2026.03.1220:01:17UTC+00US Stocks Close Sharply Lower

The S&P 500 and the Dow each fell 1.5% on Thursday, while the Nasdaq lost 1.7%, as investors grappled with an escalating conflict in the Persian Gulf that pushed crude oil prices toward $100 per barrel following defiant remarks by Iran’s new supreme leader. Market participants weighed the absence of an immediate path to resolving the war against the impact of further increases in energy costs.

International benchmark Brent crude settled above $100 per barrel after Mojtaba Khamenei declared that the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed to exert pressure on Iran’s international rivals. Traders largely looked past the International Energy Agency’s record coordinated release of 400 million barrels from emergency reserves.

Financial stocks came under additional pressure, with Morgan Stanley shares dropping 4.1% after the firm imposed limits on withdrawals from its private credit funds. Looking ahead, markets broadly expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged at its meeting next week as policymakers wait for clearer evidence of the war’s economic fallout.