Stock market today: Wall Street slips, but remains on path to snap a weekly losing streak

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell in afternoon trading Friday, but the losses are softening enough to give Wall Street a chance to snap a four-week losing streak.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2%. The index is holding onto a 0.2% gain for the week, which would snap a four-week losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23 points, or 0.1%, as of 1:25 p.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%.

Technology stocks were the heaviest weights on the market. The sector has been at the center of much of the market's recent sell-off in a reversal from their market-driving gains throughout the previous year. The stocks are among the most valuable on Wall Street and have outsized impacts on the whether the market gains or loses ground.

Nvidia fell 1.1% and Microsoft fell 0.6%.

Stocks have been losing ground for weeks over uncertainty about the direction of the U.S. economy. A trade war between the U.S. and its key trading partners threatens to worsen inflation and hurt both consumers and businesses. Inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's goal of 2% and tariffs could hurt the central bank's efforts to ease the rate of inflation.

President Donald Trump has set an April 2 deadline to impose more tariffs on trading partners. It follows a series of other deadlines that have been set for tariffs only to be postponed, sometimes at the last minute.

“Investors are confused, but there's a lot less panic infusing the market,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.

Businesses have been warning investors about tariffs, inflation and growing uncertainty about the impact to costs.

Nike slumped 5.5% after it forecast a steep decline in revenue in the current quarter, blaming geopolitical dynamics, new tariffs by the Trump administration and a less confident consumer.

FedEx tumbled 7.3% after the package delivery company said it expects revenue to be flat to slightly down year-over-year and lowered its per-share profit guidance.

Homebuilder Lennar fell 3.8% after giving investors a weaker-than-expected forecast for new orders and average sales prices for the current quarter. It said high interest rates, inflation, and waning consumer confidence are weighing on an already tough housing market.

High interest rates have been a key issue for the housing market. The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady at its most recent meeting this week as it assesses the potential impact from tariffs and other U.S. policy shifts.

The Fed cut interest rates through the end of last year amid consistently easing inflation rates, but has been holding steady so far in 2025. Lower rates can bolster the economy, but they can also push inflation higher.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has acknowledged that the economy remains solid, but stressed that uncertainty is making forecasting difficult.

A recent batch of economic reports on home sales, industrial production and unemployment reinforced the view that the economy is holding strong. But other reports on consumer sentiment and retail sales have revealed rising caution from consumers.

“We're in really pessimistic territory,” Hackett said. “When everybody is pessimistic, that's when a tiny bit of optimism can move markets pretty strongly.”

In the bond market, Treasury yields mostly held steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.25% from 4.23% late Thursday.

Airlines were under pressure. A fire knocked out power at London’s Heathrow Airport, forcing it to shut down and disrupting global travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. Ryanair Holdings fell 1.9%.

U.S.-based airlines, including American Airlines and United Airlines, held relatively steady.

Troubled airplane maker Boeing surged 5.5% after Trump said Boeing will build the Air Force’s future fighter jet. The company has been facing scrutiny over safety issues for years.

Boeing's rival in the defense sector, Lockheed Martin, slumped 6.8%.

Markets in Europe fell. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.6% after the Bank of England held its main interest rate steady a day earlier.

Germany's DAX slipped 0.5%. German lawmakers voted for a budget that will boost defense and infrastructure spending.

Jiang Junzhe and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

People work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference after the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the Federal Reserve in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

A stock market trader watches his monitors on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa/dpa via AP)

Stock market traders work behind their desks on the trading floor of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa/dpa via AP)

The display board with the Dax curve in the trading hall of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Germany, Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Arne Dedert/dpa/dpa via AP)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”

Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.

Here is the latest:

Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.

The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabai and Pakistan have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”

Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.

Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.

Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.

Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.

Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.

Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.

Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.

India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.

Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.

Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.

Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.

He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.

His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.

Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.

Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.

Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.

More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.

Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.

The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.

Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.

Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.

Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)