US stocks lose ground as war with Iran keeps pressure on oil prices

Stock indexes on Wall Street are losing ground in afternoon trading Friday, as the fallout from the war with Iran keeps pressure on oil prices, destabilizing the global economy.

The S&P 500 was down 0.6% after having been up as much as 0.9% in the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 79 points, or 0.2%, as of 1:54 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1% lower.

The latest choppy trading follows heavy turbulence in the market earlier in the week, which has the major indexes headed for their third straight losing week.

In the energy market, which has been roiled by the Iran war and its impact on supplies of crude oil and gas, the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, climbed back above $100 per barrel after briefly dropping earlier in the day. It was up 1.5% to $101.95 and is up about 40% for the month.

U.S. crude oil rose 2.4% to $98.03 a day after settling at $95.73 per barrel. It’s risen around 46% this month.

Oil prices have been volatile since the Iran war began. Iran’s actions have effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil typically sails. That has oil producers cutting production because their crude has nowhere to go.

If the war continues to hamper the production and transportation of oil from the Persian Gulf, it could cause a surge in inflation that could hurt the global economy. Analysts have said that if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, oil prices could jump to $150 relatively quickly.

While the International Energy Agency said Wednesday its members would make a record 400 million barrels of oil available from their emergency reserves, some economists believe that would do little to reassure markets.

President Donald Trump signaled earlier this week that he would take more action to address the squeeze on oil flows. The move follows the administration’s decision to grant temporary permission for India to buy Russian oil.

A new snapshot of consumer spending Friday shows inflation crept higher in January, even before the Iran war caused oil and gas prices to spike.

The Commerce Department said prices rose 2.8% in January compared with a year earlier. But excluding the volatile food and energy categories — which the Federal Reserve pays closer attention to — core prices rose 3.1%, up from 3% in the prior month and the highest in nearly two years.

Even so, consumers still lifted their spending at a solid 0.4% pace in January, with their incomes rising at the same pace, according to the report.

Consumer spending powers about two-thirds of the economy, which is why economists keep a close watch on trends in incomes and spending.

The University of Michigan's latest gauge of consumer sentiment on Friday showed consumer sentiment declined slightly to its lowest reading of the year as gasoline price hikes since the start of the war in Iran.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said Friday U.S. job openings jumped to nearly 7 million in January, topping economists’ forecasts.

Wall Street also got an update on how U.S. economic growth fared in the October-December quarter. The economy, hobbled by last fall’s 43-day government shutdown, grew at a sluggish 0.7% annual rate, a downgrade from its initial estimate last month.

“GDP and the job market have been expanding, but the rate of change has been slowing, which leads to concerns about the overall economy -- and that was even before we stared a war in the Middle East, which spiked the price of oil,” Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Management, said in an email.

About 61% of the stocks in the S&P 500 were rising Friday, with financial services, health care and consumer goods companies among the gainers. Charles Schwab rose 1.8%, Eli Lilly added 1.3% and Philip Morris International gained 1.8%.

Software maker Adobe fell 5.4% even after it beat Wall Street’s sales and profit forecasts. Investors were likely underwhelmed by the company’s forecast for its recurring subscription revenue.

Ulta Beauty slid 12.5% for the biggest decline among S&P 500 stocks after the beauty and makeup retailer's latest quarterly results fell short of analysts’ profit targets. Ulta’s profit was dinged by a 23% increase in selling, general and administrative expenses, which jumped to $1 billion in the period.

Bitcoin rose 1.3% to just around $71,140, boosting companies that trade or hoard the cryptocurrency. Coinbase Global rose 1.5% and Strategy gained 1.4%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.28% from 4.26% late Thursday. It was just 3.97% before the war started.

Higher yields help make all kinds of borrowing more expensive, such as mortgages for potential U.S. homebuyers and bond offerings for companies looking to expand. They also push down on prices for all kinds of investments, from stocks to crypto.

In stock markets abroad, indexes in Europe were mostly lower after also falling in Asia.

Ryan Falvey works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A motorist fills up the tank of a vehicle at a Coscto gasoline station Thursday, March 12, 2026, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The per-gallon price for premium unleaded fuel is displayed electronically on a pump at a Costco gosoline station Thursday, March 12, 2026, in east Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, March 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, March 13, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Gregg Maloney works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

HAVANA (AP) — Cuba has held talks with the U.S. government, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Friday, marking the first time that the Caribbean country has confirmed such speculation as it grapples with a severe energy crisis.

Díaz-Canel said the talks “were aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between our two nations. International factors facilitated these exchanges.” He did not elaborate on those factors, or provide any details about the talks.

Asked for comment on Friday, the White House pointed to public comments by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly alluded to discussions with Cuba and prodded the nation toward a deal, particularly to avoid a similar fate that Venezuela faced.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and senior aides met in the Caribbean at the end of February with the grandson of retired Cuban leader Raul Castro, two U.S. officials said Friday shortly after Díaz-Canel spoke.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said that Rubio had met secretly with Raúl Guillermo Rodriguez Castro on the sidelines of a Caribbean Community leaders meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis.

At the time, Rubio refused to say who, if anyone, he was speaking with in or close to the Cuban government.

Díaz-Canel said that the purpose of the talks with the U.S. was to identify “bilateral problems that require solutions based on their severity and impact” and find solutions to them.

He said that the aim was “to determine the willingness of both parties to take concrete actions for the benefit of the people of both countries. And in addition, to identify areas of cooperation to confront threats and guarantee the security and peace of both nations, as well as in the region.”

The State Department had no immediate comment on Díaz-Canel’s comments.

Díaz-Canel said that no petroleum shipments have arrived on Cuba in the past three months, which he blamed on a U.S. energy blockade. He said the island is running on natural gas, solar power and thermoelectric plants, and that the depletion of fuel oil and diesel forced two power plants to shut down and has limited the generation of power at solar parks.

Cuba’s western region was hit by a major blackout last week, leaving millions of consumers without power.

The president said that Cuba, which produces 40% of its petroleum, has been generating its own power, but that it hasn’t been sufficient to meet demand. The lack of power has affected communications, education and transportation, and the government has had to postpone surgeries for tens of thousands of people as a result, he said, adding: “The impact is tremendous.”

“Even with everything we’re putting together, we still need oil,” he said, adding that production output also has dropped. “Without energy, no country can produce at normal levels. All of this has meant making adjustments to employment.”

Last month, Cuba implemented austere fuel-saving measures and has converted more than 115 bakeries to run on firewood or coal.

“Cubans are desperate," said Elvis Hernández, 62. “You can’t live without water or electricity. That’s why we want a consensus to be reached. If there are talks, let them be productive. Let them achieve something good through those conversations.”

Miguel García, 65, welcomed the news of talks with the U.S.

“If all of this leads to agreements and solutions that will improve our lives, then all the better, because the situation is quite difficult right now," he said.

The State Department has weighed potentially drawing down staffing at the U.S. Embassy in Havana as the fuel shortages caused by the American blockade could affect day-to-day diplomatic operations, according to the U.S. officials.

The officials stressed that there is still time to solve the problem and that the embassy and the State Department were looking at potential solutions.

A reduction in staffing at the embassy would likely lead to a U.S. demand for a similar reduction in staffing at the Cuban embassy in Washington, the officials said.

Brian Fonseca, who studies the Americas at Florida International University, said that a reduced presence at the U.S. embassy would be a less than ideal scenario at a moment when Trump is pressing for dramatic change in the Cuban government.

“The diplomatic staff are your eyes and ears on the ground,” Fonseca said. “A downgrading scenario could complicate or challenge U.S. understanding of what’s going on, on the ground.”

Critical oil shipments from Venezuela to Cuba were halted after the U.S. attacked the South American country and arrested then President Nicolás Maduro.

Since then, the Trump administration has been warning Cuba of a similar fate.

Trump told a gathering of Latin America leaders in Florida last week that Cuba is “very much at the end of the line” and that he was looking forward to “great change” coming soon to the island.

“They have no money, they have no oil. They have a bad philosophy. They have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time,” Trump said. “And they used to get the money from Venezuela. They get the oil from Venezuela, but they don’t have any money from Venezuela.”

The most recent blackout was blamed on a broken boiler at a thermoelectric plant that forced the shutdown of Cuba's power grid.

After his speech, Díaz-Canel took questions from a select group of state reporters.

The questions focused mostly on Cuba’s deepening crises, but one reporter asked about the recent shooting of a Florida-flagged boat in Cuban waters in which four of 10 Cubans from the U.S. were killed after the government accused them of opening fire on local troops.

A fifth suspect later died from his injuries, according to the Cuban government.

Díaz-Canel said that FBI officials would visit Cuba soon as both countries continue to share information on the incident.

The five other suspects have been detained and face terrorism charges.

Coto reported from San Jose, Costa Rica; Lee and Madhani from Washington. Ariel Fernández in Havana; Seung Min Kim in Washington; and María Verza in Mexico City, contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump listens while Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami in Doral, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

People wait for public transportation in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A vendor having breakfast sits by her table holding various products, from cigarettes to sandals, in Havana, Cuba, early Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Mexican ship ARM Huasteco, carrying aid according to the Mexican government, arrives to Havana Bay, Cuba, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

An image of Cuban Revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara stands next to a TV showing Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel speaking, inside a souvenir shop in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

People inside a private convenience store see Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel speaking on TV in Havana, Cuba, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

FILE - Cuba's President Miguel Diaz-Canel attends the 17th annual BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)