran’s oil resources, a move that would mark a major escalation in the conflict.

The energy industry is warning that the biggest oil supply shock in history is only beginning. Later today, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves will urge Group of Seven partners to boost domestic energy supplies and warn the recent surge in oil and gas prices is playing into Vladimir Putin’s hands.

Trump’s willingness to attack adversaries while rattling allies is threatening to push the world into a new nuclear age. From the North Atlantic to the West Pacific, governments are debating more publicly than before whether they, too, must get the bomb.