Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as Wall Street crosses fingers for Hormuz reopening
Wall Street is keeping a close watch on developments in the Strait of Hormuz as the Middle East conflict enters its third week. Several tankers successfully transited the waterway over the weekend, injecting some hope into markets that the key conduit for crude supply might reopen. At the same time, President Trump put pressure on allies to join the US in breaking Iran’s blockade of Hormuz, warning NATO faces a "very bad future" if they don’t help.
Futures for West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) both topped $100 a barrel for the first time since 2022 in early trading on Monday. US benchmark WTI (CL=F) pulled back to trade at around $95 at last check, down over 3%, while Brent (BZ=F) held above $102, according to Bloomberg data.
The impact of surging oil prices on inflation is in focus as Federal Reserve officials gather for their two-day policy meeting this week. Uncertainty around the fallout from the Iran war is seen as potentially deepening divisions with the central bank over the path forward on interest rates, though officials are expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday.
On the corporate front, Nvidia’s (NVDA) annual GTC event kicks off Monday with a keynote speech from the AI chipmaker’s CEO, Jensen Huang.
Daily Market Coverage Mar. 16, 2026 9AM-11AM (ET) | Yahoo Finance
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