How major US stock indexes fared Friday 3/20/2026

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Another climb for oil prices sent the U.S. stock market sharply lower, as hopes collapsed for a possible cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Friday to close its fourth straight losing week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 2%.

The losses deepened after oil prices erased an early loss and accelerated in the afternoon. Treasury yields jumped as traders speculated the Fed won’t be able to cut rates this year because of how high oil prices have climbed.

On Friday:

The S&P 500 fell 100.01 points, or 1.5%, to 6,506.48.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 443.96 points, or 1%, to 45,577.47.

The Nasdaq composite fell 443.08 points, or 2%, to 21,647.61.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 56.26 points, or 2.3% to 2,438.45.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 125.71 points, or 1.9%.

The Dow is down 981 points, or 2.1%.

The Nasdaq is down 457.75 points, or 2.1%.

The Russell 2000 is down 41.60 points, or 1.7%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 339.02 points, or 5%.

The Dow is down 2,485.82 points, or 5.2%.

The Nasdaq is down 1,594.38 points, or 6.9%.

The Russell 2000 is down 43.46 points, or 1.8%.