Stock Market Falls As Oil Prices Skyrocket On Iran Conflict: Weekly Review

• Oil prices surged as the Iran conflict halted crude and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz; Qatar shut down natural gas output, raising inflation fears beyond energy to food production due to fertilizer shortages
• February nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000, missing forecasts by over 150,000, with private-sector jobs essentially flat over the past three months and manufacturing down 89,000 jobs since May
• Broadcom and Marvell Technology rallied on strong AI chip earnings, with Broadcom projecting over $100 billion in AI accelerator and networking chip sales by fiscal 2027 after adding a sixth custom AI processor customer

Stock Market Falls on Iran Conflict and Oil Surge: Weekly Summary

Market Performance:

The stock market declined amid escalating U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran, with the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 experiencing the steepest losses. All major indexes fell below their 50-day moving averages. The Nasdaq showed modest declines, supported by software sector rebounds and strong AI chip earnings from Broadcom and Marvell Technology.

Oil and Energy Crisis:

U.S. crude oil futures surged approximately $23 for the week, reaching $88 per barrel Friday morning. The conflict effectively halted crude and LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20% of global oil supplies. Qatar shut down natural gas output under Iranian fire, raising concerns beyond energy to food production, as natural gas is essential for nitrogen-based fertilizer production. UK natural gas prices jumped 70% this month.

Jobs Report Weakness:

February nonfarm payrolls plunged 92,000, missing forecasts by over 150,000. Private-sector jobs dropped 86,000, with December-January figures revised down by 69,000. Unemployment ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3%. Private payrolls have grown just 18,000 monthly over three months, with essentially zero job growth since May and 89,000 manufacturing jobs lost.

Corporate Highlights:

• Broadcom and Marvell Technology beat earnings expectations on strong AI chip demand; Broadcom projects $100 billion in AI chip sales by fiscal 2027
• CrowdStrike and Okta reported beats with improving cybersecurity demand
• Apple launched budget products: iPhone 17e at $599 and MacBook Neo starting at $599
• Target, Ross Stores, and Burlington Stores posted diverging retail results
• Nvidia announced $2 billion investments each in Lumentum and Coherent for optical networking technology