S&P 500 Slides, Gold Crashes As $100 Oil Stokes Stagflation Fears: What’s Moving Markets Thursday?

Wall Street extended its sell-off Thursday as surging crude prices — driven by Iranian strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure — collided with a more hawkish Federal Reserve, pushing the S&P 500 to its lowest close since mid-November and reigniting stagflation fears. • Newmont stock is taking a hit today. What’s weighing on NEM shares? Speaking alongside Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House, President Donald Trump said Iran is “close to demolished” and the “excursion will be over soon” — but then added, “we can take out Kharg Island any time we want.” Iran’s Revolutionary Guards countered with an unverified claim by the Pentagon that they had attacked and damaged a U.S. F-35 fighter jet. The crude oil price action told the full story of Thursday’s risk sentiment. The American WTI benchmark had opened near $98/bbl at a rare steep discount to international Brent near $115, a WTI-Brent spread of roughly $17 — the widest since April 2020 — as traders priced in the risk that a U.S. crude export ban would strand domestic barrels at home. When Politico reported , citing a White House meeting with the American Petroleum Institute, that no export ban would be implemented, WTI surged through $100. European natural gas prices saw the most violent moves of the session: the TTF benchmark surged 12.6% while U.K. gas futures jumped 13.8%. Heating oil hit $4.41/gallon, up 5.1%. Brent settled around $110.52, up 3.3%. By midday, major U.S. benchmarks hovered near session lows, with all key indices decisively breaking below their critical 200-day moving averages. US Equity Indices: Performance As Of March 19, 2026 Index Level % Change MTD YTD S&P 500 6,587.12 -0.56% -4.69% -0.9% Dow Jones 45,931 -0.64% -7.46% -2.8% Nasdaq 100 24,246 -0.73% -3.06% +1.1% Russell 2000 2,469.54 -0.42% -7.29% -3.4% Updated as of midday ET According to the Benzinga Pro platform: The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO ) fell … Full story available on Benzinga.com