Karla Barker 
Markets reverse course after Trump’s Iran warning
Wall Street gave back most of its gains from the previous session on Thursday. President Trump’s national address really changed the mood. He warned Iran would be brought “back to the Stone Ages” within two to three weeks. That erased the optimism from April 1, when reports suggested the Middle East conflict might be winding down.
Oil prices jumped immediately. West Texas Intermediate crude climbed as high as $111.50 per barrel during the day, up about 11%. It settled around $103.60 by the close. Brent crude reached about $108. Airlines and cruise lines took the hit hardest. Delta, United, American, Carnival, Royal Caribbean—they all fell between 2% and 4%. I think investors had priced in a quick end to the conflict that started back in February 2026. That trade unwound pretty fast.
Defense stocks hold up amid budget proposal
While most sectors struggled, defense and aerospace stocks stayed relatively firm. There’s a Bloomberg report about the Trump administration proposing a $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027. That would be the largest annual increase in U.S. military spending since World War II. Boeing and Caterpillar kept their momentum from the prior session.
One interesting move was Globalstar, ticker GSAT, which surged on rumors of a potential Amazon acquisition. Nike pulled back on some soft consumer data. Tesla led the tech declines, falling over 5% on weak delivery numbers. Most of the other big tech names moved lower too.
Gold, Bitcoin, and broader market movements
Gold futures fell nearly 3%, settling around $4,680 per ounce. A stronger dollar, up about 0.3%, and reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts weighed on metals. Silver dropped between 4% and 6% at points during the session. Both metals are still way up for the year though, given the sustained conflict-driven demand.
Bitcoin traded at about $67,024 at the close, down roughly 1.6% from April 1 levels. It touched a session low near $65,789. Ethereum fell 3% to 4%, hovering around $2,059. Total crypto market cap declined about 2% intraday to approximately $2.3 trillion. Bitcoin’s dominance held near 58%. Solana and XRP also moved lower.
The major indices all closed down. The Dow shed about 0.3%, closing near 46,400. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 0.1% to 6,582.68. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 0.1% too, settling near 21,800. Volume was about 2.62 billion shares on the S&P.
Looking ahead to next week
The 10-year Treasury yield slipped below 4.31%. Safe-haven flows were mixed—some demand for Treasuries, but offset by the dollar’s strength and oil-driven inflation concerns. Markets will be closed Friday for Good Friday. Bond trading ended at 2 p.m. Eastern time.
The next big thing is the March jobs report, scheduled for Friday release. Investors will review that when trading resumes Monday. The dominant themes heading into next week are pretty clear: the Iran conflict, oil prices, that massive defense budget’s path through Congress, and any signals from the Federal Reserve about inflation expectations tied to energy costs.
It’s interesting how April 1 had posted solid gains across all three major indices. The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, the Nasdaq added 1.2%, and the Dow gained 0.5%. Those moves reflected confidence that the Middle East conflict was near resolution. April 2 showed how quickly that confidence can break. Markets are just so sensitive to geopolitical news these days. Perhaps too sensitive, but that’s where we are.