Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 27, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt getty images
Dow Jones Industrial Average Brent declined on Friday and fell into recovery territory, while Brent was trading above $110 as investors’ energy supply concerns due to incidents in the Strait of Hormuz and President Donald Trump’s latest comments failed to encourage traders to lift stocks.
The 30-stock Dow was last down 610 points, or 1.3%. S&P 500 There was a loss of 1.4%, while nasdaq composite Fell 1.9%.
The broader market index was on pace for its fifth consecutive weekly decline, falling more than 1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has fallen more than 2% so far, while the blue-chip Dow has fallen 0.5% this week.
Friday’s decline came a day after the Nasdaq recovered on Thursday, leaving it more than 10% below the record set in October. The Dow also moved into correction territory on Friday after morning trading, currently down 10.2% from its recent high. The S&P 500 is down more than 8% from its record.
Dow Jones Industrial Average, year-to-date
international benchmark brent crude futures It rose 3% to above $111 a barrel. We West Texas Intermediate Futures It rose 4% to above $98 a barrel.
President Donald Trump extended the deadline to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure to April 6, a little more than a week after the original deadline that was set to expire on Friday.
“As requested by the Iranian government, please allow this statement to reflect that I am halting the period of energy plant destruction,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Negotiations are ongoing and, despite inaccurate statements by the fake news media and others, they are going very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The announcement is the latest sign that the Trump administration is seeking to end the US-Iran war, a conflict that has resulted in soaring oil prices that is already hurting voters at the pump and could cost Republicans their seats in the midterm elections.
However, uncertainty remains for investors, as Iran’s foreign minister reportedly told state media this week that Tehran has no intention of negotiating with the US, even as its leaders are reviewing a US proposal to end the war. Additionally, The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the Pentagon is considering sending 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has told the country’s state media that the Strait of Hormuz is closed, and movement through the key waterway will face a harsh response. Iranian state media said two Chinese ships were blocked from transiting the strait early Friday and a Thai-flagged cargo ship was stuck in the waterway.
Jay Hatfield, founder and CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, said that even with Trump’s deadline extension, investors are at the point where they want to see a resolution to the conflict actually come to fruition, rather than hearing that “just maybe” there is a solution. The resolution would be a boon for the stock market, which has fallen since the February 28 attack on Iran’s energy infrastructure by the US and Israel.
“The longer the Strait remains closed, the worse the oil market will be,” Hatfield said. “The price will go down a lot, but there will still be inventory issues when the Straits reopen, so if it takes another month to reopen the Straits, oil could remain around $80 for a while until we rebuild stocks.”
He added, “It’s bad if there is no solution, even if there is a way to a solution.”
