Zacks Equity Research
5 min read
U.S. stock markets continued to struggle on Friday due to a precipitous increase in crude oil prices as the conflict between the U.S.-Israel forces and Iran showed no signs of abatement. A series of key economic data released yesterday was mostly disappointing. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory. The indexes also finished in negative territory, for the week as a whole.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3% or 119.38 points to close at 46,558.47 after a choppy session. This marked the lowest close of the blue-chip index in 2026. At the intraday high, the index was up more than 446 points. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 15 ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 22,105.36, slipping 0.9% or 206.62 points owing to the weak performance by technology bigwigs. This reflected the tech-laden index’s lowest close so far this year.
The S&P 500 fell 0.6% to finish at 6,632.19, its lowest close in 2026. The major loser of Wall Street’s main benchmark was Ulta Beauty Inc. ULTA. The stock price of the leading beauty retailer plummeted 14.2%. Ulta Beauty currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Nine out of 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while two ended in positive territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) and the Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) tumbled 2.3%, 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.4% to 27.19. A total of 18.12 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 19.84 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 1.90-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 1.73-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
The geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East remained heightened. Iran continued to retaliate against the U.S.-Israel joint attack and the largest crude oil supply line through the Strait of Hormuz remained heavily disturbed. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 3.1% to settle at $98.721 per barrel. The global benchmark — the Brent futures — advanced 2.7% to settle at $103.14 per barrel.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis revised down U.S. GDP growth to a mere 0.7% for fourth-quarter 2025. The initial estimate for the metric was 1.4%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was 1.5%. Consequently, the economy grew 2.1% in 2025 compared with 2.8% in 2024. The U.S. economy witnessed a record-long government shutdown in the last quarter.
