The stock market charted another considerable retreat today after a similar showing yesterday, with the major averages finishing lower across the board for the week. The S&P 500 (-1.7%), Nasdaq Composite (-2.2%), and DJIA (-1.7%) faced broad pressure that widened throughout the session as oil prices climbed amid heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Today's session did not give the market any clarity on how negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are progressing, if they are even happening at all. There was, however, a report from The Wall Street Journal that indicated the Pentagon is considering sending an additional 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East.

On the heels of yesterday's reports of neighboring Gulf states preparing for possible military intervention, the market now enters the weekend with a heightened state of anxiety around a potential ground conflict.

Today's climb in oil prices saw WTI crude end the week close to where it started, which is notable considering Monday saw a double-digit pullback. Crude oil futures settled today's session $5.08 higher (+5.4%) at $99.51 per barrel. The energy sector (+1.9%) was a standout, finishing the week with a 6.3% gain.

There were also some rotational gains realized in the defensive consumer staples (+0.8%) and utilities (+0.6%) sectors, with a few noteworthy single-stock moves in the mix. Entergy (ETR 109.88, +7.02, +6.82%) was the top-performing S&P 500 component following an expanded agreement with Meta Platforms (META 525.72, -21.82, -3.99%) to support the hyperscale data center in Northeast Louisiana, while Brown-Forman Corporation (BF-B 27.24, +1.50, +5.83%) saw an extension of yesterday's gains after confirming acquisition interest from Pernod-Ricard (PDRDY 47.12, -0.18, -0.38%).

The other eight S&P 500 sectors traded lower, with sharp losses across some of the weightiest sectors stinging the major averages for a second consecutive session.

The consumer discretionary sector (-3.1%) faced the widest loss, with all but two of its components finishing lower. Cruise lines such as Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH 18.49, -1.36, -6.85%) were among the sector's worst performers after Carnival (CCL 24.19, -1.09, -4.31%) topped earnings estimates but issued disappointing guidance in response to the recent surge in fuel prices.

The sector also suffered from poor mega-cap leadership, with Amazon (AMZN 199.34, -8.20, -3.95%) and Tesla (TSLA 361.83, -10.28, -2.76%) both lagging today.

Lingering weakness across mega-cap stocks weighed on the communication services (-2.3%) and information technology (-2.0%) sectors as well. The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF shed 2.3% today, and all of the "magnificent seven" stocks charted lower finishes.

Meta Platforms (META 525.72, -21.82, -3.99%) was the worst-performer of the group, facing an extension of yesterday's losses after a jury found the company liable in a social media addiction trial.

In the technology sector, losses were particularly acute across software names as Datadog (DDOG 114.48, -9.82, -7.90%) and other packaged software companies were among some of the worst-performing S&P 500 components. The iShares GS Software ETF (IGV) finished 3.6% lower.

Elsewhere, the financials sector logged a similar retreat as all but one of its components traded lower. Citigroup (C 107.32, -5.09, -4.53%) was a laggard across major banking names after Bloomberg reported the company is interested in buying a regional bank, though Citigroup denied the report.

Meanwhile, Coinbase Global (COIN 161.14, -12.24, -7.06%) and Robinhood Markets (HOOD 66.02, -4.33, -6.15%) saw comparable losses as Bitcoin slid 4%.

The market's clear risk-off tone also weighed on smaller-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 (-1.8%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-1.6%) faring similarly to the major averages.

The CBOE Volatility Index surged 13.3% to 31.08, suggesting a heightened sense of unease heading into the weekend.

Today's weakness was largely a continuation of recent pressures that stocks have faced since the start of the war in Iran, which has pushed energy prices higher and drastically tempered the macro outlook. The major averages continue to slip further below their respective 200-day moving averages, while the market enters the weekend vulnerable to further geopolitical volatility.

U.S. Treasuries had a mixed showing on Friday, which returned longer and shorter tenors to little changed for the week that saw fresh 2026 highs in yields across the curve. The two-year note yield settled down six basis points (+3 basis points this week), and the 10-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.44% (+5 basis points this week). 

• S&P Mid Cap 400: +0.2% YTD
• Russell 2000: -1.3% YTD
• DJIA: -6.0% YTD
• S&P 500: -7.0% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: -9.9% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment for March fell to 53.3 (Briefing.com consensus: 55.5) from the preliminary reading of 55.5. The final reading for February was 56.6. In the same period a year ago, the index stood at 57.0.
  
  • The key takeaway from the report is that it conveyed large drops in sentiment among consumers with middle and higher incomes, who were dealing with rising gas prices and falling stock prices in the wake of the Iran war.