Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq pare losses on hopes that Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Large-cap tech (XLK) was the second-worst-performing sector for most of the morning, until the Hormuz headlines flashed.

It’s now building on gains for the day.

Peering under the hood, software (IGV) is also holding gains, while semiconductors (SOXX) are still paring losses.

XLK is now up more than 6% over the last three days — its best three-day rally since May of last year.

Stocks had been clawing back some of the steep overnight losses since the open, when the Dow (^DJI), Nasdaq (^IXIC), and S&P 500 (^GSPC) suddenly surged and turned green — if only briefly in some cases.

The spark looks geopolitical.

A Bloomberg report says Iran is working with Oman on a Hormuz traffic protocol, knocking oil lower and giving stocks an opening to rip off the lows.

The thinking is that if the strait looks even a little less chaotic, investors can start peeling back some of the worst-case pricing tied to energy shock and war uncertainty.

WTI and Brent crude oil (CL=F, BZ=F) sold off on the news.

The US stock market sank at the opening bell on Thursday after President Trump’s Wednesday night address failed to soothe investor concerns over the war in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 1.4%, sliding more than 600 points. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank by a deeper 1.7%.

Following Trump’s address, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose 13% to trade above $113 a barrel, while Brent (BZ=F) jumped 8% to also trade above $109, inverting WTI’s traditional discount to Brent.

Thursday marks the final trading session of the holiday-shortened week ahead of the Good Friday closure. Jobless claims data out at 8:30 a.m. ET showed that initial claims unexpectedly dropped to 202,000 for the week.

US claims for unemployment benefits fell below the previous week’s reading, undershooting expectations in a bullish sign for an otherwise cool labor market.

Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 202,000 for the week ending March 28, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists have been expecting 212,000 claims,

Continuing claims, which track the unemployed population still seeking work, rose to 1.84 million for the week ending March 21 from a revised level of 1.82 million the week before.

Oil prices surged through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning as markets took a bullish signal on continued disruption to global energy flows after President Trump’s speech on Wednesday.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, rose by roughly 7.8% to cross $109 per barrel. Those on the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) rallied by an even stronger 11% to cross $111.

WTI’s rally above $110 marks the second time since the war began that the US benchmark has crossed the key level and the second time the benchmark’s discount against Brent has inverted.

In comments during his address to the American people Wednesday night, President Trump did not set a hard timeline for US involvement in the conflict that has wracked the global oil market, saying only that the US military would be sending Iran “back to the stone ages.” The president also said that, because he views the US as independent of the Strait of Hormuz, other countries should “take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.”

Oil immediately began rallying on the president’s comments, reversing from earlier losses within minutes.

Here’s a rundown on how the different assets are reacting to the latest news on the Iran war.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell almost 3% and hovered just above $66,000. Ethereum (ETH-USD) also fell by 4% and sat around $2,000 as of 5:44 am ET following the news on Trump’s continued military advancement in Iran.

Metals: Gold (GC=F) futures slumped over 3%. Copper (HG=F) also fell, alongside aluminum (ALI=F), which had reached its highest close in four years on Wednesday was lower today.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell on Thursday following President Trump’s address to the nation, where he said there would be harder strikes against Iran in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg News report:

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Bloomberg News reports:

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Oil prices jumped and US equity futures fell after President Trump addressed the nation on Wednesday night, where he reiterated his argument that the US is close to completing its goals but said the war is not over yet.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, reversed from multi-percentage losses to a gain of roughly 4.8%, trading around $106 per barrel after dropping below $100 earlier in the session. Those on US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) reversed from earlier losses to gain roughly 4.2% and trade near $104.30

Futures on the S&P 500 (ES=F) traded down by roughly 1%, while those on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) lost a slightly slimmer 0.9% on the session. Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) lost roughly 1.1%.

Without laying out any truly new information, the president implied Wednesday night that the US would be escalating the conflict in an attempt to end it, noting that the US is sending Iran “back to the stone ages” in an attempt to cripple their ability to threaten global security.

While Trump was reported to have been considering pulling US military out of Iran within two to three weeks while leaving control over the Strait of Hormuz — the world’s most critical energy chokepoint — unsolved, the president did not take a strong stance on the issue Wednesday night.

As the war in Iran drags on for a fifth week, energy prices have surged, with only mild pullbacks from multiyear highs. The result, according to Bank of America economists, will be slower growth, higher inflation, and oil at $100 per barrel through the rest of 2026.

Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferré reports:

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