Wall Street stocks have tumbled on the latest jump in oil prices, as tough rhetoric between the United States and Iran has lessened hopes of resolving the Middle East war, AFP reports.

About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.3 per cent at 45,962.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.4pc to 6,485.66, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.9pc to 21,421.77.