A trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at the opening bell on March 5, 2026 in New York City.
Angela Weiss | Afp | Getty Images
Stock futures fell Friday, putting equities on pace to add to their weekly declines as oil price spike, while traders awaited new U.S. jobs data.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 250 points, or 0.5%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
West Texas Intermediate futures broke above $86 per barrel, hitting its highest level since April 2024. International Brent crude also reached levels not seen in nearly two years, trading above $89 per barrel, as investors weighed the impact of the U.S.-Iran war on global energy supply.
Qatar’s energy minister told The Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may need to call force majeure in coming days, shutting down production in a move that could send oil to $150 a barrel.
Higher oil prices weighed on stock during Thursday’s trading session as well. The Dow lost nearly 785 points, or 1.6%, putting the index on track for its second negative week in a row and its worst week since last October. The S&P 500 fell about 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped nearly 0.3%.
Crude oil prices
“Markets remain in risk‑off mode as worries grow about the duration of the conflict and potential disruptions to energy supply,” Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones, said. He said that the spike in U.S. oil prices is adding to inflation concerns that could put consumer spending under pressure.
To be sure, Kourkafas added, “structural shifts have reduced U.S. vulnerability to oil shocks. Oil would likely need to remain above $100 for an extended period to meaningfully slow economic growth, in our view. The U.S. has been a net exporter of oil since 2019, and the economy is far less energy‑intensive than it once was.”
Friday brings traders a new market catalyst in the form of February’s nonfarm payrolls, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Dow Jones are looking for growth of 50,000 jobs, down from the 130,000 payrolls added in January. They also expect the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.3%.
This week, the S&P 500 is on pace to lose 0.7%, while the 30-stock Dow has fallen 2.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has outperformed, heading for a gain of about 0.4%.