US stocks fall as escalating Mideast tensions send oil prices higher

• US stocks dipped after a hospital explosion in Gaza sent oil prices surging back up.
• Iran added to the uncertainty, calling for an oil embargo on Israel.

US stocks dipped Wednesday morning as investors digested rising oil prices, which flared back up amid escalating tensions in the Hamas-Israeli conflict.

A hospital explosion in Gaza pushed crude benchmarks up around 2%, with Brent prices rebounding to the $90-dollar mark. A Hamas-led health ministry said that 500 were killed. Both Hamas and Israel laid blame on each other.

Traders were given further cause for concern after an Iranian official called for an Israel oil embargo, but OPEC sources have since told Reuters that no such action is planned.

Key commentators have previously claimed that the Israeli conflict will really start to impact markets when other Middle Eastern states become more involved.

Markets also weighed more earnings reports. Morgan Stanley's revenue missed estimates, while soft guidance from United Airlines brought shares down.

Netflix and Tesla will be among top reports to look out for after Wednesday's closing bell.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,355.51, down 0.40%

• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,915.11, down 0.24% (82.54 points)

• Nasdaq Composite: 33,915.11, down 0.59%

Here's what else is going on:

• Leading Wall Street CEOs Jamie Dimon and David Solomon warned investors against mounting economic risks.
• China's third-quarter performance beat expectations, bringing some relief to the burdened economy.
• The Treasury market is losing key anchors, putting its resilience into question, Mohamed El-Erian said.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate rose 2.2% to $88.66 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 1.56% to $91.49 a barrel.
• Gold increased 1.22% to $1,948.74 per ounce.
• The 10-year yield climbed 1.7 basis points to hover at 4.862%.
• Bitcoin inched up 0.5% to $28,553.