US Stock Market Highlights: US stocks rebounded from early losses on Thursday as hopes of a deal between Iran and Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz eased some investor concerns. The Dow ended slightly lower, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed modestly higher amid ongoing volatility in oil prices and a holiday-shortened week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pared back early losses of more than 1% to finish down just 0.1%. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also gained 0.1%.
Energy markets remained volatile, with West Texas Intermediate crude climbing 11% to over $111 a barrel, and Brent crude rising 6% above $108, following Trump’s remarks. The conflict in the Middle East has already pushed Brent prices roughly 50% higher since late February, though a brief pullback earlier this week had provided temporary relief for investors.
In other market-moving news, the Trump administration announced tariffs of up to 100% on certain imported medicines, with phased implementation based on company size, aiming to encourage domestic manufacturing.
Thursday’s session was the last before the holiday-shortened week ahead of Good Friday. Labor market data offered some relief, with initial jobless claims falling 9,000 to 202,000 for the week ending March 28, ahead of the closely watched March jobs report due Friday.