Yemen's Houthi group said late Monday that it struck airports, an oil facility and military sites across Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones.
In a statement broadcast by the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group launched three operations on Saudi soil, the first targeting King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh.
The second targeted an Aramco refinery in Rabigh, a Red Sea coastal city in western Saudi Arabia, he said, claiming that the attack caused a fire.
The third struck Abha International Airport, King Khalid Air Base near Khamis Mushait, the Aqifa military camp in the southwestern Asir region, as well as other "vital sites" in Najran and Jazan, he added.
Sarea said the operations were in response to "60 Saudi air and missile strikes over the past 24 hours" targeting Houthi-held areas in Yemen.
There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities, and the reported damage could not be independently verified.
Late Monday and in the early hours of Tuesday, explosions were heard repeatedly in the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The Houthis on Monday also warned international airlines against operating in Saudi airspace, saying the kingdom's skies could become a "theater of operations" amid an escalating military confrontation between the two sides.
The Houthi group announced a maritime ban on Saudi shipping in July and has since launched strikes on Saudi tankers and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia.
The latest developments came amid an escalation in clashes between the Houthi group and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces across southwestern Yemen.
Yemen's conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government in 2015. The recent clashes marked the sharpest escalation since a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted major hostilities in the war-torn country.
Houthis claim strikes on multiple Saudi targets
U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, as strength in artificial intelligence and technology stocks overcame a renewed surge in Treasury yields to 24-year highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.94 points, or 0.18 percent, to 51,267.90. The S and P 500 added 51.23 points, or 0.66 percent, to 7,773.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 286.45 points, or 1.05 percent, to 27,477.31, notching a record closing high.
Ten of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in the green, with materials and communication services leading the gainers by adding 1.22 percent and 1.14 percent, respectively. Real estate bucked the trend, losing 0.44 percent.
U.S. Treasury yields climbed back toward multidecade highs on Monday. The benchmark 10-year yield settled at 5.31 percent, its highest close since April 2002, after trading above 5.35 percent intraday. The 30-year yield rose 3.5 basis points to 5.66 percent, its highest settlement since May 2002. The two-year yield stood at 4.83 percent.
Oil prices fell as traders weighed the Group of Seven's agreement to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency reserves, alongside recovering Middle East exports. The West Texas Intermediate for November delivery decreased by 1.68 U.S. dollars, or 1.84 percent, to settle at 89.43 dollars a barrel. Brent crude for December delivery lost 1.93 dollars, or 1.89 percent, to settle at 100.32 dollars a barrel.
On the corporate front, Nvidia rose more than 2 percent to a record high for the second straight session, remaining the world's most valuable public company. PTC soared 33.49 percent, the S and P 500's best performer, after Schneider Electric agreed to acquire it at 205 dollars per share in a 22.6-billion-dollar all-cash deal, a 42.3 percent premium. By contrast, Schneider fell nearly 10 percent.
SpaceX jumped over 7.5 percent after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an overweight rating and a 300-dollar target. Western Digital climbed over 6 percent and Seagate gained about 4.5 percent, rebounding from Friday's plunge on a Toshiba capacity report. Cerebras gained 9.08 percent after OpenAI's Sam Altman called it a "close partner."
On the economic front, the ISM services index for September came in at 54.9, down from 55.4 in August and roughly in line with expectations. Traders see about a 24 percent chance of a rate hike at the Fed's October meeting, down from 71 percent a week ago, according to CME FedWatch.
U.S. stocks close higher despite surging Treasury yields
