Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as the opening bell rings on March 12, 2026.
Timothy A. Clary | AFP | Getty Images
of S&P500 Oil prices continued to rise while oil prices fell on Friday as investors awaited further developments in the Iran war.
The composite index fell 0.61% and closed at 6,632.19, 5% below its recent high. of Nasdaq Composite It fell 0.93% to end at 22,105.36. of Dow Jones Industrial Average It fell 119.38 points (0.26%) to settle at 46,558.47.
The S&P 500 index, which hit a new 2026 low on Friday, fell 1.6% this week, marking its first three-week losing streak in nearly a year. Since the start of the week, the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen about 2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has fallen 1.3%.
S&P 500, year-to-date
The recent rise in oil prices continued on Friday. West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil Futures It settled at $98.71 per barrel, or 3.11%. brent futures The stock rose 2.67% to settle at $103.14 per barrel. Brent closed above $100 on Thursday for the first time since August 2022.
Oil prices soared in pre-market trading and stocks snapped out of a bear market after Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz, a key route, should remain closed as a “means of putting pressure on the enemy.” Traffic in the strait has virtually come to a standstill since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran at the end of February, and investors are anxiously awaiting developments on this front.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns that corridor closures would remain an issue in the wake of war, saying at a Pentagon news conference: “We’re dealing with this and there’s no need to worry.”
This comes amid growing concerns on Wall Street that rising oil prices could lead to a stagflationary environment of higher inflation and slower economic growth. Those concerns are causing investors to back off on expectations for a Fed rate cut this year, as federal funds futures contracts no longer predict a rate cut in September.
“Earnings are pretty good, but sentiment is tough,” said David Aspel, chief investment officer of global macro at Mt. Lucas Management. “The oil portion of sentiment and stock valuations incorporates the interest rate path that is currently in question.”
