Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures edge up, set for weekly loss amid Iran war, inflation jitters

Updated Fri, March 20, 2026 at 4:59 AM EDT 1 min read

US stock futures ticked higher on Friday as investors assessed fresh remarks that appeared to dial back some of the market’s anxiety tied to the US-Isreali war with Iran.

Contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YM=F) and the S&P 500 (ES=F) both edged up 0.2%, while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^IXIC) nudged 0.1% higher. Stocks on Wall Street closed lower on Thursday after digging out from deeper losses.

The major US gauges are on track for a fourth weekly loss in a row, bruised by a surge in oil prices as the Middle East conflict escalated. Both the Dow (^DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) are approaching correction territory, at around 8% below recent record highs. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) is about 5% off its peak.

Crude prices continued a retreat spurred by Israel’s vow to help US efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as the threat of Iranian attacks continues to essentially halt energy shipments. Brent (BZ=F) futures traded 1.8% lower at above $106 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures were down 2% at around $94.

While the Fed signaled one cut could still be on the table this year, investors are expecting rates to remain as they are, following comments from Chair Jerome Powell.

On the corporate front, earnings season is mostly wrapped for the quarter. Next week sees GameStop (GME) and Carnival (CCL) issue reports.

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Wall Street faces a $5.7 trillion triple-witching jolt on Friday

From Bloomberg:

Wall Street equities traders are bracing for an unusually large tally of options expiring on Friday, which risks injecting even more volatility into a market that’s seen weeks of turbulence amid the raging Mideast conflict.

Roughly $5.7 trillion in notional options tied to individual US stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds are set to expire on Friday in the quarterly event that traders have dubbed the “triple-witching” — the largest March expiry in Citigroup Inc. data going back to 1996. That figure includes $4.1 trillion in index contracts, $772 billion in exchange-traded funds and $875 billion in single-stock options.

The event, which forces traders to close, roll or rebalance positions, has long carried a reputation for triggering abrupt price swings as large pools of derivatives exposure suddenly vanish.

This quarter’s expiration arrives at a particularly fraught moment for markets, with bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts fading as the Iran war has sparked a rally in crude prices and concerns over inflation. Hostilities continued on Thursday amid escalating attacks in the Persian Gulf on energy facilities.

While the S&P 500 Index (^GSPC) is only about 6% below its January record, the Cboe Volatility Index — a key gauge of expected equity swings — is well above its six-month average, underscoring lingering investor angst.

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