Top photos of the day by The Associated Press

From front-page news to powerful moments you may have missed, this gallery showcases today’s top photos chosen by Associated Press photo editors.

Hair from onlookers blows in the rotor wash as Marine One, with President Donald Trump aboard, lifts off from the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The dead trunks of cypress trees, cabbage palms and other wetland plants briefly emerge during a drawdown of the Rodman Reservoir on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Palatka, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Venezuela enters the field at the start of the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against the United States, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Barcelona's Raphinha celebrates after scoring the opening goal of his team during the Champions League round of 16, second leg soccer match between FC Barcelona and Newcastle United FC in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Venezuela fans watch the championship match of the World Classic Baseball between the United States and Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

People ride their bicycles over a bridge in Frankfurt, Germany, as the sun rises on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Participants carry giant effigies called "ogoh-ogoh" representing evil spirits that need to be cleansed during a parade on the evening of "Nyepi" or the Day of Silence that marks Balinese Hindu's New Year in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Coffins containing the remains of victims of a Monday airstrike on a drug rehabilitation hospital are laid out before burial in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)

Homebound travelers scramble to board a train at Kamalapur Railway Station, joining the massive annual exodus to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)

Israeli authorities hang Israeli and U.S. flags at the site struck by an Iranian missile that killed two people, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A building collapses as smoke rises following an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

FBI Director Kash Patel listens during the Senate Committee on Intelligence hearings on Capitol Hill Wednesday, March 18, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

President Donald Trump walks to board Air Force One, Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Dover Air Force Base, Del., after attending the casualty return for the six crew members of an Air Force refueling aircraft who died when their plane crashed in western Iraq while supporting operations against Iran. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks slumped after a report said inflation was primed to worsen even before the war with Iran sent oil prices spiking. That and comments from the head of the Federal Reserve pushed Wall Street on Wednesday to see less chance of getting the lower interest rates that it loves. The S&P 500 fell 1.4% for its first loss this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%, and the Nasdaq composite slid 1.5%. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market, which in turn hurt the price of gold. It fell back below $5,000 per ounce.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are sinking Wednesday after a report said inflation was primed to worsen even before oil prices began spiking because of the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 1.1% and was on track for its first loss this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 668 points, or 1.4%, with an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.

The losses deepened after the Federal Reserve decided to keep its main interest rate steady, instead of resuming cuts meant to give the job market and economy a boost. Fed officials are still penciling in one more cut to interest rates by the end of 2026, but Chair Jerome Powell suggested those projections may not be worth as much as usual because of how much more uncertainty there is.

“We just don’t know,” Powell said about what will happen with oil prices, along with how long tariffs will take to work their way through the economy.

Worries had been rising that the Fed could make zero cuts in 2026 given how much oil prices have soared. A barrel of Brent crude has jumped from roughly $70 per barrel to as high as $109.95 on Wednesday. It settled at $107.38, up 3.8% from the day before. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude got to nearly $99 before settling at $96.32.

Oil and natural gas prices have spiked because the war has disrupted the Persian Gulf's energy industry. Iran’s state television said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic would be attacking oil and gas infrastructure in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates after an attack on facilities associated with its offshore South Pars natural gas field.

If the disruptions keep oil and gas prices high for long, they could send a debilitating wave of inflation crashing into the global economy.

A report released Wednesday morning showed that inflation pressures were already worsening before the war began. It said inflation at the U.S. wholesale level unexpectedly accelerated last month to 3.4%, and those cost increases could hit U.S. households if producers pass them all along.

Such numbers were likely factors in staying the Fed's hand on Wednesday. A cut to rates would have given the economy and investment prices a boost, and President Donald Trump has been angrily calling for them. But lower interest rates would also worsen inflation.

Only one Fed voter wanted to lower rates this time around, and the tally was 11-1 to keep rates steady.

Powell said the rule of thumb has been for the Fed to look through jumps in oil prices, which could prove to be only temporary, but he said that works only if expectations for upcoming inflation don’t spike themselves. He also noted that several Fed officials downgraded their forecasts for rate cuts this year to one from two, even though the overall median Fed official is still calling for one.

That helped send Treasury yields higher in the bond market, along with the higher-than-expected update on inflation at the wholesale level. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.25% from 4.20% late Tuesday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran started.

Because Treasury bonds are paying more in interest, gold is looking less attractive to some investors. Gold pays its holders nothing, and it dropped back below $5,000 per ounce after falling 2.2% to settle at $4,896.20. It's lower than it was at the start of the war, despite its reputation as a safe haven for investors looking for safety during uncertain times.

On Wall Street, Macy’s jumped 5.1% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The retailer behind Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury is in the midst of a turnaround plan to drive growth under CEO Tony Spring.

But General Mills fell 2.8% after the company behind the Pillsbury, Progresso and Wheaties brands reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Jeff Harmening is investing in its brands in hopes of driving growth, and it’s sticking with its forecast for profit over the full fiscal year.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a stronger finish in Asia. They reacted to the rise in the price of crude, which accelerated as trading headed westward around the world.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rallied 2.9% after the government reported exports in February were higher than expected. South Korea’s Kospi leaped 5%.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

Christopher Lagana works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Philip Finale works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing international oil prices at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing international oil prices at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A person looks at a stock price monitor showing New York Dow and Nikkei indexes also US dollar Japanese yen exchange rate at a security company Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top right, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)