S&P 500 gives back all its 2026 gains on war-risk math

A jump in energy prices turns a stock selloff into an inflation trade, lifting the 10-year and dragging the rate-cut calendar further out — again

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Wall Street woke up to an old-fashioned reminder that the global economy still runs on pipes, not PowerPoints. By late morning Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down more than 2% and sitting at its lowest level in more than two months, wiping out all of its 2026 gains and leaving it roughly 4% below its late-January record.

Meanwhile, the Dow was off about 1,084 points, and the Nasdaq $NDAQ was down about 2%. The headline moves look a lot like a simple risk-off day. 

The mechanics are more complicated: Oil and natural gas are climbing on........

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