Stocks tumble Friday as losses mount from Iran war impact, Dow and Nasdaq near correction: Live updates
Stocks tumbled further on Friday as the U.S. and Israel conflict with Iran that has caused oil prices to skyrocket showed no signs of ending.
The Dow Jones Industrial average shed 446.51 points, or 0.97%. The S&P 500 fell 1.51%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.01%. The small-cap Russell 2000 slipped into correction territory — that is, a 10% decline from their latest high. The Dow and Nasdaq were inches away from a correction.
The moves come after Iran and Israel exchanged strikes overnight, while the former also launched new attacks against energy sites in the Persian Gulf region. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials, that the Pentagon is sending thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East. CBS News said “heavy preparations” were being made for sending ground troops to Iran, citing multiple sources.
The selling ramped up in the afternoon, after Reuters reported that Iraq has declared force majeure on all oilfields ?operated ?by foreign ?companies. This caused oil prices to climb with Brent crude topping $122 a barrel and WTI oil trading over $98 a barrel.
“If this is an escalation involving troops on the ground, then we’re probably in for at least a couple more weeks of this sort of market of higher oil prices, high gas prices; you’re hanging on every headline about energy infrastructure in the region,” Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield said to CNBC. “Quite frankly, equity markets haven’t sold off in a way that would reflect this sort of event yet, so there could still be some some downside ahead.”
