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Happy Wednesday. This is TheStreet’s Stock Market Today for Mar. 4, 2026. You can follow the latest updates on the market here in our daily live blog.
Update: 4:00 p.m. ET
Closing Bell
The U.S. markets are now closed.
After a tepid start to the day, major stock benchmarks closed out in the green. The Nasdaq (+1.29%) and Russell 2000 (+1.06%) advanced, thanks to help from tech and discretionary stocks. The S&P 500(+0.78%) and Dow Jones (+0.49%) also advanced.
Update: 2:49 p.m. ET
Your portfolio’s $2T+ IPO problem
A new wave of big tech companies is set to test the market this year seeking historic sums at even more historic valuations. It could end up representing a multi-trillion-dollar problem for Americans’ portfolios, which have been set on autopilot for decades. And financial implications aside, there are also some philosophical questions to entertain in all this.
Update: 12:23 p.m. ET
Midday Update
Into midday, U.S. stocks are just below day highs; the Nasdaq (+1.39%), Nasdaq (+1.11%), S&P 500 (+0.78%), and Dow (+0.61%) are all advancing, buoyed by technology and cyclicals. About two-thirds of U.S. issues are advancing now, putting U.S. markets on their best footing in days.
Winners
At the same time as markets are rallying higher, bitcoin (+7.08% over the last 24h) is also soldier upwards, lifting a handful of digital asset firms on Wall Street. Coinbase (+15.9%), Galaxy Digital (+14.7%), and Hut 8 Corp (+13.77%) are all among the crop today.
They aren’t the only retail favorites making a return to today’s winners list. Space company AST SpaceMobile (+11.97%), AI company Nebius Group (+11.23%), and
Losers
Despite seeing its price target hiked by Piper Sandler this morning, ImmunityBio is plummeting today after providing a business update and its Q4 earnings. The stock had run more than 9% on the week in anticipation of its report.
AXT Inc (-7.95%) is next up, declining from recent spikes brought on by strong momentum and earnings. It has still more than doubled on the month, making it one of the more impressive runners in the market since the start of 2026.
Rounding out the top three, Brown-Forman (-7.34%) is falling today after reporting earnings. The spirits giant has suffered with declining sales of products since the pandemic.
In other notable decliners, Gitlab (-7.13%) is falling after forecasting slower sales in its earnings yesterday afternoon. It also is falling on unconfirmed rumors that AI giant OpenAI might consider building its own “GitHub clone.”
Update: 9:30 a.m. ET
Opening Bell
The U.S. market is now opened for the day. At the open, the Nasdaq (+0.54%) is up half a percentage point, while the Russell 2000 (+0.28%), S&P 500 (+0.17%) and Dow (-0.05%) are falling from their initial prints in the green.
The moves come after the U.S. struck Iranian assets overnight. Reporters indicated that Iran had reached out to the U.S. through “indirect” means after the attack to seek a way to end the conflict, a report that the CIA now denies.
As the sun rises in the U.S., Oman is reporting that a Malta-flagged cargo ship has come under fire. After falling overnight, Brent Crude is up modestly at the U.S. open, barely above its settlement price yesterday at $81.62.
In Focus: S&P 500
A plurality of the market is advancing this morning, with 49.5% of U.S. issues advancing against 44.1% in decline. Focusing on the S&P 500, there’s some contrast, which is different from the beet red of the last few days:
In sectors, Discretionary (+0.61%) and Technology (+0.49%) are the only two sectors in the green, while all other S&P Sectors are declining, including Energy (-1.46%), which is seeing the starkest decline this morning.
ISM Services at highest since 2022
Just in on the hour, the ISM Services PMI came in. At 56.1, the February reading is the highest we’ve seen since 2022; it was up from 53.8 last month. All components advanced except for Prices, which declined to an 11-month low of 63 (from 66.6). The remaining components — Business Activity (59.9), Employment (51.8), and New Orders (58.6) — all declined.
It followed minutes after the S&P Global Composite PMI (51.9, down from 53) and Global Services PMI (51.7, down from 52.7), contradicting the earlier, but less weighty report.
Update: 5:41 a.m. ET
After slow start, Europe Stoxx 600 now up over 1%
Despite a tepid start to the market day in Asia, European equities opened higher this morning, offering reasons for optimism across the pond.
Just a few hours ago, while most were asleep in the States, the STOXX Europe 600 opened up a few basis points. Now, it’s up 1.50%, illuminating hopes that the U.S. markets could be following a similar trend.
The gains come after the U.S. struck an Iranian warship and submarine overnight off the coast of Sri Lanka, which originally stirred fears of further escalation. However, a report that Iran reached out to the U.S. to attempt to end the days-long conflict (now confirmed to be false) also probably played a hand.
However, above all else, the contrast between Asian markets and European markets this morning is a fascinating watch. We’ll be keeping an eye on it as we trend towards the U.S. open in a few hours.
Update: 12:54 a.m. ET
A.M. Update: More trouble in Asia
Good morning. Escorts and the promise of insurance from the U.S. might be enough to convince oil tankers to try its hand at passing through the tense Strait of Hormuz, but none of it is necessarily a guarantee that energy products arrive intact. And tonight, that’s proving to be a problem for Asian markets, which count themselves reliant on that key crossing.
South Korea’s KOSPI once again is saddling the steepest decline in Asia, with circuit breakers stopping trading earlier today. The index is now near day lows, down over 12%, making it the worst two-day stretch for the country’s market since 2008. The Korean won also hit a 17-year low amid worries that the country, which relies on imports from the Middle East to meet its energy needs, will be affected by the ongoing conflict in Iran.
Other countries across Asia are facing a similar cascade, including Thailand, which saw its stock market halted after an 8% decline. More tepid declines in Taiwan’s TAIEX (-4.35%) and Japan’s Nikkei 225 (-3.68%) are also playing out, while India’s NIFTY 50 (-2%) is registering declines as the rupee hit a record low.
And as a new day dawns in Europe, the Stoxx 600 looks like it might soon be sharing in those declines, based on futures data. In a short few hours, the U.S. markets might follow suit as this week’s declines continue to play out. At last glance, S&P 500 futures were about half a percentage point lower; the Russell 2000 futures were closer to a one percent decline.
That said, here is what will be on the docket for today:
Earnings Today: Broadcom, Veeva, Brown-Forman
Though the Iran situation is front and center, there are still dozens of reports rounding out the latest quarter. Here are the biggest reports slated for today:
Economic Data Today: ISM Services PMI, ADP Employment, EIA Crude Oil Stocks
Here are today’s big economic data reports today, which will be anchored by February’s ISM Services PMI and ADP Employment Change data.
This story was originally published by TheStreet on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest Business & Market News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.