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MANHATTAN (CN) — Oil prices spiked and stocks tumbled this week after President Donald Trump’s primetime address Wednesday failed to reassure investors that the U.S. was close to any exit from the war in the Middle East, while Iran maintains its powerful chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important artery for oil shipments.
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq markets all slipped this holiday-shortened week after Trump’s address, which failed to offer Americans any new measures addressing economic concerns over higher fuel and energy costs as the national average price for a gallon of gas topped $4 for the first time since 2022.
U.S. benchmark crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel on Thursday, while the price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.
The price of oil surged after Trump’s speech signaled the U.S.-Israel war against Iran, now entering its second month, would continue through April. The president vowed to bomb Iranian targets “over the next two to three weeks,” enough to send them “back to the Stone Ages where they belong.”
Earlier in the week, Trump lashed out at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil,” as Iran appeared to rebuff Trump’s threats of annihilation over the closing off of the Strait of Hormuz.
Council on Foreign Relations President Michael Froman said Friday that U.S. markets will feel the effects of the war’s oil and gas shock through weaker external demand, softer earnings and slower trade.
“The president is right that the United States is not as dependent on oil being exported through the strait, but as $4 per gallon at the pump demonstrates, American petroleum products remain tethered to global energy markets and will continue to trade in line with international benchmarks,” Froman wrote. “We might not see shortages in domestic supply, but we will certainly see the price effects of a continued market disruption.”
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 61.07 points, or 0.1%, to 46,504.67 this week, the S&P 500 recovered from tumbles earlier in the week by the closing bell and saw its first weekly gains since the war broke out one month ago, up 7.37 points, or 0.1%, to 6,582.69.
The Nasdaq composite similarly recovered from volatility earlier in the week, closing the week up 38.23 points, or 0.2%, at 21,879.18.
Equities markets were closed Friday for the Good Friday holiday, but futures markets were trading modestly into Friday morning. Futures for S&P 500 dropped 0.3%, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.2% and Nasdaq futures dipped 0.4%.
The March jobs report found the U.S. unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% from 4.4%, with American employers adding some 178,000 new jobs last month, rebounding from a dismal February report of 133,000 job losses.
In a report from last month, the National Federation of Independent Business found the small business jobs index fell 1.9 points to 101.6, with some small business owners holding out on hiring in the current economic climate for more qualified employees.
“While small businesses are not hiring extensively, they continue to face difficulties related to labor cost and quality,” the federation’s chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg, said in a statement Thursday. “Despite the current stagnant employment growth, economic conditions could change rapidly.”
Tesla Inc. shares — down nearly 18% this year — fell another 2% this week after the company posted one of its dreariest sales quarters in years, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations as it struggles to turn around its core business and struggles against stiff overseas competition.
Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, has overtaken Tesla as the biggest electric maker, based on 2025 data.
Tesla cofounder Elon Musk’s space exploration company, SpaceX, reportedly filed preliminary paperwork to take the company public, through an initial public offering of an estimated $75 billion in shares, which is poised to make Musk the world’s first trillionaire.
The SpaceX IPO news comes two weeks after a San Francisco jury found Musk defrauded Twitter investors in his $44 billion buyout of the social media platform in 2022.
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