LONDON — Growing fears of a U.S.-led military strike against Syria continued to weigh on stocks Wednesday and at one point sent the price of oil soaring to its highest level since May 2011. However, the mood in financial markets appeared to stabilize as the day wore on.
Concerns of an attack have swelled this week following claims that President Bashar Assad's government was responsible for a chemical attack on civilians outside Damascus on Aug. 21. Assad denies the allegations.
On Wednesday, Britain said it would put forward a resolution to the U.N. Security Council condemning the Syrian government. A statement from Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Britain would seek a measure "authorizing necessary measures to protect civilians" in Syria. Military force is one of the options that can be authorized under Chapter 7 of the U.N. charter.
Investors have responded to the prospect of a military strike and uncertainty in the Middle East by punishing supposedly risky assets such as stocks in favor of traditional safer investments like gold.
"Tuesday's risk-off tone remains in evidence but to a lesser degree although uncertainty remains the order of the day," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares closed down 0.2 percent at 6,430 while Germany's DAX fell 1 percent to 8,157. The CAC-40 in France was 0.2 percent lower at 3,960.
In the U.S., stocks rose after Tuesday's broad sell-off. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.5 percent at 14,825 while the broader S&P 500 index rose the same rate to 1,639.
Though stocks have taken a bit of a pounding this week, other assets have posted big gains, notably the price of oil.
"While Syria isn't a big producer of oil, the potential for the conflict to escalate in the Middle East is likely to continue to push prices higher, unless we see attempts from the U.S. to ease concerns about some form of military action," said Craig Erlam, market analyst at Alpari.
The benchmark New York rate was trading 86 cents higher to $109.87 a barrel, having earlier risen to a high of $112.24, its highest level since May 2011. On Tuesday, the oil price jumped $3.09 to $109.01 a barrel, its highest closing price since February 2012. Despite the recent gains, the oil price remains far below its record close of $145.29 a barrel, reached on July 3, 2008.
Gold has also been in demand this week through its status as a haven in times of geopolitical uncertainty. After hitting a three-month high of $1,434 an ounce, the yellow metal fell back to trade flat 0.2 percent down on the day at $1,417.
The dollar was a tad stronger Wednesday and clawed back some recent ground. The euro was 0.4 percent lower at $1.3329 and the dollar rose 0.6 percent to 97.66 yen.
The prospect of a strike on Syria has been felt across financial markets as investors searched out safer places for their money.
India's rupee, for example, fell to a new low against the U.S. dollar. One dollar now buys about 68.4 rupees compared with 66.2 rupees only a day earlier. The stock benchmark in the Philippines shed 3 percent.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index sank 1.5 percent to close at 13,338.46, its lowest finish in two months, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.6 percent to 21,524.65. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slid 1.1 percent to 5,087.20.
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