Stock markets sink worldwide as oil prices briefly spike close to $120 per barrel

Stock markets shuddered worldwide Monday on worries about whether the global economy can withstand spiking prices for oil, which briefly got to nearly $120 per barrel, their highest level since four summers ago. The S&P 500 fell 1.3 per cent, coming off its worst week since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 721 points, or 1.5 per cent, as of 9:35 am Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2 per cent lower. That followed even worse losses in European and Asian stock markets. Since the war with Iran began with attacks by the United States and Israel,…