The S&P 500 fell on Friday, while oil prices continued to rise as investors anticipated further developments in the war with Iran.
The broad index fell 0.61%, taking it 5% below its recent high to close at 6,632.19. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.93% to end at 22,105.36. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 119.38 points, or 0.26%, and stopped at 46,558.47.
The S&P 500, which hit a new low for 2026 on Friday, posted a 1.6% loss for the week and its first three-week losing streak in about a year. The Dow, which includes 30 stocks, is down about 2%, while the technology-advanced Nasdaq is down 1.3% since the start of the week.
The recent rise in oil prices continued on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 3.11% to $98.71 a barrel. Future prices of Brent crude oil rose by 2.67% to 103.14 dollars per barrel, reports SEEbiz. Brent closed above $100 for the first time since August 2022 on Thursday.
Stocks ended in losses as the price of oil surged in the previous session after Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the Strait of Hormuz, a key route, should remain closed as a “tool to pressure the enemy”. Traffic in the strait has virtually ground to a halt since the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February, leaving investors anxiously awaiting progress on that front.
On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns that closing the passage after the outbreak of war would remain an issue, saying during a Pentagon press briefing: “We’re dealing with it and we don’t have to worry.”
This comes amid growing fears on Wall Street that rising oil prices will lead to a stagflationary environment of higher inflation and slower economic growth. Those fears have even prompted investors to lower their expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut this year, as trading in federal funds futures no longer predicts a rate cut in September.
