NEW YORK — Oil prices swung Monday after a scare overnight where prices popped and then moderated, and the yo-yo moves kept stock markets worldwide unsettled.

The S&P 500 was down 0.3% after flipping between modest gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 11:47 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.7%, but remained near its all-time high set last week like the S&P 500.

The centre of the action recently has been the world’s bond markets, where climbing yields have cranked up the pressure on economies and stock markets worldwide. Higher yields make it more expensive for households and businesses to borrow, which U.S. homebuyers are all too familiar with because of higher…