U.S. stock markets closed lower on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants continued to weigh the impact of the Middle East war between U.S.-Israel and Iran on crude oil and natural gas prices. Investors remained concerned about higher inflationary pressure following the breakout of this geopolitical conflict. A series of mixed economic data also complicated the situation. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.4% or 203.72 points to close at 46,021.43. This marked the lowest close of the blue-chip index for 2026. The index also closed below its 200-day moving average. At the intraday low, the index was down almost 500 points. Notably, 22 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while just eight ended in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 22,090.69, sliding 0.3% due to the weak performance by corporate bigwigs. At the intraday low, the tech-laden index was down by 1.4%. The index closed below its 200-day moving average.
The major loser of the index was Micron Technology Inc. (MU – Free Report) . The stock price of the AI-powered semiconductor behemoth tumbled 3.9% as its third-quarter fiscal 2026 guidance failed to impress the market. Micron Technology currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The S&P 500 was down by 0.3% to finish at 6,606.49, reflecting its lowest close in past four months. The index also closed below its 200-day moving average. At the intraday low, the index was down more than 1%.
All 11 sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) slipped 2.6%, 2.5% and 2.1%, respectively.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.1% to 24.01. A total of 20 billion shares were traded on Thursday, in line with the last 20-session average. The S&P 500 recorded 17 new 52-week highs and 26 new 52-week lows. The Nasdaq posted 30 new 52-week highs and 276 new 52-week lows.
Middle East War Intensifies
The Middle East war intensified showing no signs of peacemaking. The U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures fell 0.2% to settle at $96.14 per barrel. The global benchmark — the Brent futures — settled up 1.2% at $108.65 per barrel.
The central bank kept the Fed fund rate steady in the range of 3.5-3.75% in its March FOMC meeting. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the “implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain. The forecast is that we will be making progress on inflation, not as much as we had hoped, but some progress on inflation.”
The central bank’s latest dot-plot shows only one interest rate cut of 25 basis points in 2026. However, the CME FedWatch interest rate derivative tool currently shows that market participants are expecting no rate cut in 2026.
Economic Data
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims decreased by 8,000 to 205,000 for the week ended March 14, below the consensus estimate of 214,000. The previous week’s data remained unchanged at 213,000.
Continuing claims (those who have already received government aid and reported a week behind) increased 10,000 to 1.857 million for the week ended March 7. The previous week’s level was revised downward by 3,000 to 1,847,000 from 1,850,000 reported earlier.
The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development jointly reported that new home sales came in at 587,000 in January, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 711,000. The data for December was revised downward to 712,000 from 745,000 reported earlier.
The Philadelphia Fed Index came in at 18.1 in March, marking its highest level in 2026 and well above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 8.4. The metric for February was 16.3.
Leading Indicators fell 0.1% month over month in January, below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a break-even. The metric for December declined 0.2%.
Wholesale Inventories fell 0.5% month over month in January, in contrast to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a gain of 0.2%. The metric for December was revised downward to a decline of 0.1% from a gain of 0.2% reported earlier.
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