Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 5, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Crude oil prices
Qatar’s energy minister told The Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may need to call force majeure in the coming days, shutting down production in a move that could send oil to $150 a barrel. The conflict in the Middle East could “bring down the economies of the world,” he warned.
“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply.”
Shares of Royal Caribbean, which has fallen 14% this week amid increasing fuel costs, fell again on Friday, dropping 5%. Caterpillar shares, which have also suffered this week, were down 2%.
“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.”
This week, the S&P 500 is on pace to shed more than 2%, while the 30-stock Dow has fallen more than 3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is tracking for a loss of around 1%.
February jobs report complicates interest rate call, San Francisco Fed’s Daly says
Mary Daly, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, speaks during WSJ Tech Live conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal at the Montage Laguna Beach in Laguna Beach, California, on October 21, 2024.
Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Friday the weak February jobs report adds to a difficult policymaking environment.
In a CNBC interview, Daly did not commit to a position on interest rates, but said a softening labor market combined with inflation still running above the central bank’s 2% target complicate future decisions.
“This jobs market report has got my attention,” she said during a “Squawk Box” interview. “I don’t think you can look through this report, but I also don’t think you should make more of it than one month of data.” Read more.
— Jeff Cox
Treasury yields rise
Treasury yields pushed higher Friday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield gained more than 3 basis points to 4.177%. The 30-year Treasury yield rose 2.6 basis points to 4.777%. The 2-year Treasury yield was almost 1 basis point higher, at 3.606%.
The spread between 2-year and the 10-year Treasury widened to 57.1 basis points, which might reflect higher expectations of future inflation.
— Sarah Min, Scott Schnipper
Stocks open lower
U.S. equities opened Friday’s session in negative territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 673 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively.
— Sean Conlon
Gap, Marvell Technology, Exxon Mobil among the stocks making premarket moves
People walk by a Gap store in Times Square on March 05, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Gap — The apparel maker’s stock slid about 8% after Gap reported fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, just shy of analysts’ forecast of 46 cents a share, per LSEG. Gap’s revenue came in line with expectations at $4.24 billion.
- Marvell Technology — The company, which makes integrated circuits and semiconductor products, saw shares surge 11% on the back of strong quarterly results led by artificial intelligence demand. For its fourth quarter, Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting earnings of 79 cents per share and revenue of $2.21 billion. Management said Marvell expects its year-over-year revenue growth to increase each quarter in fiscal 2027.
- Oil stocks — The group rose alongside crude prices, as tensions grew overnight around the U.S.-Iran conflict. Exxon Mobil and Chevron each gained more than 1%. Occidental Petroleum climbed 3.3%. U.S. oil and Brent scaled to levels not seen since 2024.
Read the full list here.
— Liz Napolitano
U.S. jobs fall unexpectedly by 92,000 in February
U.S. payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, marking a surprise decline out of the labor market, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected payrolls increased by 50,000 in February as unemployment remained steady at 4.3%.
— Fred Imbert
Why Trump’s plan to have the U.S. Navy escort tankers through the Gulf may not work
A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026.
Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is ready to use the U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as the war against Iran rages, but providing safe passage to the volume of traffic that typically passes through the waterway will prove challenging.
U.S. oil prices have surged 28% to above $86 a barrel this week as Iran attacks tankers, effectively bringing ship traffic through the Strait to a standstill. Brent crude is up 22% this week to $89 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent would shoot above $100 per barrel if the waterway is closed for a prolonged period, Wall Street analysts say. At that level, oil prices could tip the global economy into a recession, they say.
The narrow Strait is the only way for tankers to enter and exit the Persian Gulf. More than 14 million barrels per day of crude passed through the Strait in 2025, about a third of all the oil that is exported by ship worldwide, according to energy consulting firm Kpler. Read more.
— Spencer Kimball
Oil rally resumes as Brent tops $89 a barrel
Crude oil futures
On Friday morning, the Financial Times reported that Qatar’s energy minister said the war in the Middle East could see Gulf energy exporters halt oil shipments within days. Saad al-Kaabi told the FT crude prices could reach $150 a barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
— Chloe Taylor
European stocks open higher as oil prices oscillate
European stock markets opened in positive territory on Friday, as oil prices oscillated.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5% in morning trade, with the German DAX leading with a 0.6% gain and London’s FTSE 100 up 0.2%, as the French CAC 40 added 0.2% and the Italian FTSE Mib notching 0.1%.
For the week, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is on course for a 4.6% loss — its deepest since last April, at the height of market fears about a U.S.-China trade war.
— Chloe Taylor, Hugh Leask
Asia markets mostly rise as investors assess Iran conflict impact on energy supplies
Journalists and television camera crews film the closing market figures displayed on a large electronic screen at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul, South Korea, on March 5, 2026.
Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Most Asia-Pacific markets staged a late comeback on Friday, after Wall Street declined on worries over energy supplies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.62% at 55,620.84, also reversing earlier losses, while the Topix ended 0.39% higher to close at 3,716.93.
South Korea’s Kospi reversed course to finish marginally higher at 5,584.87, after marking its best day since 2008 in the prior session.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% to 8,851, dragged by basic materials stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.69% higher as of its last hour of trading, extending gains from Thursday and leading Asian markets, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 advanced 0.27% to 4,660.44.
India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.69%, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.72% as of 2:42 p.m. local time (03.12 a.m. ET).
— Lim Hui Jie
Asia markets mixed as oil crosses $80 mark
Markets in Asia were mixed on Friday, after oil prices breached the $80 mark as the Iran conflict continued into a sixth day.
South Korea’s Kospi tumbled once again, falling 1%, after marking its best day since 2008 in the prior session. The small-cap Kosdaq, however, extended gains to rise 1.52%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.24%, reversing earlier losses, while the Topix was marginally down.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.06%, dragged by basic materials stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.14%, extending gains from Thursday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.4%.
— Lim Hui Jie
What to expect from Friday’s jobs report
A “Join Our Team” flyer at the Appalachian State University internship and job fair in Boone, North Carolina, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
More clues on where the employment picture is headed will come Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly nonfarm payrolls report for February at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect payroll growth of 50,000, following January’s surprisingly high 130,000. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.3%, another sign of that, yes, stable labor market that certainly isn’t going gangbusters but is just strong enough to keep that jobless level steady.
However, the so-called stability may not be all it appears. Most of the payroll gains in 2025 came from health-care-related industries. Without the sector, even the meager 15,000 monthly average gains last year would have evaporated, and this year’s environment looks largely the same to those on the ground.
“One of the things that is very interesting-slash-potentially problematic is that we have almost all the growth happening in this health care and social [assistance]” sectors, said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed. “I don’t really see it as balanced or stable if you’re seeing so much growth in just one subsector.” Read more here on CNBC.
— Jeff Cox
Costco, Marvell Technology among stocks moving Thursday evening
Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:
- Costco Wholesale — Shares of the big-box retailer dipped less than 1% in the after-hours session. Costco reported $4.58 cents per share in earnings on revenue of $69.6 billion in the fiscal second quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $4.56 cents per share in earnings on revenue of $69.29 billion. Membership fees totaled $1.36 billion, reflecting a 13.6% gain year over year.
- Marvell Technology — The company, which makes integrated circuits and semiconductor products, saw shares surge 14% on the back of strong quarterly results led by artificial intelligence demand. For its fourth quarter, Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting earnings of 79 cents per share and revenue of $2.21 billion. Management said Marvell expects its year-over-year revenue growth to increase each quarter in fiscal 2027.
- Gap — The apparel maker’s stock slid almost 8% after Gap reported fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, just shy of analysts’ forecast of 46 cents a share, per LSEG. Gap’s revenue came in line with expectations at $4.24 billion.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
U.S. stock futures open little changed
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 5, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Crude oil prices
Qatar’s energy minister told The Financial Times that Gulf energy producers may need to call force majeure in the coming days, shutting down production in a move that could send oil to $150 a barrel. The conflict in the Middle East could “bring down the economies of the world,” he warned.
“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted,” he said. “Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply.”
Shares of Royal Caribbean, which has fallen 14% this week amid increasing fuel costs, fell again on Friday, dropping 5%. Caterpillar shares, which have also suffered this week, were down 2%.
“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.”
This week, the S&P 500 is on pace to shed more than 2%, while the 30-stock Dow has fallen more than 3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is tracking for a loss of around 1%.
February jobs report complicates interest rate call, San Francisco Fed’s Daly says
Mary Daly, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, speaks during WSJ Tech Live conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal at the Montage Laguna Beach in Laguna Beach, California, on October 21, 2024.
Frederic J. Brown | Afp | Getty Images
San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said Friday the weak February jobs report adds to a difficult policymaking environment.
In a CNBC interview, Daly did not commit to a position on interest rates, but said a softening labor market combined with inflation still running above the central bank’s 2% target complicate future decisions.
“This jobs market report has got my attention,” she said during a “Squawk Box” interview. “I don’t think you can look through this report, but I also don’t think you should make more of it than one month of data.” Read more.
— Jeff Cox
Treasury yields rise
Treasury yields pushed higher Friday. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield gained more than 3 basis points to 4.177%. The 30-year Treasury yield rose 2.6 basis points to 4.777%. The 2-year Treasury yield was almost 1 basis point higher, at 3.606%.
The spread between 2-year and the 10-year Treasury widened to 57.1 basis points, which might reflect higher expectations of future inflation.
— Sarah Min, Scott Schnipper
Stocks open lower
U.S. equities opened Friday’s session in negative territory.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 673 points, or 1.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively.
— Sean Conlon
Gap, Marvell Technology, Exxon Mobil among the stocks making premarket moves
People walk by a Gap store in Times Square on March 05, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Gap — The apparel maker’s stock slid about 8% after Gap reported fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, just shy of analysts’ forecast of 46 cents a share, per LSEG. Gap’s revenue came in line with expectations at $4.24 billion.
- Marvell Technology — The company, which makes integrated circuits and semiconductor products, saw shares surge 11% on the back of strong quarterly results led by artificial intelligence demand. For its fourth quarter, Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting earnings of 79 cents per share and revenue of $2.21 billion. Management said Marvell expects its year-over-year revenue growth to increase each quarter in fiscal 2027.
- Oil stocks — The group rose alongside crude prices, as tensions grew overnight around the U.S.-Iran conflict. Exxon Mobil and Chevron each gained more than 1%. Occidental Petroleum climbed 3.3%. U.S. oil and Brent scaled to levels not seen since 2024.
Read the full list here.
— Liz Napolitano
U.S. jobs fall unexpectedly by 92,000 in February
U.S. payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, marking a surprise decline out of the labor market, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected payrolls increased by 50,000 in February as unemployment remained steady at 4.3%.
— Fred Imbert
Why Trump’s plan to have the U.S. Navy escort tankers through the Gulf may not work
A person points at a page on the Marinetraffic website that shows commercial boats traffic on the edge of the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian coast, in Paris on March 4, 2026.
Julien De Rosa | Afp | Getty Images
President Donald Trump is ready to use the U.S. Navy to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz as the war against Iran rages, but providing safe passage to the volume of traffic that typically passes through the waterway will prove challenging.
U.S. oil prices have surged 28% to above $86 a barrel this week as Iran attacks tankers, effectively bringing ship traffic through the Strait to a standstill. Brent crude is up 22% this week to $89 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent would shoot above $100 per barrel if the waterway is closed for a prolonged period, Wall Street analysts say. At that level, oil prices could tip the global economy into a recession, they say.
The narrow Strait is the only way for tankers to enter and exit the Persian Gulf. More than 14 million barrels per day of crude passed through the Strait in 2025, about a third of all the oil that is exported by ship worldwide, according to energy consulting firm Kpler. Read more.
— Spencer Kimball
Oil rally resumes as Brent tops $89 a barrel
Crude oil futures
On Friday morning, the Financial Times reported that Qatar’s energy minister said the war in the Middle East could see Gulf energy exporters halt oil shipments within days. Saad al-Kaabi told the FT crude prices could reach $150 a barrel in the coming weeks if oil tankers are unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
— Chloe Taylor
European stocks open higher as oil prices oscillate
European stock markets opened in positive territory on Friday, as oil prices oscillated.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.5% in morning trade, with the German DAX leading with a 0.6% gain and London’s FTSE 100 up 0.2%, as the French CAC 40 added 0.2% and the Italian FTSE Mib notching 0.1%.
For the week, the pan-European Stoxx 600 is on course for a 4.6% loss — its deepest since last April, at the height of market fears about a U.S.-China trade war.
— Chloe Taylor, Hugh Leask
Asia markets mostly rise as investors assess Iran conflict impact on energy supplies
Journalists and television camera crews film the closing market figures displayed on a large electronic screen at the Korea Exchange (KRX) in Seoul, South Korea, on March 5, 2026.
Chris Jung | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Most Asia-Pacific markets staged a late comeback on Friday, after Wall Street declined on worries over energy supplies.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.62% at 55,620.84, also reversing earlier losses, while the Topix ended 0.39% higher to close at 3,716.93.
South Korea’s Kospi reversed course to finish marginally higher at 5,584.87, after marking its best day since 2008 in the prior session.
In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1% to 8,851, dragged by basic materials stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 1.69% higher as of its last hour of trading, extending gains from Thursday and leading Asian markets, while the mainland Chinese CSI 300 advanced 0.27% to 4,660.44.
India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.69%, while the BSE Sensex fell 0.72% as of 2:42 p.m. local time (03.12 a.m. ET).
— Lim Hui Jie
Asia markets mixed as oil crosses $80 mark
Markets in Asia were mixed on Friday, after oil prices breached the $80 mark as the Iran conflict continued into a sixth day.
South Korea’s Kospi tumbled once again, falling 1%, after marking its best day since 2008 in the prior session. The small-cap Kosdaq, however, extended gains to rise 1.52%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.24%, reversing earlier losses, while the Topix was marginally down.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 1.06%, dragged by basic materials stocks.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.14%, extending gains from Thursday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was down 0.4%.
— Lim Hui Jie
What to expect from Friday’s jobs report
A “Join Our Team” flyer at the Appalachian State University internship and job fair in Boone, North Carolina, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
More clues on where the employment picture is headed will come Friday when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its monthly nonfarm payrolls report for February at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect payroll growth of 50,000, following January’s surprisingly high 130,000. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.3%, another sign of that, yes, stable labor market that certainly isn’t going gangbusters but is just strong enough to keep that jobless level steady.
However, the so-called stability may not be all it appears. Most of the payroll gains in 2025 came from health-care-related industries. Without the sector, even the meager 15,000 monthly average gains last year would have evaporated, and this year’s environment looks largely the same to those on the ground.
“One of the things that is very interesting-slash-potentially problematic is that we have almost all the growth happening in this health care and social [assistance]” sectors, said Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at Indeed. “I don’t really see it as balanced or stable if you’re seeing so much growth in just one subsector.” Read more here on CNBC.
— Jeff Cox
Costco, Marvell Technology among stocks moving Thursday evening
Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:
- Costco Wholesale — Shares of the big-box retailer dipped less than 1% in the after-hours session. Costco reported $4.58 cents per share in earnings on revenue of $69.6 billion in the fiscal second quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $4.56 cents per share in earnings on revenue of $69.29 billion. Membership fees totaled $1.36 billion, reflecting a 13.6% gain year over year.
- Marvell Technology — The company, which makes integrated circuits and semiconductor products, saw shares surge 14% on the back of strong quarterly results led by artificial intelligence demand. For its fourth quarter, Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were expecting earnings of 79 cents per share and revenue of $2.21 billion. Management said Marvell expects its year-over-year revenue growth to increase each quarter in fiscal 2027.
- Gap — The apparel maker’s stock slid almost 8% after Gap reported fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents per share, just shy of analysts’ forecast of 46 cents a share, per LSEG. Gap’s revenue came in line with expectations at $4.24 billion.
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
