Oil prices surge, stocks slip after US kills Iranian general

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are up sharply and major stock markets are falling after U.S. forces in Iraq killed a top Iranian general. The price of oil surged 3.5% and major indexes were down 0.8% in early trading . The drops came after a bullish start to the New Year and a blockbuster gain in 2019. News of the death of Gen. Qassem Soleimani prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation. The S&P 500 fell 25 points, or 0.8%, to 3,232. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 224 points, or 0.8%, to 28,640. The Nasdaq lost 77 points, or 0.9%, to 9,013. Bond prices rose.

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

Oil prices surged and most major global stock markets declined Friday after an Iranian general was killed by U.S. forces in Iraq.

Stock indexes in London, Frankfurt and Paris fell, as did Hong Kong's earlier. Shanghai was little-changed and Japanese markets were closed.

News that Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, was killed in an air attack at the Baghdad international airport prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation against U.S. and Israeli targets.

“A big fat dollop of geopolitical uncertainty has landed on investors desks,” said Jeffrey Halley of Oanda in a report.

There was no immediate indication how Iran would respond, but Tehran has seized oil tankers in the past and shot down a U.S. military drone.

The U.S. government blames Iran for attacks on tankers and a September assault on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry that temporarily cut its production by half.

Brent crude, used to price international oils, was $2.48 higher at $68.73 per barrel in London after being up nearly $3 at one point.

Benchmark U.S. crude climbed $2.19 to $63.37 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile...