By Connor Smith
Four Strait. The Nasdaq Composite flirted with a correction on Friday as the major indexes fell for a fourth week in a row.
The tech-heavy index dropped 2% on Friday. The S&P 500 dipped 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 444 points, or 1%.
Swings in oil prices related to headlines out of the Middle East have been the market's driver since the war in Iran began on Feb. 28. Stocks fell to session lows today as President Donald Trump told reporters, "I don't want to do a cease-fire."
After the market's close -- and stocks' severe reaction -- Trump seemed to change his tone somewhat. "We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East," he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Iran worries finally caught up to traders betting on the path forward for interest rates. There's now a 31% chance of a rate a interest-rate hike in 2026, compared with zero chance a week ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Odds of a quarter-point cut this year were down to 6.1%.
The Nasdaq has dropped in nine of the past 10 weeks, something it hadn't done since 2022. The Dow has now matched its longest weekly losing streak since 2023.
At one point today, the Nasdaq was down 10% from its Oct. 29 closing high, the mark of a so-called correction. If it falls 20% from that same high, it enters a bear market. The Nasdaq last entered a correction in March 2025 and a bear market in April. It exited the bear market when it rallied 20%
After a stellar start to the year for small-caps, the Russell 2000 did close in a correction today.
I asked Steve Sosnick, the chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, what he makes of the market's sudden swings. He points out that the Nasdaq and the Russell contain "a large amount of small, economically sensitive companies."
"With input prices soaring and rate cut expectations evaporating, it's understandable why it is a poor performer," he says. "The broader question, which I asked yet again today, is why stocks aren't actually doing worse, all things considered."
Traders will have the weekend to let that one simmer.
The Hot Stock: Marsh & McLennan +3.3% The Biggest Loser: Super Micro Computer -33.3%
Best Sector: Financials +0.2% Worst Sector: Utilities -4.1%
This Weekend's Magazine
The Calendar
Headlines around the Iran war will continue to dominate trading next week with little economic or earnings news from Wall Street to digest.
On Tuesday ADP releases its weekly update to its National Employment Report and S&P Global releases both its Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Indexes.
GameStop reports earnings on Tuesday, Jefferies Financial Group on Wednesday, and Carnival on Friday.
-- Dan Lam
What We're Reading Today
-- Don't Count Out Rate Cuts in 2026. Fed Doves Still Exist.
-- Bill Ackman Pitches Washington on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Plan. Why a
Deal Isn't a Sure Bet.
-- Japan-U.S. Trade Deal Boosts Nuclear Energy. These 3 Companies Could
Benefit.
-- The Best Stocks to Buy Now, According to Top Value Fund Managers
-- Super Micro Stock Plunges After Co-Founder Arrest. Can It Recover?
-- And this weekend's cover story: Jamie Dimon Sees an End on the Horizon.
But Not Yet.
Join Barron's Live at noon ET on Monday. Barron's editors Lauren Rublin and Andrew Bary will be joined by Chris Davis, chairman of Davis Advisors, to discuss the current market climate, precepts of value investing, and some of his favorite stocks.
Barron's Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more.
Sign up here
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2026 19:55 ET (23:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
