NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks continued their pathway to an official correction Friday with all the major indices selling off. Oil prices have surged again with no resolution in sight for opening up the Strait of Hormuz.
A resolution would be a boon for the stock market, which has tumbled since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran's energy infrastructure on Feb. 28. The three major averages have each fallen more than 7 percent month to date,.
"The longer the Strait is closed, the worse the oil market is going to get," Jay Hatfield, founder and CEO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors told CNBC Friday. "The price will go down a lot, but there's still going to be an inventory issue when the Strait reopens, so if it takes another month to reopen the Strait, oil might stay at like $80 for a while until we can rebuild stocks."
"It's bad if there's no resolution, even if there is a path to resolution," he said.
Friday's sell-off capped a volatile week with broad‑based declines. The tech‑heavy Nasdaq Composite led the losses.
The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 108.31 points, or 1.67 percent, to end the session at 6,368.85. The broad market gauge traded in a range between 6,356.08 and 6,453.89 during the day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 793.47 points, a decline of 1.73 percent, closing at 45,166.64. The blue‑chip index touched a low of 45,063.33 before paring some losses.
The NASDAQ Composite was the hardest hit, plunging 459.72 points, or 2.15 percent, to finish at 20,948.36. A sell‑off in megacap technology stocks weighed heavily on the index.
Trading volumes were elevated across US exchanges, with 3.118 billion shares changing hands on the S&P 500 and 7.104 billion on the Nasdaq.
U.S. Dollar On a Roll; Yen, Euro, British Pound Sink
The U.S. dollar turned in another solid performance against major currencies on Friday, as traders digested confusing signals from the White House as to the progress, if any, of negotiations with Iran to end the conflict in the Gulf.
The Euro / US dollar pair slipped to 1.1513, a decline of 0.11 percent, as eurozone economic data failed to inspire buyers.
Against the Japanese yen, the US dollar / Japanese yen pair advanced to 160.25, gaining 0.29 percent, though the yen remained within recent ranges amid speculation over future Bank of Japan policy moves.
The US dollar / Canadian dollar edged higher, rising 0.21 percent to 1.3888, supported by a modest pullback in oil prices.
Sterling weakened, with the British pound / US dollar falling to 1.3267, down 0.43 percent, as market participants weighed the latest turmoil over Iran amidst the souring UK economic outlook.
The US dollar / Swiss franc climbed 0.55 percent to 0.7988, reflecting continued haven demand for the greenback.
In the commodity‑currency space, the Australian dollar / US dollar declined 0.19 percent to 0.6870, while the New Zealand dollar / US dollar dropped 0.28 percent to 0.5742, as softer risk sentiment weighed on antipodean currencies.
Global Stock Markets Close Mixed Friday as UK, European Stocks Slide, Asia Shows Resilience
Global stock markets concluded the trading week on a mixed note Friday, with major UK and European indices closing in the red while select Asian markets managed to eke out gains.
The FTSE 100 in London dipped by 4.82 points, or 0.05 percent, to settle at 9,967.35.
In Europe, selling pressure was widespread. Germany's DAX P had a rougher session, tumbling 312.22 points, a decline of 1.38 percent, to finish at 22,300.75. France's CAC 40 also fell, losing 67.36 points to close at 7,701.95, a decrease of 0.87 percent.
The broader European benchmarks mirrored this negative sentiment. The EURO STOXX 50 I dropped 60.13 points, or 1.08 percent, ending the day at 5,505.80. The Euronext 100 Index slid 14.04 points (0.82 percent) to 1,707.75, while Belgium's BEL 20 shed 20.90 points, a 0.42 percent loss, to close at 4,985.22.
In contrast, Canadian stocks bucked the trend. The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 73.13 points, or 0.23 percent, closing at 31,960.65, supported by strength in energy and financial sectors.
Meanwhile, Asian markets showed a more varied performance. Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX managed to climb, adding 95.45 points, or 0.38 percent, to finish at 24,951.88. Singapore's STI Index also posted a gain, rising 10.42 points (0.21 percent) to close at 4,898.18.
Other notable closes included Japan's Nikkei 225, which ended the session at 53,373.07, a loss of 230.58 points, or 0.43 percent. Mainland China's SSE Composite Index was a bright spot, gaining 24.64 points (0.63 percent) to close at 3,913.72.
However, other regional indices ended lower. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 slipped 9.40 points, a loss of 0.11 percent, to 8,516.30, while the broader ALL ORDINARIES declined 13.70 points (0.16 percent) to 8,712.80.
In India, the S&P BSE SENSEX experienced a significant downturn, plunging 1,690.23 points to finish at 73,583.22, a sharp decline of 2.25 percent. Elsewhere in the region, the IDX COMPOSITE in Indonesia fell 67.03 points (0.94 percent) to 7,097.06, and South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index closed at 5,438.87, down 21.59 points, or 0.40 percent.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI bucked the trend, posting a modest gain of 1.76 points (0.10 percent) to 1,712.65. Conversely, New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS dropped 41.60 points (0.32 percent) to 12,935.39, and Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index fell 225.03 points (0.68 percent) to 33,112.59.
The Top 40 USD Net TRI Index in South Africa declined 77.39 points (1.17 percent) to 6,538.30, while Israel's TA-125 saw the steepest drop of the session, plunging 147.30 points, or 3.53 percent.
The markets in Cairo were closed n Friday and will re-open Sunday.
(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).
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