US stocks fell on Friday, with every major US index closing at their lowest level in seven months and the Dow confirming it was in correction territory as the month’s Middle East war continued to dampen risk appetite. Markets took some solace from US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he gave Iran 10 more days to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, after rejecting his proposals to end the war that began with US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US It can achieve its objectives in Iran without the use of any ground troops and is expected to complete its operations within weeks despite the recent deployment of additional forces to the region. US crude rose 5.46% to $99.64 a barrel and Brent rose 4.22% to settle at $112.57 a barrel, but were little changed on the week.

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each suffered their fifth consecutive weekly decline, the longest such streak in nearly four years. The Dow is now down more than 10% from its February 10 record close, becoming the latest major index to confirm a correction, which is typically defined as a 10% decline from its previous high. The Dow followed the Nasdaq in crossing the correction threshold while the Russell 2000, which was the first on the correction path, confirmed it last Friday.

“Clearly, the overall tone has become very negative and now we’ve broken into correction territory,” said Ken Polcari, partner and chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth in Jupiter, Florida.

“In the end, I would see this as a big opportunity, but wouldn’t be surprised if we see a drawdown of between 15% and 20% before it ends.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 793.47 points, or 1.73%, to 45,166.64, the S&P 500 fell 108.31 points, or 1.67%, to 6,368.85 and the Nasdaq Composite shed 459.75%, or 1.67%, to 45,166.64. 20,948.36 is.

The CBOE Volatility Index, considered Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose 3.61 points to close at 31.05, its closest since April 21.

Megacaps were the biggest drag on the benchmark S&P index, with Nvidia down 2.2% as the biggest weight, while Amazon fell 4%.

Software stocks were also under renewed selling pressure and the S&P 500 Software and Services Index closed at its lowest level since November 6, 2023. With Amazon under pressure, consumer discretionary stocks fell 3.1%, the worst performance among the 11 major S&P sectors, as Cruze cars fell 43%. Annual adjusted profit forecast. Fellow cruise operator Norwegian fell 6.9%. A rise in the price of oil, along with other products such as fertilizer, as a result of the Iran war has fueled inflation fears and dampened expectations that the Federal Reserve and other central banks have room to cut interest rates. According to CME’s FedWatch tool, money market participants are not pricing in any easing from the US Federal Reserve this year, compared with expectations of two cuts before the conflict erupted. Markets are now pricing in a roughly 25% chance of at least a 25 basis point hike at the Fed’s October meeting. Philadelphia Fed President Anna Paulson acknowledged the risks to the economy from the war, but did not specify what it meant for monetary policy in the near term. The US Consumer sentiment hit a three-month low in March, raising concerns about the economy due to war in the Middle East.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 3.38-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and 3.62-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 22 new 52-week highs and 27 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite hit 25 new highs and 355 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 18.13 billion shares compared to the full session average of 20.4 billion over the past 20 trading days.