Oil prices surge and stocks fall as Iran escalates shipping attacks
raders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 10, 2026 in New York City. Stocks continued to slide at the opening due to the war in Iran and oil prices hovering around $90 per barrel. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Oil prices surged and stocks tumbled worldwide in early trading on Thursday as Iran escalated shipping attacks in a critical tanker route.
Global crude spiked above $100 a barrel on Thursday before settling slightly below that key benchmark. The rise in oil prices defied a U.S. effort hours earlier to reassure markets with an announcement of the second-largest ever release from the nation’s petroleum reserve.
A selloff hit Wall Street as traders feared economic fallout from a potentially prolonged bout of elevated oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 550 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.8%.
Oil markets are suffering a major supply shortage due to the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on January 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A jobs report to be released on Wednesday will provide a key barometer of the U.S. economy as policymakers grapple with a combination of elevated inflation and sluggish hiring.
The labor market slowed sharply last year, prompting interest rate cuts at the Federal Reserve and concern among some observers about the nation’s economic prospects.
The U.S. added an average of 49,000 jobs each month in 2025, which marked a staggering decline from 168,000 monthly jobs added over the prior year.
Economists expect employers to have hired 55,000 workers in January, amounting to a slight uptick from 50,000 hires in December. Still, the anticipated performance would barely register above the lackluster hiring of a typical month last year.
In a bright spot, however, the unemployment rate remains low by historical standards. Unemployment stood at 4.4% in December, and economists expect that level to have been left unchanged in January.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics delayed the release of the January data due to a partial government shutdown last week, which helps explain why the jobs report is set to be issued on a Wednesday in the middle of the month, rather than its customary release on the month’s first Friday.
The jobs report will arrive weeks after a series of job cuts that slashed tens of thousands of workers combined at a handful of name-brand companies.
Amazon said last month it planned to cut about 16,000 employees as it seeks to “strengthen” its business by reducing “layers” and “bureaucracy” within its workforce.
A day earlier, UPS announced it plans to cut as many as 30,000 employees this year. Pinterest also unveiled an effort to slash 15% of its staff, according to a securities filing. The company boasts about 4,500 employees worldwide, a securities filing shows.
So far, the cooling labor market has avoided widespread job losses, making the recent flurry of layoffs an outlier, analysts previously told ABC News. The high-profile cuts reflect trends in tech and some other sectors, however, where companies have reversed a pandemic-era hiring blitz and pivoted in response to artificial intelligence.
The Fed slashed interest rates three consecutive times last year in an effort to boost the flagging labor market. In January, the Fed opted to hold interest rates steady, taking a cautious approach due in part to elevated inflation.
The benchmark rate stands at a level between 3.5% and 3.75%. That figure marks a significant drop from a recent peak attained in 2023, but borrowing costs remain well above a 0% rate established at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Still, Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared to view the economy in a favorable light, saying it is expanding at a “solid pace” during a Jan. 28 press conference.
“While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has shown some signs of stabilization,” Powell added.
Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with members of the media onboard Air Force One on March 29, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 950 points on Tuesday after President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. may end the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on social media, Trump indicated that the task of reopening the strait may fall to other countries, urging them to “go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.”
The Dow jumped 970 points, or 2.1%, by early afternoon, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 3.4%.
Since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28, Trump has voiced mixed messages about the expected duration of the war. On several occasions, markets have climbed after traders interpreted comments from Trump as a potential off-ramp from the Middle East conflict.
The war prompted Iranian closure of the strait, a maritime trading route that facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global oil supply. A potential U.S. exit from the war without ensuring that the strait is open could leave uncertain the path to a resumption of normal tanker traffic and a resulting remedy for the current global oil shortage.
Global oil prices surged more than 5% on Tuesday, exceeding $118 a barrel, just shy of its highest price since 2022.
Gas prices in the United States topped $4 per gallon on average Tuesday, underscoring the link between rising oil prices and strained consumers.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference following the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on December 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is set to announce its latest decision on the level of interest rates, marking its first rate move since news surfaced of a federal criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
The investigation ratcheted up an extraordinary clash between the nation’s top central banker and the White House, which has urged the Fed to significantly reduce interest rates.
The central bank is widely expected to defy President Donald Trump’s wishes, opting instead to hold interest rates steady. The anticipated move would end a string of three consecutive quarter-point rate cuts, aligning with a cautious approach outlined by Powell last month, before reports of the investigation into his conduct.
“We’re well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves,” Powell said at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 10.
Futures markets expect two quarter-point interest rate cuts this year, forecasting the first in June and a second in the fall, according to CME FedWatch Tool, a measure of market sentiment.
The federal probe appears to center on Powell’s testimony to Congress last year about cost overruns in a multi-billion-dollar office renovation project. Powell, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, issued a rare video message earlier this month rebuking the investigation as a politically motivated effort to influence the Fed’s interest rate policy.
The investigation follows months of strident criticism leveled at the Fed by Trump. The president denied any involvement in the criminal investigation during a brief interview with NBC News hours after the Fed posted Powell’s video.
Over the past year, hiring has slowed dramatically while inflation has remained elevated, risking an economic double-whammy known as “stagflation.” Those conditions have put the Fed in a difficult position.
The central bank must balance a dual mandate to keep inflation under control and maximize employment. To address pressure on both of its goals, the Fed primarily holds a single tool: interest rates.
The strain on both sides of the Fed’s mandate presents a “challenging situation” for the central bank, Powell noted last month.
“There’s no risk-free path for policy as we navigate this tension between our employment and inflation goals,” Powell said.
If the Fed raises interest rates as a means of protecting against elevated inflation, it risks a deeper slowdown of the labor market. On the other hand, by lowering rates to stimulate hiring, the Fed threatens to boost spending and worsen inflation.
The criminal investigation into Powell raised concern among some analysts and former top Fed officials, who said it poses a threat to central bank independence.
In the event a central bank loses independence, policymakers tend to favor lower interest rates as a means of boosting short-term economic activity, analysts previously told ABC News. Such a posture could pose a major risk of yearslong inflation fueled by a rise in consumer demand, untethered by interest rates.
Federal law allows the president to remove the Fed chair for “cause” — though no precedent exists for such an ouster. Powell’s term as chair is set to expire in May, but he can remain on the Fed’s policymaking board until 2028. Powell has not indicated whether he intends to remain on the board.
