NEW YORK, March 30, 2026, 1:08 PM EDT
Stocks moved in different directions on Monday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.69% to reach 45,477.97, and the S&P 500 edged up 0.16% to 6,378.88. The Nasdaq Composite, however, dropped 0.13% to 20,921.66. Brent crude hovered near $112.43 per barrel. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note sat at 4.348%, still a closely watched figure for borrowing costs.
The development lands as Wall Street looks for footing after Friday’s sharp drop shoved the Dow into correction and capped a fifth consecutive weekly loss across the main indexes. A correction signals a drop of at least 10% from a recent peak. Investors, meanwhile, are left questioning if Monday’s uptick is anything more than a breather in a retreat stoked by war, surging oil, and fresh inflation fears.
Support early Monday was partly tied to President Donald Trump’s remarks about “serious discussions” between Washington and what he called a “more reasonable regime” in Iran. Still, with Yemen’s Houthi militia joining the fight over the weekend, traders stayed on edge. “When the markets get oversold, they will grasp for any potential positive catalyst,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, speaking to Reuters. Underneath, energy names—Exxon Mobil and Chevron—caught a bid, asset managers climbed after draft Labor Department rules on alternative assets in workplace retirement plans landed, while Apple and semiconductor stocks slipped. Reuters
Jerome Powell managed to take some heat out of the rate conversation. The Fed chair called policy “in a good place,” saying he’d rather wait and watch how the war plays out on inflation. He also pointed to longer-run inflation expectations staying well anchored. Pantheon Macroeconomics’ Oliver Allen described the Fed’s stance as a “holding pattern,” at least until there’s more clarity on the size of the energy shock. Reuters
Still, officials aren’t ready to claim a win on inflation. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson noted that while long-term expectations remain anchored at 2%, “they may also be a little more fragile.” Governor Michael Barr warned that another price shock could push those expectations higher, adding that policymakers had to stay “especially vigilant.” Reuters
Morgan Stanley dialed back its global equities view to “equal weight” from “overweight” on Monday, flagging a neutral stance. At the same time, the bank bumped up allocations to cash and U.S. Treasuries, moving those to overweight for a heftier-than-usual position. Still, the firm argued U.S. stocks look more resilient than Japan and other regions, with per-share profit growth holding up better. Fund flows into U.S. equities and bonds have also outpaced those elsewhere since the conflict broke out. Reuters
Investors are shifting positions fast. U.S. dividend funds—vehicles targeting income-producing stocks—have pulled in $24.1 billion so far this year, notching their strongest first-quarter haul in four years. “Investors are gravitating toward dividend strategies,” said Jun Li, global and Americas wealth and asset management leader at EY. Dividends are also serving as a “partial substitute” for bonds, according to Shanon Davis at American Alternative Assets. Reuters
Monday’s calmer session doesn’t guarantee stability—another headline could flip the script. The Strait of Hormuz, which moves roughly 20% of global crude, refined products, and LNG, keeps energy markets vulnerable if conditions deteriorate. “Stocks are likely to stay ‘headline-driven’ for now,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. A Reuters poll sees 55,000 jobs added in March and unemployment holding at 4.4% when U.S. payroll numbers drop April 3, the day markets shut for Good Friday. Reuters
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