<p>Global oil prices plunged Wednesday, totally reversing an earlier brief spike that followed Iranian missile attacks on US targets in Iraq amid hopes the conflict will not escalate further.</p>.<p>Comments by Iranian officials and US President Donald Trump eased tensions substantially and pushed crude prices lower and lower in late European trading.</p>.<p>The strikes, launched in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's top general last Friday, sent Brent and WTI prices to multi-month peaks before profit-taking prevailed.</p>.<p>Iran said it had "concluded" its missile attacks for now, and observers remarked that they had seemed carefully calibrated to avoid US casualties.</p>.<p>Trump told a news conference: "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."</p>.<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had tweeted earlier that the country does "not seek escalation or war."</p>.<p>A Eurasia Group note predicted that Tehran and US President Donald Trump will de-escalate the crisis, saying the Iran attack "appeared designed for maximum domestic effect with minimum escalatory risk."</p>.<p>Analysts pointed out that oil traders had many sources at their disposal in any event.</p>.<p>SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop added that "not a single drop of oil supply has been lost due to the recent incidents and this is why the oil price has fallen back down again so quickly."</p>.<p>Analysts also said the drop in prices was due in part to a weekly US oil supply report that showed higher inventories.</p>.<p>Global stock markets initially slid on investor concern over the US-Iran clash, but European bourses mostly finished higher as anxiety over the situation ebbed.</p>.<p>Wall Street stocks rallied after Trump's late morning statement. All three major indices ended solidly higher, with the Nasdaq at a record.</p>.<p>"At least for now, the retaliation is behind us," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. "The market can move on."</p>.<p>Hogan said investors are focused on an expected signing of a US-China trade accord next week and an upcoming quarterly earnings season.</p>.<p>Among individual shares, Boeing dropped 1.8 percent, weighing on the Dow, following the fatal crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane in Iran.</p>.<p>The aircraft involved in the accident was 737-800, a predecessor to the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded following two earlier crashes.</p>.<p>Analysts said it was too soon to speculate on causes of the crash but characterized the incident as another unwelcome challenge for the company.</p>
<p>Global oil prices plunged Wednesday, totally reversing an earlier brief spike that followed Iranian missile attacks on US targets in Iraq amid hopes the conflict will not escalate further.</p>.<p>Comments by Iranian officials and US President Donald Trump eased tensions substantially and pushed crude prices lower and lower in late European trading.</p>.<p>The strikes, launched in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's top general last Friday, sent Brent and WTI prices to multi-month peaks before profit-taking prevailed.</p>.<p>Iran said it had "concluded" its missile attacks for now, and observers remarked that they had seemed carefully calibrated to avoid US casualties.</p>.<p>Trump told a news conference: "Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world."</p>.<p>Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had tweeted earlier that the country does "not seek escalation or war."</p>.<p>A Eurasia Group note predicted that Tehran and US President Donald Trump will de-escalate the crisis, saying the Iran attack "appeared designed for maximum domestic effect with minimum escalatory risk."</p>.<p>Analysts pointed out that oil traders had many sources at their disposal in any event.</p>.<p>SEB analyst Bjarne Schieldrop added that "not a single drop of oil supply has been lost due to the recent incidents and this is why the oil price has fallen back down again so quickly."</p>.<p>Analysts also said the drop in prices was due in part to a weekly US oil supply report that showed higher inventories.</p>.<p>Global stock markets initially slid on investor concern over the US-Iran clash, but European bourses mostly finished higher as anxiety over the situation ebbed.</p>.<p>Wall Street stocks rallied after Trump's late morning statement. All three major indices ended solidly higher, with the Nasdaq at a record.</p>.<p>"At least for now, the retaliation is behind us," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities. "The market can move on."</p>.<p>Hogan said investors are focused on an expected signing of a US-China trade accord next week and an upcoming quarterly earnings season.</p>.<p>Among individual shares, Boeing dropped 1.8 percent, weighing on the Dow, following the fatal crash of a Ukraine International Airlines plane in Iran.</p>.<p>The aircraft involved in the accident was 737-800, a predecessor to the Boeing 737 MAX, which has been grounded following two earlier crashes.</p>.<p>Analysts said it was too soon to speculate on causes of the crash but characterized the incident as another unwelcome challenge for the company.</p>