Stocks lower as US mulls diesel export ban

23. Sep 2026

(AWP Alliance News) - A volatile trading session brought stocks lower in New York on Wednesday, as Brent crude again rose above USD100 per barrel and investors digested reports of a potential 90-day ban on US diesel exports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 352.10 points, 0.7%, at 51,511.59. The S&P 500 fell 58.61 points, 0.8%, to 7,706.03. The Nasdaq Composite ended down 308.24 points, 1.1%, at 26,936.04.

"A sudden spike in the oil price caught investors off guard and reminded them not to be complacent about inflationary pressures...causing the equity rally to falter and Wall Street to be in the doldrums. Sighs of frustration filled the air as investors once again moved to the edge of their seats to watch oil prices with a sense of trepidation," wrote Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

"The VIX measure of volatility jumped...and many tech stocks pulled back. Bond investors were given a shock by oil's sudden move up, leading to higher yields on US Treasuries and UK gilts...The prospect of oil staying higher for longer and Donald Trump threatening to 'annihilate' Iran fuels fears for financial markets, but could be a potential tailwind for energy and defence groups," Coatsworth added.

A barrel of Brent fetched USD103.45 late Wednesday, up from USD98.43 on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate fell to USD92.54 from USD95.21.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was at 5.11% late Wednesday, up from 4.95% on Tuesday. The 30-year yield rose to 5.40% from 5.29%.

The Trump administration is preparing a plan to ban diesel exports for 90 days, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing five people familiar with the discussions.

The Administration is weighing the decision as public sentiment turns more strongly against the US President and his Republican Party ahead of the November Congressional election.

But key US officials and oil producers have voiced concern for what would be the first restriction on US energy exports since the Obama administration lifted a decades-old ban on oil exports in 2015.

The average price for a gallon of diesel was USD6.52 Wednesday, up 91 cents from a month ago and USD2.83 from last year, Politico said, citing AAA.

In a speech before the UN on Wednesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington of "terrorism" and vowed that his nation would never "bend at the knee."

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump had told the General Assembly that he was deciding whether to "annihilate" Iran, but went on to praise renewed talks between Tehran and Washington.

Pezeshkian's speech made no reference to the talks.

Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman briefed an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday, telling leaders that the current moment in development "calls for extreme care".

"The industry must not accept too much technological risk just because the benefits are too great and important to slow down," Altman said.

Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Clement Delangue of Hugging Face also addressed the Council.

In his speech Tuesday, Trump rejected international regulation of AI, calling such proposals a "globalist scheme."

Microsoft on Wednesday said it plans to invest USD10 billion in the Middle East by 2030 to expand cloud and AI infrastructure.

"We are expanding our investments in the Middle East with confidence in the region's future as it pursues one of the world's most ambitious AI transformations," the company said.

Microsoft closed up 0.5%, as large-cap tech stocks ended mixed. Meta gained 1.0% and Tesla rose 0.3%, but Alphabet dropped 3.6% and Apple fell 0.8%. Elon Musk's SpaceX shed 4.1%.

Chipmakers struggled on Wednesday. Nvidia and AMD closed down 1.5%, while Broadcom lost 2.6%. Memory stock Micron fell 2.2%, while Western Digital gained 2.0%.

McDonald's unveiled plans Wednesday to invest USD8.5 billion in franchisees for restaurant remodels and technology upgrades.

"When franchisees have stronger economics, our system is stronger," Chief Financial Officer Ian Borden said as he outlined measures including rent relief and capital support.

The chain's first investor day in three years comes after it reported annual US comparable sales growth of just 0.2% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025.

McDonald's closed down 4.8%.

S&P Global on Wednesday said its 'flash' US composite PMI output index improved to 58.4 in September from 56.0 in August. The reading, a 62-month high, beat the MNI-cited consensus of 55.3.

S&P Global noted that a further "surge" in service sector business activity was accompanied by a renewed improvement in manufacturing output growth.

Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said historical comparisons suggest that the latest survey data points to annualised growth of around 5% with a 4% gain now signalled for the third quarter as a whole.

Against the dollar, the euro was at USD1.1385 down from USD1.1449 on Tuesday. Sterling fell to USD1.3241 from USD1.3344. Against the yen, the dollar was at JPY158.28, up from JPY157.38.

Gold fell to USD4,281.96 an ounce from USD4,359.88.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed slightly lower in London. The CAC 40 fell 0.4% in Paris. The DAX 40 ended down 0.7% in Frankfurt.

In China, the Shanghai Composite closed down 0.4%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 1.0%. The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 0.1% in Sydney. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo remained closed for a public holiday.

Thursday's global economic calendar has Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity, alongside US new home sales and initial jobless claims. South African markets are closed for Heritage Day. Financial markets in Japan reopen.

By Aidan Lane, Alliance News reporter

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