Wall St falls 2% as Middle East conflict stokes inflation worries

[groundloop]

Source: Reuters

Wall ​Street's main indexes fell more than 2% on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting its lowest in over two ‌months, as investors braced for the impact of a widening Middle East conflict on oil prices, inflation and global trade.

Tehran's threat to attack any vessel attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, combined with production halts by several Middle Eastern oil and gas producers, has driven up global shipping rates and prices of crude ​and natural gas.

[....]

At 09:50 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1,083.69 points, or 2.22%, to 47,821.09, the S&P 500 lost 141.91 points, or 2.06%, to 6,739.71 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 483.41 points, or 2.12%, to 22,265.45.

The ​sell-off was broad and all major sectors on the S&P 500 were trading in the red.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-futures-fall-middle-east-conflict-stokes-inflation-worries-2026-03-03/

[hatrack]

1. Poor Pam Bondi!!

Whatever will she talk about now?

[Ol Janx Spirit]

2. No, that would have happened yesterday if that were the real fear....

It is falling today because the Administration is just making up stories to cover for the deaths of six servicemen, and that just comes off to the rest of the world as incompetence and deceit.

The markets are reacting to how stupid and duplicitous they think the people in charge of this shit-show are now that they've had a chance to look competent and failed badly.

There's no other real reason for the markets to tank. Iran does very little trade with the rest of the western world.

Sure, oil is going to go up, but that happens all the time. It will impact inflation a little. But with such a huge U.S. military presence in the region the Strait of Hormuz and global trade routes should stay open. I mean, we are the best in the world, right?

The concern is really that the people firing the missiles are dangerously incompetent.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

3. Donnie Dipshit cannot BLAME Obama or Biden for this!

But he will try, that I can assure you!

"THEY made me bomb Iran! It's THEIR faults!"

[twodogsbarking]

4. WW3 isn't a problem if the DOW is up. Strike up the freakin' band.

[NEOH]

5. Dow Has Recovered 500 Points

Operation Plunge Protection perhaps?