NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices swung Monday after a scare overnight where prices popped and then moderated, and the yo-yo moves kept stock markets worldwide unsettled.
The S&P 500 edged up by 0.1% in morning trading after flipping between modest gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 187 points, or 0.4%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was down 0.1% but remained near its all-time high set last week like the S&P 500.
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Trader Michael Milano, center, works with colleagues on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A Global Medical Response helicopter sits in front of the New York Stock Exchange before the planned IPO of GMR Solutions, Inc., Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A delivery person on a bicycle waits for a traffic light near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic board at a business building showing Japan's Nikkei index, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
The center of the action recently has been the world’s bond markets, where climbing yields have cranked up the pressure on economies and stock markets worldwide. Higher yields make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, which U.S. homebuyers are all too familiar with because of higher mortgage rates.
Higher interest rates could also make it more difficult for companies to borrow to build huge data centers for artificial-intelligence technology, which has been driving much of the U.S. economy’s growth.
Yields have been climbing for several reasons, and at the top of them have been oil prices. The war with Iran has trapped many oil tankers in the Persian Gulf instead of delivering crude to customers worldwide, which in turn has driven up crude’s price.
The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, got as high as $112 overnight after President Donald Trump told Iran on his social-media platform Sunday that “the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them.”
But prices eased later in the morning, with hopes still remaining that the two sides can reach a deal that would get oil flowing worldwide again. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell back to $108.75, down 0.5% from Friday, though that's still well above its roughly $70 price from before the war.
That drop in oil prices helped boost stock markets that hadn’t finished trading yet, and France’s CAC 40 index went from a loss of 1.2% to a gain of 0.6%. By that point, Japan’s Nikkei 225 had already finished 1% lower, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 1.1%.
On Wall Street, Dominion Energy pushed upward on the U.S. stock market after NextEra Energy agreed to buy it in an all-stock deal to create the world’s largest regulated electric utility by market value. Dominion rallied 10%, and NextEra fell 5%.
Boston Scientific climbed 5% after saying it would spend $2 billion on its previously announced stock buyback program of $5 billion by the end of June. Such purchases send cash directly to investors and boost the company’s per-share earnings.
Delta Air Lines rose 2.7%, aided by lower oil prices and news that Berkshire Hathaway bought more than $2.6 billion of the airline’s stock. Berkshire Hathaway built a reputation as a value investor able to buy stocks at low prices under its former leader, Warren Buffett.
Pulling downward on Wall Street was Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. It dropped 10.7% after reporting discouraging data from a trial of a treatment for melanoma.
This upcoming week will offer little in terms of data on the U.S. economy, but a heavily anticipated report on Nvidia’s latest quarterly results will arrive Wednesday. The chip company has routinely blown past analysts’ expectations each quarter, while forecasting even bigger growth than Wall Street had thought. It will likely need to keep up such momentum to keep AI stocks driving the market to more records.
Target, Home Depot and Walmart will also report their latest quarterly results this week.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.59%, back to where it was late Friday, after climbing as high as 4.63% overnight when oil prices were at their heights.
The yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond rallied toward its highest level since the late 1990s.
Yields worldwide have been climbing on fears about higher inflation caused by higher oil prices, which in turn could push central banks not only to abandon the thought of cutting interest rates but also consider hiking rates. Higher rates would slow inflation but at the cost of hurting the economy and dragging on prices for stocks and other investments.
Several solid reports on the U.S. economy recently, along with worries about the U.S. government’s huge and growing debt problem, are also pushing upward on yields.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.
Trader Michael Milano, center, works with colleagues on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Michael Capolino works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A Global Medical Response helicopter sits in front of the New York Stock Exchange before the planned IPO of GMR Solutions, Inc., Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A delivery person on a bicycle waits for a traffic light near an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic board at a business building showing Japan's Nikkei index, Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Israel's navy intercepted an activist flotilla in waters off of Cyprus on Monday, halting the group's latest effort to challenge a blockade of Gaza.
More than 50 vessels departed from the port in Marmaris, Turkey, last week in what the organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza’s shores to draw attention to the grim conditions for Palestinians living in the war-battered territory.
The organization’s livestream showed activists aboard several vessels putting on life jackets and raising their hands before a boat carrying Israeli troops approached. Wearing tactical gear, they boarded the ship, and the livestream abruptly ended. Many of the ships are currently off the coast of Cyprus.
Other footage showed Israeli forces on speedboats approaching and instructing the activists to move to the front of the boat. At least 17 boats were intercepted in the first three hours of the operation, according to Global Sumud Flotilla's tracker.
The flotilla interceptions occurred outside Cypriot territorial waters. Israeli authorities had not asked for any assistance in the interception, according to a Cypriot official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Israel notified Cyprus that all people aboard the intercepted flotilla boats are in good health, the official added.
Organizers said the boats were intercepted 250 nautical miles (463 kilometers) from the shores of Gaza. Unlike previous interceptions, which mostly took place under the cover of night, the Israeli military boarded the boats in broad daylight.
Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas took control of the territory in 2007, a year after winning Palestinian parliamentary elections.
Israel has said the blockade, which restricts the movement of goods and people in and out of Gaza, was meant to prevent Hamas from arming itself. Egypt, which has the only border crossing not controlled by Israel, has also greatly restricted movement in and out of Gaza. Critics say the blockade amounts to collective punishment.
The flotilla organizers said they expect the activists to be taken to the port of Ashdod, in southern Israel. Activists on previous flotillas were brought to the same port, where some were processed and immediately deported, while others were detained before they were deported.
An hour before the interception, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on activists to “change course and turn back immediately.”
“Once again, a provocation for the sake of provocation: another so-called “humanitarian aid flotilla” with no humanitarian aid,” the Foreign Ministry posted on X.
The Israeli military declined to comment on the ongoing operation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, watching the operation from the military headquarters in Tel Aviv, commended the soldiers for “thwarting a malicious plan designed to break the isolation we are imposing on Hamas terrorists in Gaza.”
Netanyahu was supposed to be in court on Monday to testify in his ongoing corruption trial, but requested a cancellation due to all-day security meetings.
Hamas has condemned Israel’s attack on the flotilla as a “full-fledged crime of piracy.” The militant group called on the international community to pressure Israel to end its blockade.
Turkey echoed Hamas' piracy accusation and called on Israel to immediately halt the operation and release the flotilla participants.
“Israel’s attacks and intimidation policies will in no way prevent the international community’s pursuit of justice or its solidarity with the Palestinian people,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. Turkey was working to secure the safe return of its own citizens taking part in the flotilla, the ministry added.
On April 30, Israeli forces intercepted more than 20 boats from a flotilla near the southern Greek island of Crete, initially holding about 175 activists. Israeli officials said they had to act early in international waters because of the high number of boats involved.
Israel took two of the activists — a Spanish-Swedish citizen of Palestinian origin, Saif Abukeshek, and Brazilian citizen Thiago Ávila — back to Israel, where they were interrogated and detained for several days. The activists accused Israeli forces of torture, which Israel denied. Brazil and Spain condemned Israel for “kidnapping” their citizens. The two were deported from Israel after about a week in detention.
Organizers say the latest efforts involved a regrouped fleet joined by additional boats. Nearly 500 activists from 45 countries were taking part.
The activists’ attempt comes less than a year after Israeli authorities foiled a previous effort by the group to reach Gaza, which involved about 50 vessels and around 500 activists, including Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Nelson Mandela’s grandson Mandla Mandela and several European lawmakers.
The Israeli action has raised questions about whether it is permissible to enforce a blockade in international waters. Several world leaders and human rights groups have condemned Israel, saying it violated international law.
In 2010, Israeli commandos raided the Turkish boat Mavi Marmara, which had been participating in an aid flotilla attempting to reach Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens and one Turkish-American on board were killed. The last time an activist boat succeeded in reaching Gaza was in 2008.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas remains fragile, and the top diplomat overseeing it says it has stalled because of the deadlock over disarming Hamas. Both sides have traded accusations of violations.
Gaza has seen near-daily Israeli fire with more than 850 people killed in the Palestinian territory since the ceasefire went into effect in October, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ministry says Israel's offensive, launched in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, have killed more than 72,700 people. The ministry, part of Gaza's Hamas-run government, does not give a breakdown between civilians and militants.
The flotillas have been criticized for bringing minute amounts of aid on tiny ships. The Israeli defense body overseeing humanitarian aid to Gaza claims that sufficient aid is entering Gaza, with around 600 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entering Gaza daily, similar to prewar levels.
Nonetheless, around 2 million Gaza residents are still living with severe shortages of housing, food and medicine.
Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Samy Magdy in Cairo and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus contributed.
This grab from CCTV footage shows activists aboard a flotilla boat with their hands in the air as a boat approaches one of more than 50 vessels that departed from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, last week in what organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla described as the final leg of their planned journey to Gaza's shores, in international waters Monday, May 18, 2026. (Global Sumud Flotilla via AP)
Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP Photo/Murat Kocabas)
People wave to boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP Photo/Murat Kocabas)
Boats belonging to the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying activists and humanitarian aid, depart for Gaza from the port of Marmaris, Turkey, Thursday, May 14, 2026, in an attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade. (AP Photo/Murat Kocabas)
