Updated 2 min read
US stocks opened Friday’s session mixed, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq rising as much as 0.5% and the blue-chip Dow falling about 0.4% after the March inflation report showed energy costs surged last month, and investors await the results of weekend talks on the tenuous ceasefire in the US-Iran war.
About 20 minutes into Friday’s session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) — which moved back into green figures for the year on Thursday — fell about 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), meanwhile, rose 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) split the difference and was up less than 0.1%.
After rising for seven straight days, on Friday the S&P 500 will look to clinch its first winning Friday since Feb. 20.
On Thursday, the Dow closed higher to push the blue-chip index into positive territory for 2026. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both remained about a tenth of a percentage point away from erasing this year’s losses as of the close.
The release of consumer price index data on Friday showed annual headline rate soared in March to 3.3%, for the largest monthly gain since 2022. The rapid acceleration from February’s inflation level of 2.6% came as the US-Iran war sent gas prices skyrocketing.
Investors are now focused on the Iran-US talks slated to occur this weekend, looking for signs the fragile two-week truce might lead to a longer-lasting plan for peace. Ahead of the meeting, President Trump ramped up pressure on Iran to lift its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, with little sign of success. Traffic through the world’s most critical chokepoint for energy supply is still thin.
Oil futures were broadly flat, erasing the slight gains that followed Saudi Arabia’s warning that Iran’s recent attacks have lowered its production capacity. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) hovered just above $97 a barrel, while the international counterpart Brent crude futures (BZ=F) slid below $96.
LIVE 9 updates
-
Stocks open higher after March inflation data shows energy surge
Stocks opened Friday’s trading session higher after March inflation data showed prices rose mostly in-line with forecasts last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), S&P 500 (^GSPC), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) each opened up about 0.3%.
On Friday, the S&P 500 will look to clock its eighth-straight winning session. The index will also look to clinch its first winning Friday since February.
-
Consumer prices soar by the most since 2022 as gas prices bite
Consumer prices in March saw the largest monthly gain since 2022 as the US-Israel war against Iran sent gas prices skyrocketing past $4 a gallon.
Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman reports:
-
Chips are still where the AI trade’s rubber meets the road
Investing in the hardware piece of the AI trade just got more validation.
Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban lays out how:
Read more here in the takeaway from today’s Morning Brief.
-
S&P 500 is back above a key level, putting stock market bulls in control: Chart of the Day
Yahoo Finance’s Jared Blikre reports:
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) just reclaimed its 200-day moving average again, tilting the stock market back toward the bulls.
See label (5) on this chart:
It’s never quite that simple, but it doesn’t need to be much more complicated.
The last time the index broke below the 200-day moving average — in March 2025, near label (4) — it lost the line, then bounced back to test it from underneath before selling off hard after “Liberation Day” on April 2. When the S&P later reclaimed that average, it tested it from above. Then it took off.
Those two retests — first from below, then from above — were textbook.
-
TSMC sales smash quarterly record as Iran war fails to dent AI demand
-
CPI inflation data expected to show energy price spike amid early impacts of Iran war
Government data out Friday will show how much consumer prices rose in March — and forecasts point to soaring inflation, notes Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman.
She reports:
-
Gold on track for third consecutive week of gains as Iran war bolsters haven demand
Bloomberg reports:
Gold (GC=F) was headed for a third weekly gain, as hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the war in Iran and sustained buying by central banks outweighed persistent risks around inflation.
-
Oil rises as Saudi Arabia loses production capability following drone strikes
Bloomberg reports:
-
Meta shuts down ads looking for plaintiffs in social media addiction lawsuit
Reuters reports:
