The US stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long.

Oil prices whipped from nearly $US120 per barrel, their highest since 2022, back below $US90.

The S&P 500 dropped as much as 1.5% in the morning before flipping to a gain of 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed back a plunge of nearly 900 points to rise 239 points, or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.4%.

They’re the latest hour-to-hour swings to pummel financial markets because of the uncertainty about just how high oil prices will go and how long they will stay there because of disruptions to the energy industry in the Middle East. Markets…