{"id":59756,"date":"2026-03-13T16:07:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:07:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-and-sluggish-gdp-weight-on-wall-street-as-nasdaq-slumps\/59756\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:07:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T20:07:36","slug":"geopolitical-tensions-and-sluggish-gdp-weight-on-wall-street-as-nasdaq-slumps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-and-sluggish-gdp-weight-on-wall-street-as-nasdaq-slumps\/59756\/","title":{"rendered":"Geopolitical Tensions and Sluggish GDP Weight on Wall Street as Nasdaq Slumps"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. equity markets concluded a tumultuous week on Friday, March 13, 2026, with major indexes finishing mixed as investors grappled with an escalating geopolitical crisis in the Middle East and sobering economic revisions. While the blue-chip Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average managed to eke out a marginal gain, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the broad S&P 500<\/a> retreated as the "stagflation" narrative gained momentum following a sharp downward revision to fourth-quarter economic growth.<\/p>\n

Market Index Performance<\/h2>\n

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI<\/a>) finished the session essentially flat, gaining just 5.70 points, or 0.01%, to close at 46,683.55. The index was buoyed by energy and defensive sectors but weighed down by industrial giants. The S&P 500 (SPY<\/a>) slipped 21.30 points, or 0.32%, to end at 6,651.32. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (COMP<\/a>) bore the brunt of the day\u2019s selling pressure, dropping 152.64 points, or 0.68%, to finish at 22,159.34.<\/p>\n

The week marked the third consecutive losing week for the major benchmarks, the longest such streak in over a year. Volatility remained elevated, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX<\/a>) hovering near 27.30 as the market priced in a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.<\/p>\n

Economic Data and the Federal Reserve<\/h2>\n

Friday\u2019s trading was heavily influenced by a dual-threat of economic reports. The Commerce Department significantly downgraded its estimate for fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a sluggish 0.7% annualized rate, down from the previous estimate of 1.4%. This cooling growth coincided with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index\u2014the Federal Reserve\u2019s preferred inflation gauge. While the annual headline PCE cooled slightly to 2.8%, the monthly core figure rose 0.4%, suggesting that "sticky" inflation remains a persistent hurdle.<\/p>\n

These data points arrive just days before the Federal Reserve\u2019s March policy meeting. Market participants have largely priced out the possibility of a spring interest rate cut, with the federal funds rate expected to remain steady in the 3.5% to 3.75% range. The surge in crude oil prices, with Brent futures trading near $101 per barrel due to the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, has fueled fears that energy-driven inflation will prevent the Fed from easing policy anytime soon.<\/p>\n

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

The technology sector faced significant headwinds following a major leadership announcement from Adobe (ADBE<\/a>). Shares of the software giant plummeted 5.99% after it was announced that long-time CEO Shantanu Narayen would step down. The news overshadowed a sixth consecutive quarter of revenue beats for the company.<\/p>\n

In the AI space, Amazon (AMZN<\/a>) made waves by announcing a strategic partnership with chip startup Cerebras Systems. The collaboration aims to deploy high-speed AI inference services using Amazon\u2019s custom Trainium3 silicon, directly challenging the dominance of Nvidia (NVDA<\/a>). Consequently, Nvidia shares fell 1.17%, while Amazon saw a modest decline of 0.63% as investors weighed the capital expenditure requirements.<\/p>\n

Other notable movers included:<\/p>\n