U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday, which is the last trading day of the week, as the market will be closed for Good Friday. Futures of the major benchmark indices were lower after President Donald Trump‘s address to update on the ongoing U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
Trump’s address skipped words like ceasefire or de-escalation, as he reiterated the points he made in his social media posts over the last two weeks. He threatened to ‘hit’ Iran’s electric plants and warned of relentless military strikes on Iran for another "two to three weeks," which triggered an advance in the crude oil prices.
Economist Peter Schiff noted a broad market sell-off across stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrency as President “re-escalates the war with Iran,” pointing out the stark contrast between the extended military action and the president’s claims of a historic victory.
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.37%, and the two-year bond was at 3.84%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.4% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged in its April meeting.
| Index | Performance (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.89% |
| S&P 500 | -1.09% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -1.46% |
| Russell 2000 | -1.47% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 1.05% at $648.33, while the QQQ declined 1.41% to $576.08.
Stocks In Focus
Micron Technology
- Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) dropped 4.30% in premarket on Thursday, following Wednesday’s rally, as it announced the expiration of the cash tender offers for any and all of certain outstanding senior notes.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that MU maintains a weak price trend in the short term but a strong trend in the medium and long terms, with a solid growth score.
International Business Machines
- International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) declined by 0.22%, and Arm Holdings PLC ADR (NASDAQ:ARM) fell 3.11% despite both companies announcing a partnership to develop dual-architecture hardware.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that IBM maintains a weak trend in the long, short, and medium terms, with a solid quality score.
Lockheed Martin
- Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) was up 0.41% after its Orion Spacecraft launched four astronauts on NASA’s historic Artemis II Moon Mission for the first time in 53 years.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that LMT maintains a weak price trend in the short term but a strong trend in the medium and long terms, with a poor value score.
General Motors
- General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) was 1.71% lower after it said that it plans to invest $150 million in the Saginaw plant for next-gen V-8 engines.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that GM maintains a weak price trend over the short and medium terms but a strong trend in the long term, with a moderate growth score.
Target Hospitality
- Target Hospitality Corp. (NASDAQ:TH) tumbled 0.079% despite securing a $550 million data center contract in Texas and raising its preliminary FY26 sales guidance.
- Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that TH maintains a strong price trend in the short, medium, and long terms.
Cues From Last Session
Communication services, Industrials and Materials sectors led the advance on Wednesday, whereas financials, consumer staples, and energy sectors were the only laggards.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Dow Jones | 0.48% | 46,565.74 |
| S&P 500 | 0.72% | 6,575.32 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.16% | 21,840.95 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.64% | 21,840.95 |
Insights From Analysts
According to Senior Global Market Strategist Scott Wren, the 2026 outlook for the U.S. remains optimistic despite recent geopolitical and credit market volatility. Wren asserts that his “base case remains for above-average economic growth in the U.S. and record earnings for the S&P 500.”
However, this positive forecast is currently being tested by “frictions” such as military action in Iran and rising anxiety over Private Credit.
Wren notes that sudden events can effectively throw statistical modeling “out the window,” leading to a -2.1% dip in the S&P 500 last week. To navigate this, he emphasizes the necessity of portfolio diversification and rebalancing.
Using a gardening metaphor, Wren explains that “as a gardener might do, a long-term investor diversifies a portfolio to survive unexpected storms.”
He specifically suggests that investors “prune” their allocations by rotating funds out of the Energy sector—which may be currently overweight—and reallocating toward favored sectors like Financials, Industrials, and Utilities to stay aligned with long-term financial goals.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Thursday.
- Initial jobless claims for the week ending March 28 and February’s U.S. trade deficit data will be released by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- On Friday, the markets will be closed, but March’s U.S. employment report, unemployment rate, and hourly wages year-over-year data will be out by 8:30 a.m. ET.
- March’s S&P final U.S. services PMI will be released by 9:45 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 6.74% to hover around $106.87 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 2.49% to hover around $4,640.00 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $5,595.46 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.47% higher at the 100.1220 level.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was trading 3.28% lower at $66,545.94 per coin, as per the last 24 hours.
Asian markets closed lower on Thursday, as Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200, China’s CSI 300, India’s Nifty 50, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were also lower in early trade.
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