US Equity Indices Fall to 7-Month Low

The Dow Jones Index decreased -793 points or 1.73 percent on Friday to close at 45167 points. The decline was led by Amazon (-3.85%), Salesforce (-3.41%) and Visa (-3.38%).

US equity indices closed sharply lower on Friday, as escalating Middle East tensions and surging energy costs intensified a broad market sell-off. The Dow Jones tumbled 1.4% to fall over 10% below its recent high while the Nasdaq extended its own correction after sliding 1.9% and the S&P 500 lost 1.4%. Tech heavyweights remained under significant pressure with Nvidia dropping 2.2%, Microsoft falling 2.5%, and Alphabet shedding 2.5%, while Meta saw steeper declines of 4% amid shifting risk sentiment. Financial and credit sensitive stocks also struggled as JPMorgan fell 3% and Visa lost 3.3% while energy giants like Exxon Mobil bucked the trend by gaining 3.5% as WTI crude futures topped $99 per barrel. Although President Trump extended the strike deadline on Iranian infrastructure to April 6th the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues to fuel global stagflation fears and cement expectations of a fifth straight weekly loss.

US equity indices fell further to their lowest in seven months on Friday as the war in the Middle East and threat of trade disruptions magnified stagflation concerns. President Trump extended the halt of attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure, but blasts in the region dented tanker flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The surge in energy prices had already dimmed expectations of a Fed rate cut this year, while magnified after China opened a trade probe against the US in retaliation to tariffs by Washington. Tech giants were firmly lower as the pullback in risk positioning dented confidence in speculative AI positions. Tesla, Amazon, and Oracle fel lover 3%, while the poor outlook for credit drove JPMorgan and Visa to fall 3%. Also, Meta dropped 12% since Wednesday on layoffs and a court decision that labeled its social media as addictive.