By Panos Mourdoukoutas

Wall Street stocks closed lower for a third consecutive week as rising oil prices, higher bond yields, and concerns about private credit markets kept buyers on the sidelines.

The sell-off came as the ongoing U.S.–Israeli conflict with Iran kept energy prices elevated, fueling concerns about renewed inflation. At the same time, signs of stress in parts of the private credit market added to pressure on financial stocks.

Meanwhile, mixed economic data revived fears of stagflation, complicating the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook ahead of its meeting next week.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 1.99 percent to 46,558, its lowest close since November 2025. The S&P 500 declined by 1.60 percent to 6,632, finishing near its weekly low. The Nasdaq Composite dropped by 1.26 percent, while the Russell 2000 declined by 1.79 percent.

Market volatility spiked early in the week but eased somewhat by March 13. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index ended the day at 27.30, down by 7.8 percent for the week.

Stocks began the week sharply lower on March 9 as the Iran conflict entered its second week. Oil prices surged past the psychologically important $100 mark, raising inflation concerns and prompting investors to cut exposure to risky assets.

“Triple-digit oil prices rapidly translate into sizable increases at the gas pump, which is a dynamic that understandably spooks investors and consumers alike and is one of the main drivers of this risk-off sentiment,” Carol Schleif, chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth in Minneapolis, told The Epoch Times.

Some of those fears were offset by new data from the Federal Reserve showing inflation expectations eased to 3 percent in February, the lowest level in seven months, down from 3.1 percent in January. This helped equities trim earlier losses by midday, with the Nasdaq briefly turning positive.

Stocks then staged a stronger rebound later in the afternoon of March 9 after President Donald Trump suggested the war could end sooner than expected. Oil prices retreated sharply from earlier highs, helping improve investor sentiment. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell nearly 4 percent to $87 per barrel in late afternoon trading, reversing earlier gains of about 20 percent.

Markets also received support after G7 finance ministers said the group “stands ready” to release oil from strategic reserves if necessary.

By close, all major stock indexes had moved solidly into positive territory. The Nasdaq and the Russell 2000 led gains, rising by 1.38 percent and 1.12 percent, respectively. The Dow and the S&P 500 posted smaller gains of 0.50 percent and 0.83 percent.

Oil prices remained the dominant driver of markets on March 10. Stocks largely moved in the opposite direction of crude prices throughout the session—falling in the morning, recovering midday, and finishing nearly unchanged by the close.

The S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 both lost by 0.20 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 0.07 percent. The Nasdaq managed to edge higher by 0.01 percent.

Market volatility was also influenced by a weaker-than-expected auction of 3-year U.S. Treasury notes, which pushed the yield up to 3.62 percent, an increase of 0.06 percentage points from the prior session.

Higher yields weighed on interest-rate-sensitive sectors, including homebuilders. Shares of KB Home and D.R. Horton fell by 2.53 percent and 1.63 percent, respectively.

Technology stocks initially received a boost on March 11 after Oracle reported stronger-than-expected earnings the previous day, pushing the Nasdaq and S&P 500 higher at the open.

However, gains faded as renewed tensions in the Iran conflict drove oil prices and bond yields higher again, creating headwinds for equities.

Additional upward pressure on yields came from a new inflation report showing the annual CPI rate remained unchanged at 2.4 percent in February 2026, matching January’s reading and market expectations.

Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro, described the report as mixed.

“On one hand, it’s essentially tracking January, reflecting its somewhat stubborn nature. On the other hand, the last thing this market needed was a hot number before the recent pop in energy prices even had a chance to show up in the data,” he told The Epoch Times.

Skyler Weinand, chief investment officer of Dallas-based Regan Capital, believes inflation could rise again in the coming months.

“This may be the last year-over-year print we see around 2.4 percent for a while as CPI potentially moves back towards 3 percent or above. Tariff refunds when they come, along with the spike in energy prices, will show up over the next few months and create a move higher in year-over-year inflation,” he told The Epoch Times.

By the end of the March 11 session, markets were mixed. The Dow and the Russell 2000 finished decisively lower, the Nasdaq closed slightly higher, and the S&P 500 ended nearly unchanged.

March 12 saw a sharp sell-off for equity bulls, as oil prices surged again toward the $100 mark, putting pressure on both bonds and stocks.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield moved closer to 4.30 percent, while all major stock indexes traded sharply lower throughout the day.

Interest-rate-sensitive sectors led the decline. The Russell 2000 dropped by 2.12 percent, while the Nasdaq fell by 1.78 percent. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined roughly by 1.5 percent.

Concerns about the private credit market also weighed on financial stocks after Morgan Stanley and BlackRock limited redemptions in some investment funds.

Shares of Morgan Stanley and BlackRock fell roughly by 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Stocks attempted a rebound during early trading on March 13 as investors looked for bargains following the previous day’s sharp decline. However, the recovery quickly faded as oil prices and bond yields resumed their upward trend.

Selling intensified in the afternoon, with all major indexes finishing lower. The Nasdaq led losses, falling by 0.93 percent for the day.

Economic data released during the day also reinforced concerns that the economy may be moving toward stagflation—an environment characterized by slowing growth and persistent inflation.

Revised data showed U.S. GDP grew at an annualized rate of just 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from the earlier estimate of 1.4 percent and marking the slowest pace since the contraction recorded in the first quarter of 2025. The weaker growth reflected downward revisions to exports, consumer spending, and government expenditures.

“GDP growth was cut in half, from an initial 1.4 percent reading—which already missed estimates of 2.8 percent—down to 0.7 percent. The downward revisions were broad-based; the most meaningful decline came from personal consumption, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of U.S. GDP,” Kenwell told The Epoch Times.

At the same time, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure—the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index—rose by 2.8 percent from a year earlier, remaining above the Federal Reserve’s official 2 percent target.

“While CPI has underscored a stubborn but slowly improving inflation backdrop, PCE is sending a more troubling signal, with year-over-year inflation still sitting much closer to 3 percent than the Fed’s 2 percent target,” Kenwell added, noting that neither report reflects the recent spike in energy prices.

Kenwell said the current economic environment makes interest-rate cuts unlikely in the near term unless economic conditions deteriorate significantly.

“Today’s economic updates add extra attention to next week’s Fed meeting and could make for a difficult balancing act for the incoming Fed chairman,” he said.