Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the strength seen in the previous session. The major averages rebounded after an initial pullback but have moved back to the downside since then.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 829.06 points or 1.7 percent at 47,910.35, the S&P 500 is down 61.27 points or 0.9 percent at 6,808.23 and the Nasdaq is down 143.69 points or 0.6 percent at 22,663.80.
Concerns about the impact of sharply higher energy prices are weighing on Wall Street, as the price of crude oil has resumed its surge after ending yesterday’s trading only modestly higher.
After inching up $0.10 or 0.1 percent to $74.66 a barrel on Wednesday, crude for April delivery is soaring $4.89 or 6.6 percent to $79.55 a barrel.
The spike in crude oil prices comes amid ongoing supply disruption worries due to the expanding conflict in the Middle East.
Iran has claimed it struck a U.S. oil tanker in the northern Persian Gulf, raising fears of a wider conflict after the Islamic republic threatened to halt shipping through the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also signaled a possible longer time frame for the conflict than has previously been floated by the Trump administration, saying the war could last up to eight weeks but might be over sooner.
“Oil is so important to the world’s economy and to see the price go up so quickly in just a week could leave investors feeling dazed and confused,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
He added, “The Middle East situation is unfolding at a rapid pace, and investors are finding it hard to make a firm call on whether there will be a sustained energy crisis or just a short, sharp shock.”
Meanwhile, a day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits came in flat in the week ended February 28th.
Sector News
Airline stocks are extending a recent sell-off in reaction to the Middle East conflict, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plummeting by 5.6 percent to its lowest intraday level in three months.
Substantial weakness is also visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 4.8 percent plunge by the NYSE Arca Gold Index. Gold stocks are moving lower along with the price of the precious metal.
Networking stocks have also shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.9 percent.
Steel, pharmaceutical, telecom and healthcare stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while oil producer stocks are bucking the downtrend.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shot up by 1.9 percent, while South Korea’s Kopsi soared by 9.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 1.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1.0 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending the downward trend seen over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 5.1 basis points at 4.131 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Under Pressure As Crude Oil Prices Resume Surge
2026-03-05 16:30:02
