{"id":59459,"date":"2026-03-05T18:09:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:09:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaydow-jones-plunges-784-points-as-inflation-fears-spark-broad-market-sell-off\/59459\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T18:09:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T22:09:28","slug":"dowjonestodaydow-jones-plunges-784-points-as-inflation-fears-spark-broad-market-sell-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaydow-jones-plunges-784-points-as-inflation-fears-spark-broad-market-sell-off\/59459\/","title":{"rendered":"[DowJonesToday]Dow Jones Plunges 784 Points as Inflation Fears Spark Broad Market Sell-Off"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/markets\/dowjones\/today.aspx\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (^DJI)<\/strong> faced a significant downturn on Thursday, March 5th, 2026, as the index <strong>was down 784.67 (-1.6099%) points today<\/strong> to finish at <strong>47,954.74<\/strong>. Market sentiment was heavily weighed down by <strong>Dow Futures (YM=F)<\/strong>, which <strong>was down 861.00 (-1.7645%) points<\/strong>, signaling deep investor concern across the board. The primary narrative driving today&#39;s volatility was a <strong>hawkish pivot from the Federal Reserve<\/strong> following a morning report that showed <strong>inflationary pressures<\/strong> remaining stubbornly high. This sparked a massive sell-off in <strong>cyclical stocks<\/strong> and <strong>industrial giants<\/strong> as traders braced for a &quot;higher-for-longer&quot; interest rate environment that threatens to stifle corporate growth and consumer purchasing power.<\/p>\n<p>Bucking the downward trend, a few enterprise technology firms provided a rare bright spot for investors. <strong>Salesforce (<a href=\"\/stock\/CRM\">CRM<\/a>)<\/strong> emerged as the top performer, climbing <strong>4.36%<\/strong> to close at <strong>$201.68<\/strong>. This rally was supported by <strong>IBM (<a href=\"\/stock\/IBM\">IBM<\/a>)<\/strong>, which gained <strong>2.82%<\/strong> to reach <strong>$257.56<\/strong>, and <strong>Chevron (<a href=\"\/stock\/CVX\">CVX<\/a>)<\/strong>, which rose <strong>1.41%<\/strong> to <strong>$188.49<\/strong>. Even <strong>Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>)<\/strong> managed to stay in the green with a <strong>0.75%<\/strong> uptick to <strong>$408.64<\/strong>, suggesting that investors are seeking refuge in high-margin software and energy sectors during periods of macroeconomic uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, the industrial and retail sectors bore the brunt of the market&#39;s pessimism. <strong>Caterpillar (<a href=\"\/stock\/CAT\">CAT<\/a>)<\/strong> was the biggest loser on the Dow, plunging <strong>4.67%<\/strong> to <strong>$696.89<\/strong> as global growth fears intensified. Retail behemoth <strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong> also saw a sharp decline of <strong>4.05%<\/strong> to <strong>$122.72<\/strong>, while the healthcare sector struggled with <strong>Amgen (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMGN\">AMGN<\/a>)<\/strong> falling <strong>3.99%<\/strong> and <strong>Merck (<a href=\"\/stock\/MRK\">MRK<\/a>)<\/strong> dropping <strong>3.97%<\/strong>. Financial sector weakness was evident as <strong>Goldman Sachs (<a href=\"\/stock\/GS\">GS<\/a>)<\/strong> shed <strong>3.88%<\/strong> of its value, closing at <strong>$833.99<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) faced a significant downturn on Thursday, March 5th, 2026, as the index was down 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