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Dow Jones Today | US stock market LIVE Updates:  US stock markets opened higher on Wednesday (March 4) as the earlier surge in oil prices eased, yet traders remained cautious amid the ongoing conflict involving Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 180 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 traded up 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite moved 0.5% higher.

Early-morning trends for Wall Street have not held through the day this week, though. Uncertainty about the war has sent prices in financial markets careening up and down hour by hour, with most taking their cues from what the price of oil is doing. Earlier on Wednesday, South Korea’s Kospi stock index plunged 12.1% for its worst day in history.

But oil prices eased as the trading day moved westward from Asia to Europe. By the time Wall Street was trading, Brent crude, the international standard, slipped 0.3% to $81.13 per barrel. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude added 0.7% to $75.10.

An announcement by President Donald Trump on Tuesday afternoon helped stem the surge for oil prices, when he said the U.S. Development Corp. would provide insurance for oil tankers and other ships going through the Strait of Hormuz off Iran’s coast. He also said the U.S. Navy could escort tankers through the strait, “if necessary.”