Stock Market Today: Energy Stocks Pop as Geopolitical Risks Rise
U.S. crude futures climb as Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen continue to attack shipping vessels in the Red Sea.


Stocks opened higher Tuesday and stayed there through the close as investors took in surging oil prices and upbeat economic data.
At Tuesday's finish, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7% at 37,557 – a new record close – the S&P 500 was 0.6% higher at 4,768, and the Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.7% at 15,003.
All of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors closed higher. Energy stocks led the way, gaining 1.2% as U.S crude futures popped 1.3% to $73.44 per barrel.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"Trouble in the Middle East is pushing up the price of oil, with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. "Around 10% of global trade goes through the Red Sea towards the Suez Canal, while 40% of goods moved between Europe and Asia are transported through the route."
An alternative route does exist for these companies around the southern tip of Africa – and many shippers are exploring this option – but it's much longer and more expensive, Torres adds.
Housing starts jump in November
It was a relatively light day for economic data, with housing starts and building permits the lone report on the docket. Construction on new homes jumped 14.3% from October to November to 1.56 million, according to the Census Bureau. Building permits, which are an indicator of future construction, were up 2.5% month-over-month in November.
"Easing mortgage rates and a dearth of inventory of existing homes have prompted homebuilders to ramp up construction," says Jay Hawkins, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.
With housing starts back to pre-pandemic levels, the drag on gross domestic product (GDP) from weak residential investment is starting to fade, Hawkins adds. However, "it will take some time to balance supply and demand and improve affordability," the economist says.
Affirm stock sizzles on expanded Walmart partnership
In single-stock news, Alphabet (GOOGL) rose 0.6% despite newly released court documents revealing the tech giant in September agreed to pay $700 million to settle antitrust allegations against its Android app store. The settlement is ultimately immaterial for Alphabet, which had $120 billion in cash and short-term investments on its balance sheet as of September 30.
Elsewhere, Affirm (AFRM) shot up 15.5% on news Walmart (WMT, +0.4%) will expand its buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) options to include purchases at the discount retailer's self-checkout kiosks.
"Expanding our partnership with Walmart and bringing Affirm's transparent monthly pay-over-time options to their self-checkout kiosks in the U.S. will help even more consumers increase their purchasing power during the holiday shopping season and beyond," said Pat Suh, Affirm's senior vice president of revenue, in a press release.
AFRM shares had a rough 2022, losing 90% of their value. However, the BNPL stock has put in a convincing rebound in 2023, having more than quintupled so far this year.
Be advised that AFRM's soaring share price has the stock trading at a lofty valuation by some measures. Such concerns prompted Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette on Monday to downgrade Affirm to Underweight from Equal Weight, the equivalents of Sell and Hold, respectively.
"While we believe Affirm is executing well amid its goal of becoming a more meaningful player in the payments landscape, we believe the market has gotten ahead of itself," Faucette wrote in a note to clients.
Related content
- Consumers Feel Glum About the Economy: The Kiplinger Letter
- Best Blue Chip Dividend Stocks to Buy for 2024 and Beyond
- Best Investing Moves to Make Before the End of the Year
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
Social Security Will Continue Sending Paper Checks, Reversing Course
The Social Security Administration has backed off from plans to eliminate paper checks. However, it will only send checks in the mail as a matter of last resort.
-
Ask the Editor — Tax Questions on Four New Tax Deductions
Ask the Editor In this week's Ask the Editor Q&A, we answer tax questions from readers on four new tax deductions in the "One Big Beautiful Bill."
-
Dow Bleeds Red Due to Big Blue: Stock Market Today
Six of the official GICS sectors were in the green, led by communications services, technology and energy stocks.
-
Dow Jones Industrial Average Nears New Highs: Stock Market Today
The successor to the first stock market index is getting up there with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite in all-time-high territory.
-
How the Stock Market Performed in the First 6 Months of Trump's Second Term
Six months after President Donald Trump's inauguration, take a look at how the stock market has performed.
-
Dow Leads as Merck, Amgen Gain: Stock Market Today
Second-quarter earnings season remained top of mind Tuesday, with Coca-Cola and GM among those reporting.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Hits High After Verizon Earnings
The Nasdaq also notched a new high on Monday, while the Dow finished with a marginal loss.
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Step Back From New Highs
Investors, traders and speculators continue the low-volume summer grind against now-familiar uncertainties.
-
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit New Highs on Retail Sales Revival
Strong consumer spending and solid earnings for AI chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing boosted the broad market.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Berkshire Hathaway Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Berkshire Hathaway is a long-time market beater, but the easy money in BRK.B has already been made.