US close: Stocks head south as oil surge pushes Dow, Nasdaq toward correction
Major indices closed lower on Friday, with both the Dow Jones and Nasdaq nearing correction territory as oil prices continued to rise.
20 March 2026 23:00:55
Source: Sharecast
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.96% at 45,577.47, while the S&P 500 shed 1.51% to 6,506.48 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.01% weaker at 21,647.61.
The Dow closed 443.96 points lower on Friday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.
Market participants continued to keep a keen eye on oil prices on Friday, with Brent crude up 3.26% at $112.19 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate up 2.8% at $98.23 a barrel after Reuters reported that Iraq had declared force majeure on all oilfields operated by foreign businesses.
Friday's moves followed fresh exchanges between Iran and Israel overnight, with Tehran also launching new strikes on energy facilities across the Gulf. The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that the Pentagon was preparing to deploy thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, while CBS News said "heavy preparations" were under way for potential ground operations in Iran.
Donald Trump told reporters that he was not interested in a ceasefire with Iran, saying the US could hold dialogue but would not pause military action while "literally obliterating the other side". In a later post on social media, Trump said the US was "getting very close to meeting our objectives" as it considers winding down its military operations in the region. He added that the Strait of Hormuz should be guarded by other nations that rely on it, with the US offering help only if asked.
At the same time, renewed concerns over inflation and fading expectations for near‑term Federal Reserve rate cuts pushed Treasury yields higher on Friday, adding further pressure to equities.
No major corporate earnings or data points were released on Friday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com