Oil prices dip after 4% increase the day before

People walk past the Nasdaq MarketSite on Aug. 6 in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

NEW YORK — Stocks rose in morning trading on Wall Street on Aug. 7 and Treasury yields fell after the government reported that employers unexpectedly cut 23,000 jobs last month.

Oil prices are heading back down Aug. 7 after Brent crude rose nearly 4% on Aug. 6 as progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, vital to securing stable oil supplies, remained unclear.

As of early Aug. 7, a barrel of Brent, the international standard, fell 0.6%, to $82.07. U.S. benchmark crude oil edged 0.1% lower, to $77.19 per barrel.

A fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas once passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices have surged as high as $113 due to the war and higher prices have added more heat to inflation by raising the price of gasoline and raising costs for shipping.

Iran has said it is close to a deal with Oman for reopening the strait. U.S. President Donald Trump has also previously said a deal is close, but the conflict has had many starts and stops over the past five months.

Reopening the strait may require a compromise since the Trump administration has ruled out Iran charging fees to ships. But Iran has insisted on some measure of control, saying the strait will not go back to being an international waterway.

Hormuz traffic remains subdued

The Strait of Hormuz remained subdued on 7 August, with 8 confirmed crossings, down 33% day-on-day, while most vessels used the Iranian Unilateral Scheme. Bab el-Mandeb activity moved in the opposite direction, rising 18% to 26 confirmed crossings,… pic.twitter.com/9vLl2uREMU — Kpler (@Kpler) August 7, 2026

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and is hovering around the record it set on Aug. 4. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 114 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:55 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Every major index is on track for weekly gains.

Technology stocks, with their big market values, did much of the heavy lifting for the broader market. They are often the heaviest weights determining the market’s direction. Nvidia jumped 1.3% and Broadcom rose 1.1%.

The bond market reacted more strongly to the weaker signal on the job market, which can be seen as allowing the Federal Reserve more time before raising interest rates to fight inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.63% from 4.67% just prior to the jobs update. The yield on the two-year Treasury, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed action on interest rates, fell to 4.19% from 4.22% prior to the report's release.

Overall, the report paints a dimmer picture of the jobs market, which has been one of the brighter areas of the economy amid rising inflation and worries about household spending. It included a revision to the figures for June and May that involved slashing a combined 103,000 jobs from payrolls for those months.

The Fed has been holding interest rates steady amid worries about hotter inflation, especially fueled by a rise in oil prices because of the U.S. war with Iran. Wall Street expects at least one rate increase by the end of the year. A weakening jobs market could make matters more complicated for the Fed, which has to balance supporting job growth with fighting inflation.

Raising interest rates can help tame inflation by slowing economic growth. A weaker jobs market, though, could become even more battered under higher interest rates as businesses find it more difficult to expand under increased borrowing rates.

Businesses, and Wall Street, prefer lower interest rates because it can help boost investments. That might bolster a weakened jobs market, but it could worsen already stubborn inflation.

Markets in Europe gained ground and markets in Asia were mixed.

Associated Press business writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.