Wall Street extended its sell-off Thursday as surging crude prices — driven by Iranian strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure — collided with a more hawkish Federal Reserve, pushing the S&P 500 to its lowest close since mid-November and reigniting stagflation fears.
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Speaking alongside Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House, President Donald Trump said Iran is “close to demolished” and the “excursion will be over soon” — but then added, “we can take out Kharg Island any time we want.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards countered with an unverified claim by the Pentagon that they had attacked and damaged a U.S. F-35 fighter jet.
The crude oil price action told the full story of Thursday’s risk sentiment.
The American WTI benchmark had opened near $98/bbl at a rare steep discount to international Brent near $115, a WTI-Brent spread of roughly $17 — the widest since April 2020 — as traders priced in the risk that a U.S. crude export ban would strand domestic barrels at home.
When Politico reported, citing a White House meeting with the American Petroleum Institute, that no export ban would be implemented, WTI surged through $100.
European natural gas prices saw the most violent moves of the session: the TTF benchmark surged 12.6% while U.K. gas futures jumped 13.8%. Heating oil hit $4.41/gallon, up 5.1%. Brent settled around $110.52, up 3.3%.
By midday, major U.S. benchmarks hovered near session lows, with all key indices decisively breaking below their critical 200-day moving averages.
US Equity Indices: Performance As Of March 19, 2026
| Index | Level | % Change | MTD | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 6,587.12 | -0.56% | -4.69% | -0.9% |
| Dow Jones | 45,931 | -0.64% | -7.46% | -2.8% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 24,246 | -0.73% | -3.06% | +1.1% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,469.54 | -0.42% | -7.29% | -3.4% |
According to the Benzinga Pro platform:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell approximately 0.6%,
- The SPDR Dow Jones ETF (NYSE:DIA) slid 0.6%,
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) dropped 0.7%
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) declined 0.4%.
Fed Flags Rising Inflation Risks, Gold Tumbles Amid Rising Treasury Yields
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held the fed funds rate unchanged at 3.75%, as expected, but policymakers raised their inflation projections and flagged elevated uncertainty from the conflict.
The central bank still projects one rate cut this year and one in 2027 — consistent with its December outlook — but a growing cohort of FOMC members indicated no cuts may be warranted in 2026 if inflation continues to accelerate.
That hawkish tilt, combined with a hotter-than-expected February producer inflation print — headline +0.7% month over month, core +0.5% — pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to 4.27%, nearing its highest level since August.
Meanwhile, gold — which had rallied over 60% in the past year — sold off sharply, dropping $217.21, or 4.5%, to $4,602.33 per troy ounce, hitting the lowest levels since early February.
Rising real yields and a firming dollar pressured the metal. Silver fell 6.42% to $70.50/oz.
On the economic data front, the picture was mixed. Initial jobless claims fell a surprising 8,000 to 205,000 in the week ending mid-March, well below expectations — a sign the labor market remains resilient.
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index jumped to 18.1, the highest since September 2025 and its third consecutive month in expansion.
Countering the optimism, U.S. new home sales collapsed 17.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 587,000 units in January — the sharpest decline since 2013 — while wholesale inventories fell an unexpected 0.5%
Thursday’s Stock Movers
In corporate news, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) posted a strong quarterly earnings beat at $12.20 EPS but rattled investors with guidance for significantly higher capex spending. Shares fell 4%, dragging the broader semiconductor space lower.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell 1.10% to $178.41, while Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) shed 1.51% to $606.36 and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped 2.68% to $382.25.
Domestic energy producers were the session’s clear beneficiaries. Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG) surged 7.65% to $286.60 as investors bet disrupted Middle Eastern LNG flows redirect to U.S. terminals. Antero Resources Corp. (NYSE:AR) climbed 5.24% to $43.67, and Range Resources Corp. (NYSE:RRC) gained 4.98% to $45.65.
The precious metals selloff hammered gold mining stocks, which ranked among the session’s biggest losers. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) sunk 7.1% on the day, pushing its month-to-date drop to 29% — the sector’s worst monthly performance since October 2008.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) plunged 8.39% to $97.60, AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) dropped 8.40% to $84.63, and Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) sank 7.87% to $223.43. Alcoa Corporation (NYSE:AA) led the broader metals complex lower, falling 9.51% to $58.12 as aluminum dropped 4.73%. Copper retreated 1.84% to $5.45 per pound.
Russell 1000 Top 5 Gainers
| Stock | % Change |
|---|---|
| Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE) | +11.20% |
| Cheniere Energy, Inc. | +7.65% |
| Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) | +5.82% |
| Antero Resources Corp. | +5.24% |
| Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) | +5.22% |
Source: Koyfin, Russell 1000 | As of midday ET, March 19, 2026
Russell 1000 Top 5 Losers
| Stock | % Change |
|---|---|
| Alcoa Corporation | -9.51% |
| AngloGold Ashanti plc | -8.40% |
| Newmont Corporation | -8.39% |
| Royal Gold, Inc. | -7.87% |
| MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) | -7.41% |
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