Markets Closed for Easter Holiday After Volatile Week 03/04/2026

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged lower Thursday in a volatile session as oil prices surged after President Donald Trump signaled the Iran war could stretch on for weeks. The Dow fell 61 points, or 0.13%, to 46,504.67. The S&P 500 rose 0.11% to 6,582.69, while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.18% to 21,879.18. All three major indexes staged a sharp rebound from steep intraday losses after Iranian state media reported that Tehran was working with Oman on a protocol to monitor ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz. At session lows, the Dow had dropped more than 600 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were down as much as 1.5% and 2.2%, respectively. Trading remained choppy throughout the day as investors weighed the latest geopolitical headlines. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s closely watched fear gauge, climbed above 27 at its session high.
• The market’s focus stayed firmly on energy. Higher oil prices reinforced concern that inflation pressure could persist even if crude eventually retreats, since gasoline prices tend to adjust more slowly and could continue weighing on the broader economy. Thursday marked the final trading day of the shortened week ahead of the Good Friday holiday. Investors will still get March’s jobs report on Friday morning, while Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher heading into the release.

Oil Shock Deepens as Hormuz Closure Drags On

• The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has shifted the focus in oil markets from the timing of a ceasefire to the longer process of restoring flows and repairing damaged infrastructure across the Middle East. Since the war began on Feb. 28, the key waterway, which normally carries about 20 million barrels a day, or roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade, has been reduced to a trickle, creating what the International Energy Agency has described as the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.  Even when the Strait fully reopens, the recovery is expected to be slow. Analysts say a return to more normal oil-market conditions could take at least three to six months, assuming an unconditional reopening, while repairs to some parts of the region’s energy system may take years.  
• The shock has already rewritten the outlook for energy prices. Brent crude rose 63.3% in March, the biggest monthly increase in records going back to 1988, while West Texas Intermediate gained 51.3%, its largest monthly jump since May 2020.  The impact is spreading well beyond crude. Higher energy costs and shipping disruptions are lifting prices across commodities from natural gas and fertilizer to sugar and metals, reinforcing concerns that the conflict is evolving from an oil shock into a broader supply-chain and inflation challenge.

Stocks on the move:

• Airlines (DAL, UAL, LUV, ALK): Airline stocks tumbled as higher oil prices raised concerns about fuel costs, with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air each falling about 4%.
• Gold miners (NEM, KGC, IAG): Gold prices fell 1% after Trump’s speech, dragging mining shares lower. Newmont and Kinross Gold each dropped about 5%, while Iamgold lost nearly 6%.
• General Motors (GM): Shares slipped more than 1% after the automaker said first-quarter sales fell 9.7% from a year earlier. Rising oil prices also weighed on auto stocks more broadly, amid concern that higher fuel costs could pressure consumer demand.
• Globalstar (GSAT): Shares surged 15% after the Financial Times reported that Amazon (AMZN) was in talks to acquire the satellite-services provider. Amazon declined to comment, while Globalstar did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Watchlist: XOM, COIN, NKE,  MSFT, META, DAL, CCL, CF, VG, SNDK

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time


08:30 am: USD Non-Farm Employment Change
08:30 am: USD Unemployment Rate
09:45 am: USD Final Services PMI


Earnings

No major earnings!


Happy Easter 😊




The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!