Stock Market Falls As Oil Prices Skyrocket On Iran Conflict: Weekly Review

2026-03-06 17:09:37

The stock market fell and crude oil prices skyrocketed as the U.S. and Israel launched heavy attacks on Iran. Crude and LNG shipments essentially halted through the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury yields also jumped. The Dow Jones and Russell 2000 were the hardest hit. The Nasdaq fell modestly as software continued to rebound while AI chipmakers Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) jumped on earnings. Still, all of the key indexes are below their 50-day moving averages.

The jobs report stunned with a sizable drop in nonfarm payrolls, adding to market woes on Friday.

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								Volatility Soars As Wall Street Weighs U.S.-Iran War. How To Manage Risk When Geopolitics Flip.
							

							

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						Volatility Soars As Wall Street Weighs U.S.-Iran War. How To Manage Risk When Geopolitics Flip.

Stock Market Slumps Amid Iran Conflict

With oil surging and at risk of further spikes, the stock market lost ground amid big intraday swings. The Dow Jones and small-cap Russell 2000 fell the hardest, with the latter joining the big-cap indexes below its 50-day moving average. The Nasdaq only fell modestly, buoyed by rebounding software and AI chip earnings. Energy and defense stocks were winners. The 10-year Treasury yields rose sharply after dipping below 4% in the prior week.

Crude Oil Prices Spike

The price of U.S. crude oil futures rose to around $88 a barrel on Friday morning, up around $23 on the week, as the Iran conflict raged, shutting down tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of global oil supplies flow. Though the conflict has yet to significantly raise U.S. natural gas prices, prices in the U.K. shot up 70% this month. Trump administration efforts to counteract higher oil prices and get shipping traffic restarted have yet to bear much fruit. Under fire from Iran, Qatar shut down output of natural gas. That’s not just a key energy source but a primary ingredient in production of nitrogen-based fertilizers urea and ammonia. The upshot: Inflation fears are extending beyond oil to food production.

Jobs Report Signals Weakness

Friday’s jobs report turned Wall Street’s view that the labor market was solidifying on its head. The 92,000 dive in nonfarm payrolls and loss of 86,000 private-sector jobs both missed forecasts by over 150,000. In addition, December-January payrolls were revised down by a combined 69,000, so February’s overall employment level was 221,000 lower than anticipated. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3%. While government layoffs have been a big part of the weakness, the latest report now shows private payrolls growing just 18,000 a month over the past three months, though a California nurses strike hit February data. The U.S. has essentially added zero jobs since May, the month after Trump tariffs really escalated, while manufacturing jobs are down by 89,000.

Broadcom, Marvell Beat Views

Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) delivered beat-and-raise quarterly reports, thanks to strong AI data center chip sales. Broadcom’s adjusted EPS rose 28% in its fiscal first quarter ended Feb. 1 while sales increased 29% to $19.31 billion. Broadcom also added another customer for its custom AI processors, bringing its client list to six. It now expects to generate more than $100 billion in AI accelerator and networking chip sales in fiscal 2027. Marvell’s adjusted Q1 EPS swelled 33% with sales up 22% to $2.21 billion. Marvell expects revenue growth to accelerate each quarter in its current fiscal 2027. Broadcom and Marvell shares rose after their reports.

Cybersecurity Stocks Bounce

CrowdStrike (CRWD) earnings rose 38% while revenue climbed 23% to $1.31 billion, both slightly beating and showing accelerating growth again. Net new annual recurring revenue jumped 47%, solidly beating. CrowdStrike guided fractionally higher for the current quarter. Okta (OKTA) said Q4 EPS rose 15% while revenue climbed 11% to $761 million, both modestly beating though earnings growth slowed yet again. The cybersecurity play guided slightly higher for fiscal 2027. CrowdStrike surged after hitting an 11-month low in the prior week. Okta jumped from the prior week’s two-year low.

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Apple Debuts Cheaper Products

The consumer electronics giant refreshed its product lineup, adding an entry-level smartphone and notebook computer. Apple (AAPL) introduced the iPhone 17e, which starts at $599, as the new base model in its handset portfolio. It also debuted the MacBook Neo, which it described as its “most affordable laptop ever.” The 13-inch notebook starts at $599 for consumers and $499 for education customers. Apple also announced upgraded iPad Air tablets, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks, and Studio Displays during three days of product reveals. All the new products will be available March 11.

Discounters Diverge

Long-ailing Target (TGT) on Tuesday broke out to a 52-week high in the stock market despite missing views as the big-box chain forecast sales growth in every quarter of its new fiscal year. Off-price retailers posted solid reports. Ross Stores (ROST) hit a record high after beating views, noting accelerating comparable sales growth and providing a better-than-expected earnings outlook. Burlington Stores (BURL) on Thursday jumped out of a buy zone to a four-year closing high on its quarterly beat and outlook. BJ’s Wholesale (BJ) skidded on weak 2026 forecasts. Costco Wholesale (COST) slightly topped expectations Thursday. Shares fell modestly for the week, below a buy point.

Apparel Retailers Guide Low

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) beat views but shares tumbled on forecasts for slower sales growth in 2026, even though that was still in line with Wall Street estimates. Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) also plunged despite topping views as it announced a strategic review of its “noncore” DailyLook premium subscription service. Victoria’s Secret also expects tariff costs to nearly double to $160 million in 2026. Gap (GAP) fell after broadly missing — led by a 10% comps decline for its Athleta chain — along with weak 2026 EPS guidance.

Stock Market News In Brief

Nvidia (NVD) announced that it will invest $2 billion each in Lumentum (LITE) and Coherent (COHR), which make optical circuit switches called transceivers for artificial intelligence data centers. Optical networking offers faster speeds, less latency and better power consumption than copper-based networking. However, Broadcom said it still favors copper connectors.

Ciena (CIEN) said fiscal Q1 earnings rose 111% while revenue swelled 33% to $1.43 billion, both slightly beating. The optical gear maker, boosted by AI data center demand, guided higher on Q2 revenue. But shares dived.

Credo Technology (CRDO) beat fiscal Q3 estimates with EPS surging 328% as revenue spiked 201% to $407 million. The maker of high-speed connectivity systems for AI data centers forecast Q4 sales of $430 million, up 153%. Shares tumbled in the stock market on earnings but later slashed losses.

AES Corp. (AES) agreed to a $15-a-share buyout by BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT. The deal values the utility’s equity at $10.7 billion and its total enterprise value at $33.4 billion. AES plunged nearly 18% on Monday to below 15 after surging in recent weeks on buyout buzz.

Dycom Industries (DY) reported a 42% EPS gain while revenue rose 34% to $1.46 billion, both beating Q4 views and showing accelerating growth. Gains were fueled by data center demand and a recent acquisition. But shares sold off following the report.

MongoDB (MDB) beat fiscal Q4 views with adjusted EPS up 29% as sales increased 27% to $695 million. But shares dived on weak sales guidance.

Embraer (EMBJ) missed earnings views but topped revenue expectations. The Brazilian maker of commercial and executive jets delivered 91 aircraft in Q4 while its backlog increased 20% to a record $31.6 billion. The midpoint of its revenue guidance was slightly below estimates. EMBJ fell on earnings, tumbling for the week.

BYD (BYD) unveiled a next-generation battery and “flash charging” that takes nine minutes to charge an EV from 10% to 97%. The China EV giant also unveiled a slew of new models in a bid to reverse plunging domestic sales. But its rivals also are announcing new or refreshed models.

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) lost 18 cents a share in Q4, flat vs. a year earlier but wider than expected. Revenue jumped to $54.3 million, easily beating views for $41.8 million. The space-based mobile network operator said it plans additional launches for its BlueBird satellites at an average pace of one every two months, with a goal of 45-60 satellites in orbit by year-end. ASTS stock surged for the week.

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