Oil Prices Soar To $112, Tesla Tumbles To 7-Month Lows: What's Moving Markets Thursday?

U.S. equity markets are having a volatile session on Thursday, opening down over 1% following President Donald Trump‘s prime-time Wednesday address, before briefly paring losses on reports that Iran is drafting a monitoring protocol with Oman for the Strait of Hormuz.

According to CNBC, citing a translated document from Iran’s state news agency IRNA attributed to Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, the two countries are working on a protocol to manage traffic flows through the Strait — yet the arrangement is a peacetime framework intended for post-conflict implementation, not a ceasefire mechanism or a signal of imminent de-escalation. 

Trump later wrote on social media that Iran's "biggest bridge comes tumbling down, never to be used again," warning that "much more" could follow.

WTI crude oil – as tracked by the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) – surged 11.9% to $112 per barrel on track to close the session at the highest levels since June 2022.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 6,557, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5% to 46,345. The Nasdaq 100 declined 0.3% to 23,938. The Russell 2000 small-cap index outperformed, edging up 0.1% to 2,513 — the only major benchmark in positive territory by midday.

The CBOE Volatility Index jumped 5.7% to 25.94.

Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) sank over 4% to a seven-month low after posting one of its weakest first-quarter delivery figures in recent years. Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 0.5% after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a direct strike on a company’s data center in Bahrain 

Thursday’s economic data came in better than expected. Initial jobless claims fell to a near two-year low of 202,000 for the week ending March 28, well below the estimate of 212,000. The February trade deficit came in at $57.3 billion, tighter than the $59.2 billion forecast. 

Gold retreated sharply, with spot prices falling 2.4% to $4,672.93 per troy ounce as a stronger dollar and rising real yields weighed on the metal.

Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices

Index	Last	% Change
S&P 500	6,557	-0.3%
Dow Jones	46,345	-0.5%
Nasdaq 100	23,938	-0.3%
Russell 2000	2,513	+0.1%

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) fell 0.3%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) declined 0.5%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) slipped 0.3%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) edged up 0.1%.

Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Name	% change
Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:IRDM)	+12.38%
Avis Budget Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CAR)	+6.83%
Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB)	+6.51%
Nutanix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTNX)	+6.29%
Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)	+6.20%

Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

Name	% change
Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH)	-5.91%
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.	-4.96%
On Holding AG (NYSE:ONON)	-4.80%
Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE:AYI)	-4.68%
Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W)	-4.56%

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