U.S. shares were down slightly this morning, with futures for the S&P 500 0.1% lower and Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up 0.2%, according to the Associated Press.
A discouraging report on Tuesday showed U.S. manufacturing weakened by more in September than economists expected.
Oil prices extended gains after Iran fired dozens of missiles into Israel, potentially raising the risk of disruptions to supplies. Israel is not a major producer of oil, but Iran is, and the potential for a wider conflict could affect other, neighboring producers of crude. The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose as much as 5% on Tuesday before settling 2.4% higher. Brent crude, the international standard, rallied 2.6%. Early today, U.S. crude was up $1.51 at $71.34 per barrel. Brent crude climbed $1.45 to $75.01 per barrel.
The dollar was trading at 144.03 yen, up from 143.57 yen.
