Overview
- U.S. stocks fell Friday to cap a fifth straight weekly loss, with the Dow and Nasdaq closing in correction after drops of about 1.7% and 2.1%.
- President Trump delayed planned strikes and moved his Iran deadline to April 6 late Thursday, but investors saw little sign of a deal as fighting persisted.
- Brent crude hovered near $112 to $113 and U.S. oil neared $100 as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed largely shut, a chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of global oil and gas shipments.
- Signs of market stress widened as the VIX closed near 31 and the 10-year Treasury yield approached 4.45%, pushing up borrowing costs from mortgages to business loans.
- Inflation worries deepened after the OECD lifted its 2026 G‑20 forecast to 4.0%, and futures markets largely removed expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year.