Stocks Close in the Red After Volatile Day

By Connor Smith

Published 03/10/2026 2:55PM EDT

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Another wild day on Wall Street ended with stocks hovering around breakeven.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 34 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 was down 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite was essentially flat.

“It has been an incredibly whippy session with about a half a dozen really important headlines swinging markets higher and lower,” writes Mizuho’s Daniel O’Regan.

WTI crude oil futures fell 12% to $83.45 a barrel, their biggest one-day drop since March 9, 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

Stocks opened mostly lower before gaining steam on lower oil prices. A post by Energy Secretary Chris Wright that said the U.S. Navy escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz sent crude oil futures to session lows, but prices rebounded after he deleted the post and the White House said a Navy escort didn’t occur.

Stocks turned lower right around the time a CBS report, citing U.S. intelligence assets, said there were indications Iran was taking steps to deploy mines in the strait.

“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump posted on Truth Social late in the session.

“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” he continued. “If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”

Though Iran has been the market’s focus this week, things could shift after the close when Oracle reports quarterly results. O’Regan notes the options market implies a 10% move in either direction.

The consumer price index for February is also out on Wednesday. Alhough the latest oil price spike will not be reflected in the numbers, investors will still pay close to the report. Odds of a rate cut when the Federal Open market Committee meets next week are below 1%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, but signs inflation was stubborn prior to the report could put future cuts in jeopardy.

DJIA (Dow Jones Global) 47706.51-34.29-0.07%

Nasdaq COMP (Nasdaq) 22697.101.160.01%

S&P 500SPX (S&P US) 6781.48-14.51-0.21%

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View this Barron’s article CLICK HERE