U.S. markets witnessed heavy sell off on Friday, amid escalating Middle East tensions and rising crude oil prices, despite President Trump’s decision to extend the strike deadline on Iranian infrastructure to April 6. Sentiments remained subdued as concerns over supply disruptions and the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which increased fears of inflation and slower economic growth. Meanwhile, traders took note of a report stating that the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for March was revised downward to 53.3 from the preliminary reading of 55.5. Street had expected the index to be revised down to 54.0.

On the sectoral front, tech heavyweights remained under significant pressure, with Nvidia dropping 2.2%, Microsoft falling 2.5%, and Alphabet shedding 2.5%, while Meta saw a steeper decline of 4% amid shifting risk sentiment. Financial and credit-sensitive stocks also struggled, as JPMorgan fell 3% and Visa lost 3.3%.

Nasdaq decreased 459.724 points or 2.15 percent to 20,948.357, Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 793.47 points or 1.73 percent to 45,166.64, and S&P 500 tumbled 108.31 points or 1.67 percent to 6,368.85.