Oil prices sink on fresh diplomatic efforts in Middle East

NEW YORK — A potentially historic drop for Alphabet’s stock is dragging the U.S. market lower Oct. 29 after the company behind Google and YouTube reported weaker growth for the summer than analysts expected. The report underscored worries about whether all its huge investments in AI technology will pay off. Oil eased as traders assessed fresh diplomatic efforts in the Middle East to avert a resumption of U.S. military strikes on Iran, a prospect that has pushed prices higher, Bloomberg reported. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil sank 2.1% to $109.26. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.3% to $100.46 a barrel, Bloomberg reported. The S&P 500 fell 0.4% and was on track for its first loss in four days, while the Nasdaq composite tumbled 1.4%. Most of the rest of the stocks on Wall Street were rising, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a more modest 0.3%, or 160 points, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. Alphabet is one of the most influential stocks on Wall Street because it’s one of the largest, and its 12.2% drop was on track to be its worst since it began trading more than 20 years ago. It was under heavy pressure to at least meet analysts’ expectations for growth amid concerns about how much it’s spending to invest in AI. Alphabet said late Oct. 28 that it burned through more cash during the latest quarter, according to a measure called free cash flow, after its purchases of property and equipment topped $51 billion. crack spreads continue to…

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