Wall Street slumps as oil hits 3-year high

NEW YORK — Banks, technology and health care companies fell Wednesday after stocks had surged the day before. Oil prices hit a three-year high after President Donald Trump tweeted the U.S. will launch missiles at targets in Syria.

Other than energy companies, stocks were slightly lower for most of the day. Banks slipped along with interest rates, while health care and technology companies gave up some of the big gains they posted Tuesday. Trump said the U.S. will respond to the recent suspected chemical attack, and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles fired by rebels in Yemen. Fighting in the Middle East could restrict oil supplies.

The Federal Reserve released minutes from its meeting in March. Some policymakers felt the central bank may have to increase rates more quickly in response to faster economic growth and rising inflation, and it might have to focus on slowing the economy to keep inflation under control. The market didn't react dramatically to that, but stock indexes trailed off in the afternoon.

Simona Mocuta, senior economist for State Street Global Advisors, said it's a challenge for investors to respond to events like possible strikes in Syria because it's not clear what the outcomes will be.

Facebook stock continued to rise as CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress for a second day. The stock surged Tuesday afternoon at the beginning of Zuckerberg's testimony. It rose 0.8 percent to $166.32 Wednesday after a jump of 4.5 percent Tuesday, its biggest gain in two years.

Daniel Ives, head of technology research for GBH Insights, said Facebook rallied for two reasons. One is that Zuckerberg did better in his testimony than investors had expected. The other is that Wall Street felt many members of Congress weren't very tough on Facebook because they don't grasp some of the relevant issues. As a result, investors grew less worried that the government will crack down on Facebook and other tech companies.

“A lot of the regulators and politicians don't really understand Facebook and its model, so how can you expect that regulation is going to be a near-term issue?” Ives said. “The political theater and grandstanding has actually worked to the benefit of Facebook and Zuckerberg rather than to its detriment.”

Facebook's stock is still down 10 percent since the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal broke in mid-March. Other social media companies also rallied over the past two days.

Energy companies rose as benchmark U.S. crude climbed 2 percent to $66.82 a barrel in New York.

Oil prices jumped more than 3 percent Tuesday as investors became more optimistic about a possible resolution to the U.S.China trade spat.