Three Consecutive Monthly Declines On Wall Street Set the Stage for Technical Rebound in April

Barry Adams
06 Apr, 2026
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street attempted to rebound as investors returned from a three-day weekend. 

The S&P500 Index increased 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5% amid conflicting reports over the U.S.-Iran war negotiations. 

Israel's war on Iran, supported by the U.S., has effectively shown that there is no military solution to reopening the Strait of Hormuz. 

At the end of last month and last week, world stock market indexes hovered near new 2026 lows, crude oil prices soared, and Iran dictated terms to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the critical thoroughfare for energy product shipment to Asia.

World markets zigzagged amid lingering uncertainty over global energy supply through the Persian Gulf and its impact on food and fuel prices in the weeks ahead.

The U.S. and Israel's war on Iran has now dragged into the second month with no end in sight, disrupting the ocean shipments between the oil-rich Gulf nations and Asian economies. 

Over the five-week period since the start of the war on February 28, benchmark indexes in the U.S. declined between 4% and 8%; Germany fell 8%; Japan dropped 9%; Hong Kong decreased 11%; and India plunged 15%. 

The major indexes experienced wild swings last week, and crude oil prices whipsawed in volatile trading at the start of the new week amid conflicting reports from Pakistan, Tehran, and Washington, D.C.

Crude oil prices in New York declined 1.1% to $101.31 a barrel, and Brent crude oil prices, the international benchmark, decreased 0.9% to $108.06 a barrel. 

Gold edged higher 0.4% to $4,692.52 an ounce as investor sentiment improved on prospects for a ceasefire in the Middle East. 

Last week, the S&P 500 Index advanced nearly 6%, snapping a five-week losing streak and marking the widely followed benchmark's best performance since last November.

The Nasdaq registered 4.4%, ending its five-week slide as investor sentiment gyrated over a possible ceasefire agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

 

U.S. Added Jobs in March Despite Downward Revision in Jan-Feb Period

On the economic front, the U.S. economy added 178,000 net new jobs in March, according to a report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The statistical agency upwardly revised January gains by 34,000 to 160,000 and downwardly revised February losses by 41,000 to 133,000. 

The decline in employment and subsequent rebound in March reflected the return of ambulatory workers after the ending of the strike.

The combined employment for two months is lower by 7,000 than previously reported. 

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.2 million, changed little in March, and these measures also changed little over the year.

The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 3.5% from a year ago to $37.38.