{"id":59455,"date":"2026-03-05T17:07:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-sell-off-and-geopolitical-tensions-drive-market-lower-costco-reports-after-the-bell\/59455\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T17:07:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:07:30","slug":"tech-sell-off-and-geopolitical-tensions-drive-market-lower-costco-reports-after-the-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-sell-off-and-geopolitical-tensions-drive-market-lower-costco-reports-after-the-bell\/59455\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech Sell-Off and Geopolitical Tensions Drive Market Lower; Costco Reports After the Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. equity markets faced significant selling pressure on Thursday, March 5, 2026, as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East sent shockwaves through global energy markets and reignited fears of a sustained inflationary spike. The trading session was defined by a sharp "risk-off" sentiment, with investors fleeing high-growth technology names in favor of safe-haven assets like gold<\/a> and the U.S. dollar. By the closing bell, all three major indexes finished deep in the red, wiping out much of the recovery seen earlier in the week.<\/p>\n

Major Index Performance<\/h2>\n

The Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (DJI<\/a>) bore the brunt of the day's decline, plunging 1,014 points, or approximately 2.1%, to close at 48,472.01. The blue-chip index was weighed down by heavy losses in industrial and consumer discretionary components, as rising fuel costs threatened to squeeze corporate margins and household spending.<\/p>\n

The benchmark S&P 500<\/a> (GSPC<\/a>) shed 1.22%, ending the session at 6,785.41. While energy stocks provided a slight cushion, eight of the eleven sectors finished in negative territory. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC<\/a>) declined 1.1% to 22,863.66. Although the Nasdaq initially showed resilience due to a mid-day bounce in select semiconductor names, the broader pressure from rising Treasury yields eventually dragged the index lower.<\/p>\n

Economic Data and the Inflation Outlook<\/h2>\n

The market's primary concern remains the conflict in the Middle East, which has seen Brent crude oil surge over 4% today to $84.75 per barrel. Investors fear that if oil prices reach the psychological $100 mark, the Federal Reserve may be forced to maintain higher interest rates for longer to combat "imported" inflation.<\/p>\n

On the domestic front, the Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims held steady at 213,000 for the week ending February 28, suggesting a labor market that remains "frozen"\u2014neither significantly expanding nor contracting. Additionally, fourth-quarter productivity and costs data released this morning showed that unit labor costs rose slightly more than anticipated, adding another layer of complexity to the Fed\u2019s upcoming policy decisions.<\/p>\n

Major Stock News and Corporate Developments<\/h2>\n

The "Magnificent Seven" experienced a volatile session. Nvidia (NVDA<\/a>) fell 1.35% as concerns over AI hardware demand were overshadowed by the broader macro-economic gloom. Apple (AAPL<\/a>) dropped 1.83% following reports of supply chain disruptions, while Alphabet (GOOGL<\/a>) and Meta Platforms (META<\/a>) saw declines of 1.28% and 1.80%, respectively.<\/p>\n

Bucking the trend, Broadcom (AVGO<\/a>) surged 6% after the company provided ambitious revenue guidance for the 2027 fiscal year, citing a massive backlog in custom AI accelerators. Microsoft (MSFT<\/a>) also showed relative strength, managing a modest 0.93% gain as investors viewed its diversified cloud business as a defensive play in the tech space.<\/p>\n

In the financial sector, BlackRock (BLK<\/a>) shares fell 1% after the asset manager took the unusual step of slashing the value of a major private loan to zero, sparking fresh concerns about the health of the private credit market. Tesla (TSLA<\/a>) also struggled, closing down as global sales data suggested a cooling of EV demand in key European markets.<\/p>\n

Earnings Announcements After the Close<\/h2>\n

Following the 4:00 PM ET close, all eyes turned to the retail sector. Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST<\/a>) released its quarterly results, which are being scrutinized for signs of consumer resilience amid rising gas prices. Early reports indicate that while membership growth remains strong, the company is seeing a shift in spending toward lower-margin grocery items.<\/p>\n

Other notable after-hours reporters included Marvell Technology (MRVL<\/a>), which is expected to provide further clarity on the semiconductor industry's health, and Gap, Inc. (GAP<\/a>), whose results will offer a window into the health of the American apparel consumer.<\/p>\n

Looking Ahead<\/h2>\n

Investors are now bracing for tomorrow's marquee economic event: the February Non-Farm Payrolls report. Analysts expect the economy to have added approximately 130,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%. A stronger-than-expected print could further elevate bond yields and pressure equities as the market recalibrates its expectations for interest rate cuts in the second half of 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

U.S. equity markets faced significant selling pressure on Thursday, March 5, 2026, as escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,6824],"tags":[5030,95,225,633,1220,1876,2919,3710,4223,4824],"class_list":["post-59455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-update","category-featured","tag-energy","tag-nasdaq","tag-aapl","tag-nvda","tag-cost","tag-sp-500","tag-avgo","tag-federal-reserve","tag-inflation","tag-geopolitics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}