Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Thursday Mar 05, 2026
Wednesday, 4 March 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A sell-off for stocks wrapped around the world and is slamming into Wall Street Tuesday, as oil prices leap even higher on worries that the widening war with Iran may do more sustained damage to the economy than feared.
The S&P 500 dropped 2.4% in morning trading and was heading toward its worst day since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,232 points, or 2.5%, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.7% lower.
It was just a day ago that U.S. stocks opened with sharp losses, only to recover all of them and end the day with slight gains. But that was with the caveat that oil prices did not jump too high, like to more than $100 per barrel.
In South Korea, a big energy importer, the Kospi stock index plunged 7.2% for its worst day since two summers ago as markets reopened after a holiday on Monday. It had been setting records recently.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.1%, even as analysts say Japan has a sizable stockpile lasting more than 200 days. In Europe, where prices for natural gas have soared because of the war, Germany’s DAX lost 3.9%.
Gold fell 4.9% Tuesday to $5,051 per ounce, halting a strong run that had taken it above $5,300 as investors looked for safer places to park their money.
