Strait of Hormuz Spooks Wall Street as Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 Fall Almost 1%

New York — The major Wall Street indices closed lower on Tuesday’s session (3 March 2026) as investor concerns about the escalation of conflict in the Middle East potentially disrupting global energy stability increased. Citing Reuters, on Wednesday 4 March 2026, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 403.51 points or 0.83% to 48,501.27. The S&P 500 declined 64.99 points or 0.94% to 6,816.63, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 232.17 points or 1.02% to 22,516.69. Broad selling pressure across sectors. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) closed at its highest since November. The S&P 500 had briefly fallen more than 2% before finally closing down about 0.9%. Market participants were watching the impact of the conflict, now entering its fourth day. Israel and the United States’ strikes on several targets in Iran prompted Tehran to launch retaliatory attacks in the Gulf region, with tensions spreading to Lebanon. A surge in oil prices is a key concern as it could push inflation higher. ‘It seems there is an expectation that this conflict could last longer than previously estimated, especially as it begins to affect energy infrastructure,’ said Chuck Carlson, Chief Executive of Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. Nevertheless, Tuesday marked the second consecutive day on which the major indices managed to pare their sharp early-session declines, implying that panic has not completely dominated the market. Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital, judged that the market reaction thus far has been relatively contained. He noted that software shares that had been pressured were actually strengthening, with the S&P’s software and services index up 1.6%. On the technical side, there are signals deemed less positive.