US stock benchmarks declined sharply on Friday as the raging conflict in the West Asia threatened to fuel inflation on rising energy costs. Weak jobs data for February also dampened the investor sentimenrs.
At 11:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 577.08 points, or 1.20%, to 47,377.66, the S&P 500 lost 72.78 points, or 1.07%, to 6,758.27 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 194.43 points, or 0.85%, to 22,554.56.
As of 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 823 points, or 1.7%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.5% lower.
At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 320.2 points, or 0.67%, to 47,634.55. The S&P 500 fell 61.7 points, or 0.90%, to 6,769.03, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 327.8 points, or 1.44%, to 22,421.172.
The US-Israel offensive against Iran and Tehran’s counter-strikes throughout the Middle East territory have disrupted the global energy and logistics industries.
Crude oil prices rose on Friday as petroleum fields in Iraq were under bombardment.
International benchmark, Brent North Sea crude, surged more than 5% to hit $90.25 per barrel, its highest level since April 2024. The main US contract West Texas Intermediate gained 8.1% to $87.56 per barrel.
“The longer that key energy infrastructure and shipping routes in the region are affected, the greater the chance of a significant inflationary impact,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould, according to news agency AFP.
US President Donald Trump’s remarks also boosted the oil prices. He said that only the “unconditional surrender” of Iran would end the Middle East war.
According to the US Labor Department data, the world’s biggest economy unexpectedly lost 92,000 jobs in February, down from revised job growth of 126,000 in January, while unemployment edged up.
Another economic data released on Friday showed retail sales declined by 0.2% in January.
In the bond market, US Treasury yields edged higher following the latest jobs data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.17% from 4.13% late on Thursday.
Key Stock Movers
Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line sank 7%, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 6.1% and Southwest Airlines shed 5.7%.
Chipmakers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices fell about 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively.
Marvell Technology stock jumped 16.2% after the chip company forecast fiscal 2028 revenue above estimates.
Western Alliance shares slumped 12.9% after the bank said it had sued Jefferies Financial for not making a payment of $126.4 million due to the lender for loans tied to bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group. Jefferies shares dropped 9.6%.
Bullion Market
rose on Friday after softer US payrolls data kept hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut alive.
As of 10:50 a.m. ET (1550 GMT), spot gold was up 1.3% at $5,144.69 per ounce. US gold futures for April delivery rose 1.5% at $5,155.
Spot silver rose 2.5% to $84.71 per ounce. Spot platinum was steady at $2,122.44, while palladium edged down 0.3% to $1,625.25.
