Stocks sink after attack on Saudi oil field

Iran is trying to create an economic crisis by seizing oil tankers: Gen. Jack Keane

Fox News’ Ellison Barber and Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) discuss how Iran claimed that they stole another oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Stocks were under pressure Monday morning after a weekend drone attack on a Saudi Arabian oil field knocked half of the kingdom's production offline and sent the price of oil surging by more than 9 percent.

All three of the major averages saw losses of at least 0.4 percent at the opening bell.

Airline stocks, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines, were all lower as a result of the spike in oil prices.

ExxonMobil, Chevron and other energy names gained on the news.

Elsewhere, General Motors slumped after United Auto Workers went on strike for the first time in 12 years after the two sides were unable to come to terms on a new contract. Talks are set to continue on Monday.

U.S. crude oil was at $60, up $5.15, or 9.4 percent. Meanwhile, Brent crude, the international benchmark, was at $66.31, up $6.09, or 10.1 percent.

The attack on the Saudi Aramco facility halted production of 5.7 million barrels of crude a day, more than half of Saudi Arabia's global daily exports. It is also more than 5 percent of the world's daily crude oil production.

The heightened geopolitical risk sparked a flight to safety into precious metals and U.S. Treasurys.

Gold was up 0.63 percent, or $9.50, to $1,509 an ounce.

Buying of U.S. Treasurys pushed the 10-year yield down more than 3 basis points to 1.862 percent.

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FOX Business' Ken Martin contributed to this report.