Daily Recap: March 17, 2026
U.S. stocks finished modestly higher on Tuesday, extending Monday’s rebound even as oil prices surged back above $100. The S&P 500 gained 16.71 points to 6,716.09, the Dow added 46.85 points to 46,993.26, and the Nasdaq rose 105.35 points to 22,479.53. Small caps also joined the move, with the Russell 2000 up 0.7% to 2,519.99.
The biggest story was energy. Brent crude settled at $103.42, its highest close since 2022, as attacks on oil and gas infrastructure in Iraq and the UAE kept supply concerns front and center. U.S. crude also moved higher, with reports showing it closed around $96.21 after backing off earlier intraday highs.
Normally, that kind of oil move would weigh harder on equities. Instead, the market held up better than expected. Reuters reported that fear of a full-blown stock market crash has eased, with tail-risk indicators like the TailDex Index and Cboe Skew Index retreating from their post-strike peaks. In other words, investors are still cautious, but they are no longer pricing in the same level of extreme downside they were just days ago.
Leadership inside the market was also notable. Airline shares rallied even with higher fuel costs after Delta and American Airlines raised revenue forecasts, helping support broader sentiment. At the same time, energy stocks benefited from the oil move, while the Nasdaq was helped by continued strength in large-cap growth names.
What mattered most
Tuesday was a sign that markets are becoming more resilient to geopolitical shocks. Oil is still a problem, inflation risk has not gone away, and the Fed remains in focus, but traders were willing to keep buying stocks anyway.
Policy & Profits Take
The market’s message today was clear: higher oil is no longer automatically triggering panic selling. Investors are still watching the Middle East, the Fed, and inflation closely, but for now, they seem more comfortable treating the energy shock as a volatility event rather than the start of a deeper market breakdown.
Indexes
Index LatestPrice Change Change(%)
VIX 22.37 -1.14 -4.85%
S&P 6,716 +16.71 +0.25%
Nasdaq 22,479 +105.35 +0.47%