S&P 500, Dow end lower as escalating Iran war sours risk appetite

S&P 500, Dow end lower as escalating Iran war sours risk appetite

By Stephen Culp and Johann M Cherian

Wed March 11, 2026  

In a day of extraordinarily volatile trading, investors were in a tug-of-war between the bad news of oil supply concerns and subsequent rapidly spiking energy prices as well as Iran’s continuing attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The flip side of the tug-of-war was the good news of OPEC’s promise today that oil production was being ramped up and exports would continue. The Dow swung wildly hitting a low of more than 600 down by noon but closing at a minus 289, with the Nasdaq also swinging between a high of +180 around 10 a.m. and a low of a -95 around 1:30 pm. 

Wall St closes mixed on ramped-up Middle East tensions

Wall St closes mixed on ramped-up Middle East tensions

By Stephen Culp and Johann M Cherian

Tue March 10, 2026  

They called it a parabolic move today starting deeply in the red as the fighting in Iran was said to be at its most intense, then moved up swiftly on more optimism the war could end soon, then fell just as swiftly as investors once again got a reality check that a quick resolution was probably not coming. All three indexes zoomed straight up to big gains only to collapse at around 1:30 and close nearly flat. The Dow was down some 300 at 10 a.m. and up nearly 500 by 1:30, an 800-point swing.  The Navy said no escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and the news of Iran laying mines in the strait hastened the market’s decline.  

Wall St ends higher as hopes of Iran war resolution offset inflation fears

Wall St ends higher as hopes of Iran war resolution offset inflation fears

By Stephen Culp and Johann M Cherian

Mon March 9, 2026

Early in the day, another surge in oil prices combined with Iran’s selection of the slain supreme leader’s son to succeed him brought all three indexes crashing way down, which is where they stayed all day. The Dow was down nearly 900 in the morning, remained that way until 3:15 when it very suddenly spurted way up again. Same with the Nasdaq, down about 330 in the morning, then shot straight up right at about 3:15, the S&P following a very similar pattern, down over 100 in the morning. It must have been right around 3 pm that Trump made the dual announcements that the war plans were way ahead of the previously stated five week schedule and could be over very soon.  

US stocks close down as oil spikes 12%, job market weakens

US stocks close down as oil spikes 12%, job market weakens

By Sabrina Valle and Johann M Cherian

Fri March 6, 2026  

It seems the experts yesterday were wrong about the jobs numbers already being discounted as they came in bad and the market reacted badly. All three indexes went straight down right out the gate and stayed there all day with the Dow and Nasdaq suffering major 3-digit losses and the S&P within a stone’s throw of 3-digits. In fact, in the morning, the Dow was down almost 1,000 points again. A boost in new jobs was expected but instead more than 90,000 jobs were lost and unemployment boosted to 4.4%.  

Wall Street closes down as oil prices spike on Middle East conflict

Wall Street closes down as oil prices spike on Middle East conflict

By Sabrina Valle and Johann M Cherian

Thu March 5, 2026  

It appears that Trump’s move to placate the oil markets by ordering U.S. naval escorts for oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz lasted only one day as today huge rout turned into a repeat of Tuesday’s with the only difference being that Tuesday recovery after a huge morning drawdown began mid-morning whereas an equally huge drawdown today didn’t begin a recovery until mid-afternoon. At 2:30 pm, the Dow was down almost 1200, the Nasdaq 300, the S&P 100 as oil prices went from $65/barrel last Friday to $71 on Monday to $85 today.  

US stocks close up on Iran diplomacy hopes; tech leads rebound

US stocks close up on Iran diplomacy hopes; tech leads rebound

By Sabrina Valle and Johann M Cherian

Wed March 4, 2026  

A day after the great flight to the exits, all three indexes shot straight up right out the gate and stayed there all day once again enjoying nice 3-digit gains that recovered a good deal of yesterday’s lost ground. The catalyst today was the dual punch of Iranian operatives reaching out to the CIA for possible talks and Trump ordering naval escorts for tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.  

Wall Street indexes end lower as Middle East conflict fans inflation fears

Wall Street indexes end lower as Middle East conflict fans inflation fears

By Caroline Valetkevitch and Johann M Cherian

Tue March 3, 2026  

Yesterday on the third day of the war, the sentiment on Wall Street was that the crisis and expected oil spike was nothing to worry about as it was going to be “very temporary” to last a few days or at most weeks.  On this the fourth day, sentiment has taken a 180 as now the war is expected to last quite a while and energy spikes will cause an inflation surge. It was a thorough rout today on all three indexes but it started out a great deal worse. At 10:30 a.m., the Dow was down some 1300 points, the Nasdaq down over 600 and the S&P, which rarely goes into 3-digits, a whopping 170.