US Stock Market's Today Reaction To Crude Oil Hits $120; Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq Crash By 2% On March 9

US stock market reacted to oil prices at $120 per barrel negatively on Monday, March 9. All three major benchmarks, namely the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, crashed by around 2% each. Today, Iran woke up to thick black skies as the US and Israel bombed one of its largest oil refineries. Meanwhile, major Middle East oil producers announced output cuts due to the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. This was enough to spike oil prices globally, intensifying inflation fears.

US Market Today (March 9, 2026):

Dow Jones Today

The Dow Jones Industrial Average or DJIA fell as much as 886.03 points or 1.9% to hit an intraday low of 46,615.52. At the time of writing, DJIA traded at 47,061.68, down by 446.79 points or 1%.

S&P 500 Today

The Standard & Poor index called as S&P 500 plunged by at least 103.98 points or 1.54% to touch an intraday low of 6,636.04. At the time of writing, the benchmark performed at 6,702.44, recovering some of its opening losses.

Nasdaq Composite Today

The tech-heavy index, Nasdaq, tumbled steeply as well to the tune of 325.71 points or 1.5% to hit an intraday low of 22,061.97. It recovered heavy losses as well as Nasdaq traded at 22,336.12, down by 51 points at the moment.

US Stocks Top Losers & Gainers Today

Despite recovering major losses, US indices traded under pressure.

Among the draggers included credit and risk-sensitive companies in the technology sector. Stocks like Tesla, Apple, Amazon and Meta tumbled by 1% to 2%, while Jefferies saw intense selling pressure as the stock dived by 5% after receiving ratings downgrade from Morgan Stanley.

JP Morgan Chase was also down by 2%, while Warren Buffett's Bershire Hathaway slipped by 1.4%. Cisco, Bank of America, Visa, Wells Fargo and Oracle dropped by 2% to 4% as well.

As per Trading Economics, Saudi Arabia announced it would cut its oil output, joining Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE, as the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz prevented seaborne exports and lifted storage levels past their full capacity. Crude oil and natural gas surged further, lifting Treasury yields and expectations for the Federal Reserve to maintain rates elevated.

Why US Stock Market Is Falling Today?

Explaining in detail, Joe Mazzola, Director of Trading Services at Charles Schwab, said stocks took another dive early Monday after crude oil prices surged above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022 and market volatility spiked.

He explained that hedging activity ramped up, sending the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) above 30 for the first time since last April's tariff-fueled leap, and sectors like industrials and financials closely tied to economic growth led early selling.

The jump in VIX indicates choppier trading ahead, and there are signs that hedge funds may be betting on further pressure as conflict continued and Gulf countries reportedly reduced oil production, as per Mazzola.

Apart from this, investors will keenly await Wednesday's February Consumer Price Index and Friday's January Personal Consumption Expenditures, or PCE, prices data which are Fed preferred indicators for inflation.