Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slide amid inflation worries as Iran war sends oil surging

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Thu, March 19, 2026 astatine 8:34 AM CDT 1 min read

US stocks added to losses connected Thursday arsenic lipid prices spiked amid strikes connected cardinal Middle East vigor hubs, stoking already aggravated ostentation concerns connected Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.6%, coming disconnected a bruising league that dragged the blue-chip benchmark to its lowest adjacent this year. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) mislaid a steeper 0.9% and 1.2%, respectively.

DJI - Free Realtime Quote USD

45,926.09 -299.06 (-0.65%)

As of 9:40:04 AM EDT. Market Open.

^DJI ^GSPC ^IXIC

Brent (BZ=F) crude futures surged arsenic overmuch arsenic 10% to arsenic precocious arsenic $119 a tube earlier paring those gains, arsenic Iran and Israel exchanged attacks connected highly important lipid and state facilities. The escalation successful hostilities stoked fears of a much terrible fallout from the struggle than foreseen. Gains for US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) lagged, hovering astir $97 arsenic the dispersed betwixt the 2 products widened to its largest spread successful years.

Markets were already contending with rising ostentation forecasts from the Federal Reserve, which dampened expectations for involvement complaint cuts. While the Fed signaled 1 chopped could inactive beryllium connected the array this year, bets are policymakers volition basal pat — particularly aft hawkish comments from Chair Jerome Powell.

In economical updates connected Thursday, jobless claims declined to 205,000. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index is owed later.

On the firm front, shares of Micron (MU) dropped successful premarket arsenic the chipmaker's AI spending plans overshadowed beardown earnings. Meanwhile, Alibaba (BABA) banal slid aft a 67% plunge successful quarterly nett underscored the request for a payoff from its AI investments.

LIVE 11 updates

  • Plenty to interest about, but not stagflation, says Powell

    Yahoo Finance's writes:

    Read much here successful today's takeaway from Morning Brief.

  • Jake Conley

    Initial jobless claims autumn to 205,000, beneath estimates

    Initial jobless claims fell from the erstwhile week, coming successful nether economists' predictions for the labour marketplace metric.

    Data released by the Labor Department showed that 205,000 radical filed for unemployment benefits successful the week ended March 14, beneath economists' expectations of 215,000 archetypal claims and the erstwhile week's number of 213,000.

    Continuing claims for the week ended March 7 were 1.86 million, supra some statement estimates of 1.85 cardinal and the erstwhile week's 1.85 million.

    This week's jobless claims travel aft the Labor Department's February jobs report, published March 6, showed that the US mislaid 92,000 jobs for the month, acold beneath estimates of 55,000 jobs added. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve voted to clasp rates unchanged astatine 3.5% to 3.75% and kept predictions dependable for 1 much chopped this twelvemonth and 1 successful 2027.

  • Rivian banal surges connected $1.25B woody to proviso Uber with robotaxis

    In different large determination successful the robotaxi space, Uber (UBER) says it volition put arsenic overmuch arsenic $1.25 cardinal successful Rivian (RIVN) successful speech for up to 50,000 afloat autonomous vehicles.

    Shares of Rivian jumped astir 10% earlier the doorbell aft the news, portion Uber's banal was small changed.

    Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian reports:

    Read much here.

  • Jake Conley

    European earthy state prices soar amid 'extensive damage' to world's largest LNG complex

    European earthy state futures exploded successful aboriginal Monday trading, surging by much than 17% aft Israel struck the South Pars state tract and QatarEnergy reported "extensive damage" from Iranian strikes astatine its Ras Laffan liquified earthy state (LNG) export complex, the world's largest.

    Over the past 24 hours, Middle Eastern vigor infrastructure has travel progressively nether fire, marking a caller tallness of escalation successful the warfare successful Iran, starting connected Wednesday with strikes by Israel connected Iran's South Pars state tract — the Iranian conception of the largest earthy state reserve successful the world, which the authorities shares with Qatar.

    After the South Pars strikes, Iran published a people database of vigor infrastructure successful the portion and ordered evacuations from the sites. Strikes by Iran successful the hours since person threatened a refinery successful Saudi Arabia, taken 2 state facilities successful the UAE offline, and struck 2 refineries successful Kuwait.

    Earlier successful the conflict, archetypal harm to QatarEnergy's Las Raffan concern metropolis pushed Qatar to state unit majeure connected shipments from the export complex. The caller circular of strikes has present made the harm overmuch much extensive.

    While Europe gets the bulk of its state proviso done pipeline state from Europe and North Africa, LNG supplies from the Middle East — and particularly Qatar — enactment arsenic flexible cargo that balances the system. Without those deliveries, Europe loses the barrels cushioning its market.

  • What Fed Chair Jerome Powell said — and didn't accidental — astir the lipid crisis

    Investors were intimately watching Jerome Powell's post-policy gathering property league for clues astir however the warfare successful Iran mightiness alteration the Federal Reserve's calculus for aboriginal interest-rate cuts.

    Here's a look astatine the takeaway from however acold the Fed seat was consenting to spell successful his comments

    Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley writes:

    Read much here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Premarket trending tickers: Newmont, Five Below, and Align

    Shares successful the miner Newmont (NEM) fell 7% earlier the doorbell connected Thursday arsenic golden (GC=F), metallic (SI=F) and copper (HG=F) futures edged lower.

    Five Below (FIVE) banal roseate 6% during premarket hours contiguous aft reporting higher quarterly nett and sales, citing an summation successful lawsuit footfall owed to the retailer's low-priced offerings.

    Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) stock roseate 6% earlier the doorbell connected Thursday aft activistic capitalist Elliott said it had built a important involvement successful the shaper of Invisalign teeth-straightening.

  • Jenny McCall

    Alibaba’s 67% nett plunge shows urgent request to monetize AI

    Alibaba (BABA) banal slumped 5% during premarket hours connected Thursday arsenic the e-commerce giant's net fell portion gross hardly grew. Alibaba reported a 2% emergence successful income to $41.3 cardinal for the 3 months ended December. Net income fell 67%, its worst effect since 2024, caused by the company's dense spending connected promotions.

    Bloomberg News reports:

    Read much here.

  • Jenny McCall

    Micron shares gaffe arsenic hefty spending plans eclipse beardown AI-fueled earnings

    Micron (MU) banal fell 5% earlier the doorbell connected Thursday pursuing the chipmaker's net report. The company's program to summation superior expenditure near investors feeling nervous. The company's AI-fueled net for the 4th bushed analysts' estimates.

    Reuters reports:

    Read much here.

  • Brent tops $115 aft speech of strikes connected large Mideast hubs

    Oil prices surged aft Iran and Israel traded strikes connected immoderate of the Middle East’s astir important vigor facilities, spurring fears of a much terrible interaction from the astir three-week-old conflict.

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read much here.

  • The SEC approves tokenisation of Nasdaq stocks

    Reuters reports:

    Read much here.

  • Gold pushes up aft week of falling

    Bloomberg reports:

    Read much here.

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