WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks have regained some ground over the course of the trading day on Friday but continue to see considerable weakness. The early slump dragged the Dow down to its lowest intraday level in over three months.
Currently, the major averages are well off their worst levels but still posting significant losses. The Dow is down 499.22 points or 1.0 percent at 47,455.52, the S&P 500 is down 65.55 points or 1.0 percent at 6,765.16 and the Nasdaq is down 179.87 points or 0.8 percent at 22,569.11.
The weakness on Wall Street comes amid an extended surge by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring to nearly $90 a barrel.
Crude oil has skyrocketed over the past week as the U.S.-Iran conflict spreads across the Middle East, leading to concerns about a global energy crisis.
As the Middle East conflict enters its seventh day, Israel has intensified air strikes on Iran, while the U.S. said its attacks on Iran are going to 'surge dramatically.'
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social this morning that there would be no deal with Iran except 'unconditional surrender.'
'After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,' Trump said.
Trump previously said the U.S. wants to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future.
Negative sentiment was also generated in reaction to a closely watched Labor Department report showing U.S. unemployment unexpectedly decreased in the month of February.
The report said non-farm payroll employment slumped by 92,000 jobs in February after jumping by a downwardly revised 126,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected employment to increase by 60,000 jobs compared to the addition of 130,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
The Labor Department also said the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4 percent in February from 4.3 percent in January, in line with economist estimates.
Sector News
Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, banking stocks continue to see substantial weakness, with the KBW Bank Index tumbling by 3.0 percent after hitting its lowest intraday level in over three months.
Significant weakness also remains visible among housing stocks, as reflected by the 2.6 slump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index. The index has also hit a three-month low.
Airline stocks are also extending the recent sell-off, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.4 percent to its lowest intraday level in over three months.
Steel, brokerage and biotechnology stocks are also seeing notable weakness, while software and oil producer stocks are seeing modest strength.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.7 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped by 1.0 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 1.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is unchanged at 4.146 percent.
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