Stock Market News for Mar 6, 2026

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, pulled down by consumer stocks and industrials. Investor sentiment was cautious and risk-averse as stocks fell amid surging oil prices and inflation fears due to escalating Middle East tensions involving Iran. All three benchmark indexes ended in the red.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) plunged 1.6%, or 784.67 points, to close at 47,954.74. Twenty-Four components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while six ended in the positive.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 58.5 points, or 0.3%, to close at 22,748.99.

The S&P 500 fell 38.79 points, or 0.6%, to close at 6,830.71. Eight of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) declined 2.4%, 2.3%, 2.2% respectively, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) advanced 0.6%.

The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 12.3% to 23.75. A total of 22.32 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 17.82 billion.

Wall Street Slips as Middle East War Fuels Oil and Inflation Fears

U.S. stocks closed lower in the session as the conflict in the Middle East entered its sixth day, keeping global markets on edge. Fighting between Iran and its adversaries continued to intensify, raising fears of a wider regional escalation that could disrupt energy supplies. The uncertainty pushed crude oil prices higher, amplifying concerns about renewed inflationary pressure. WTI crude prices surged 8.5% to $81/barrel, marking their highest level since July 2024, while Brent crude climbed 4.9% to $85.41.

The war continued to escalate across the region, with the United States and Israel carrying out airstrikes on Iranian military targets while Iran launched missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S.-aligned sites in the Gulf. Hostilities also spread beyond Iran, with attacks and drone strikes reported across several countries and shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil supplies.

Investors grew increasingly cautious as rising energy costs threatened to complicate the economic outlook. Higher oil prices tend to feed into broader inflation, which could limit the ability of the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates in the coming months.

Energy stocks were among the few bright spots as oil surged, but most sectors on Wall Street declined amid the heightened geopolitical risk. The overall mood in the market remained defensive, with traders closely monitoring developments in the conflict and their potential impact on global supply chains, inflation and monetary policy expectations.

Consequently, shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT fell 3.5%, while Devon Energy Corporation DVN rose 2.4%. Both currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Economic Data

For the week ending Feb. 28, initial claims came in at 213,000, unchanged from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 212,000 to 213,000. The 4-week moving average was 215,750, a decrease of 4,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 220,250 to 220,500.

Continuing claims during the week ending Feb. 21 were 1,868,000, an increase of 46,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 11,000 from 1,833,000 to 1,822,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,851,500, an increase of 6,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 2,750 from 1,847,500 to 1,844,750.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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