S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Bitcoin All Fall for Fourth Straight Week Amid Iran Conflict

TLDR

• The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are on track for a fourth consecutive weekly loss
• The Dow hasn’t had a losing streak this long since February 2023
• Oil prices remain elevated, with Brent crude near $108 a barrel
• Reports of a possible U.S. plan to blockade Iran’s Kharg Island rattled markets further
• Bitcoin and XRP also fell, making it a rough week for both stocks and crypto

U.S. stocks fell again on Friday, March 20, putting the major indexes on course for their fourth week of losses in a row. The drop was driven largely by rising oil prices and ongoing uncertainty from the conflict with Iran.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell around 300 points, or about 0.7%, on Friday. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid about 1.3%.

A fourth straight weekly loss for the Dow would mark its longest losing streak since February 24, 2023. The S&P 500 last fell four weeks in a row back in March 2025.

The Nasdaq had already recorded a five-week losing streak earlier this year, and is now approaching correction territory again alongside the Dow.

Markets have been on edge since the United States and Israel began military strikes on Iran on February 28. Oil prices have stayed high throughout, weighing on investor sentiment.

Brent crude futures hovered near $108 a barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate futures were around $96. Both benchmarks swung between gains and losses during the session.

An Axios report added to the uncertainty on Friday. It said the Trump administration is considering plans to occupy or blockade Kharg Island, the key hub for Iran’s oil exports, as a way to pressure Tehran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz to tanker traffic.

Iran pressed ahead with attacks on Persian Gulf neighbors on Friday. Analysts warned that existing damage to infrastructure would keep oil prices elevated for some time.

Why Oil Prices Are Driving Markets

Friday also happened to be a triple witching day, a quarterly event when stock options, stock index futures, and stock index options all expire at the same time. These days tend to bring extra volatility.

David Laut, chief investment officer at Kerux Financial, said the triple witching effect could be made worse by the market’s already unsettled state heading into the session.

The S&P 500 closed below its 200-day moving average on Thursday, a level closely watched by technical analysts. Frank Cappelleri of CappThesis said a single close below that level doesn’t guarantee further losses, but it is a point where traders start weighing whether to buy the dip.

Crypto Also Takes a Hit

It wasn’t just stocks that had a rough week. Bitcoin and XRP both fell, adding to losses across crypto markets. The SEC also backed a Nasdaq proposal to tokenize securities, a development that drew attention in the crypto space but did little to lift prices on the day.

The Dow and Nasdaq both ended the week nearing correction territory, with markets watching every headline out of the Middle East for direction.

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