US open: Stocks sink as oil surges, Middle East tensions escalate

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were firmly in the red early on Thursday as oil prices continued to trend upward despite the International Energy Agency's move to release 400m barrels of oil amid supply disruption stemming from the US and Israel's ongoing conflict with Iran. As of 1500 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.01% at 46,939.23, while the S&P 500 shed 0.94% to 6,712.01 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.30% weaker at 22,420.28.

The Dow opened 478.04 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as the blue chip index hit a four-month low amid ongoing fighting in the Middle East, another surge in the price of oil, and fresh inflation numbers.

Crude prices extended their gains on Thursday after Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed as a way to pressure its adversaries. Early on Thursday, West Texas Intermediate was up 9.44% at $95.49 per barrel, while Brent crude was 8.94% higher at $100.20 a barrel.

US energy secretary Chris Wright said the US Navy was "not ready" to escort tankers through the strait, though he expected it would be able to do so by the end of the month. Shipping traffic in the area has slowed to a near standstill amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said three more foreign vessels had been struck overnight in the Persian Gulf, following three separate incidents on Wednesday, including one inside the strait itself.

The latest surge in crude came despite the International Energy Agency's plan to release 400m barrels to ease supply disruption linked to the conflict. Prices had briefly cooled earlier in the week after Donald Trump suggested the war would end "very soon". However, these comments offered only temporary relief after crude had briefly approached $120 a barrel.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated clip in the week ended 7 March, according to the Labor Department, contrasting with weak signals in the BLS' latest jobs report. Initial uneployment claims came in at 213,000, a decreased of 1,000 against the previous week's upwardly revised reading, while the four week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 4,000 from the prevous week's upwardly revised reading to 212,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims, which serve as proxy for outstanding unemployment, fell by 21,000 to 1,850,000 in the week ended 28 February, while the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% in the last week of February, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

On another note, US construction data was mixed in January, with building permits falling even as housing starts picked up. According to the Census Bureau, building permits dropped 5.4% month-on-month to 1.37m, the lowest level seen since August 2025 and below expectations of 1.41m. Housing starts, however, rose for a third straight month, climbing 7.2% to 1.487m, well above the 1.35m forecast and up from December's downwardly revised 1.387m reading to the highest level since February 2025.

Elsewhere, America's goods trade deficit narrowed sharply in January, shrinking to $54.5bn from a revised $72.9bnbn in December, according to the Census Bureau, compared to forecasts of a $66.6bn print. Exports rose 5.5% month-on-month to a record high of $302.1bn, driven by increased exports of non-monetary gold, other precious metals, computers, civilian aircraft and computer accessories. Conversely, exports of pharmaceutical preparations fell in January. Imports, on the other hand, dropped 0.7% to $356.6bn, led by declines in pharmaceutical preparations, trucks, buses, and special purpose vehicles, passenger cars and non-monetary gold. Imports rose for computers and telecommunications equipment.

Still to come, the Federal Government's February budget statement will follow at 1800 GMT.

In the corporate space, Dollar General warned that annual comparable sales would come in below Wall Street expectations, with cost‑conscious shoppers increasingly turning to rival discounters and online retailers for better deals amid ongoing economic uncertainty, while Dick's Sporting Goods posted a stronger‑than‑expected finish to the year, beating Q4 revenue forecasts as sales jumped 59.9% to $6.23bn, and also set out full‑year revenue guidance of $22.25bn - around 2.2% ahead of analysts' estimates.

Adobe and Lennar will report their latest quarterly earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $36.85 8.64% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $202.77 4.28% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $195.40 2.22% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $303.25 1.27% Visa Inc. (V) $309.86 0.40% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $325.80 0.21% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $50.74 0.18% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $248.68 0.05% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $77.72 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $791.67 -3.82% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $681.39 -3.79% 3M Co. (MMM) $149.30 -3.44% Boeing Co. (BA) $207.38 -3.09% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $279.75 -2.73% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $254.76 -2.50% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $342.80 -2.12% Intel Corp. (INTC) $45.92 -1.85% Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.63 -1.72% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $369.66 -1.39%

S&P 500 - Risers

Celanese Corp. (CE) $57.02 10.61% CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $132.83 10.49% Mosaic Company (MOS) $31.18 7.67% LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $71.25 6.75% Apache Corp. (APA) $33.61 6.33% Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $58.31 4.91% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $202.77 4.28% Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $175.98 4.06% Kroger Co. (KR) $75.46 4.04% Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $192.90 4.02%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Dollar General Corp (DG) $135.38 -6.81% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $24.33 -6.18% General Electric Co. (GE) $305.14 -5.98% Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $269.47 -5.77% Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $45.48 -5.50% Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $109.33 -5.39% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $111.18 -5.08% Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $87.06 -5.07% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $98.28 -4.97% FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $61.25 -4.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $227.02 3.32% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $196.89 2.75% Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $3.37 1.81% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $94.63 1.58% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $28.25 1.52% Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.32 1.50% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $77.18 1.24% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $205.42 0.66% Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $211.84 0.66% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $92.49 0.52%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $111.18 -5.08% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $98.28 -4.97% Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $304.83 -4.45% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $91.89 -4.42% J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $206.04 -4.42% Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $191.20 -4.25% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $63.19 -3.81% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,663.26 -3.80% American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.72 -3.56% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $335.83 -3.43%