Stocks sink as oil rises

Oil rises above $80 per barrel, dragging down stocks

Stocks closed Thursday with losses as the escalating war in Iran and the Middle East drove oil prices higher.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a loss of 784 points, a decline of 1.6 percent after falling more than 1,100 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 index closed 0.6 percent lower, and the Nasdaq composite fell by 0.3 percent on the day.

The stock market’s swoon came as growing violence around the Persian Gulf and Iran’s efforts to restrict maritime trade fueled another surge in oil prices.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the baseline price for U.S. oil, eclipsed $80 per barrel Thursday, rising more than $5 on the day. Brent crude, a baseline price for international oil, rose more than $3 to hit more than $84 on Thursday.

As the largest producer of crude oil by volume in the world, the U.S. economy does not take the same economic hit from rising energy prices as it did before the country ramped up production throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

But U.S. consumers and businesses still feel the squeeze from rising energy costs, which are already pushing gasoline prices higher less than a week into the outbreak of the war.

The average price of a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline rose to $3.25 Thursday, according to AAA, up from $2.98 a week ago and $2.89 a month ago.

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Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:

Dow loses more than 780 points as oil tops $80 per barrel

Stocks closed Thursday with losses as the escalating war in Iran and the Middle East drove oil prices higher.

Trump, Bondi sued over TikTok deal

Two investors sued President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday over the administration’s approval of a deal that saw TikTok spun off into a separate American-owned entity in order to continue operating in the U.S.

Kalshi faces backlash over handling of $54M market on Khamenei’s ouster

The prediction market Kalshi is facing pushback over its handling of more than $54 million in trades on the ouster of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after he was killed in U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on the country last weekend.

Blue states challenge Trump’s new tariffs 

Democratic-led states on Thursday sued President Trump over his new tariffs, asserting they are illegal like his previous ones, which were recently struck down by the Supreme Court.

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

The Labor Department releases the February jobs report at 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Join Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and top strategists on March 4 to spotlight the women driving the 119th Congress. From AI to the economy, meet the women navigating the new political map. Register here.

Branch out with more stories from the day:

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