New York, March 2, 2026, 15:01 EST — Regular session
- Ford shares fell sharply in afternoon trading, lagging the broader market.
- A jump in oil kept pressure on consumer-facing sectors such as autos.
- Traders are watching Friday’s U.S. jobs report and fresh headlines on crude supply disruptions.
Ford Motor shares fell about 5% to $13.38 in afternoon trading on Monday, a steeper drop than most major U.S. indexes.
The slide comes as a widening Middle East conflict pushed oil and gas prices higher and revived worries about inflation just as investors were already jittery. 1
That matters for automakers. Cars and trucks are big-ticket items, typically financed, and higher fuel and borrowing costs can change demand quickly.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was little changed as gains in megacap tech cushioned losses linked to the conflict. “At times when there is nervousness, people will go to the leaders in the market,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. 2
Other automakers traded unevenly. General Motors fell about 1.3%, while Stellantis slid about 5.6%; Tesla was little changed.
But the pressure can build fast if the oil shock sticks. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose as much as 13% before paring gains, and analysts warned the conflict could mean more volatility in energy markets; JPMorgan said a weeks-long squeeze on Strait of Hormuz traffic could push Brent above $100. 3
Ford has also been under a recall cloud. The company said last week it would recall 4.3 million U.S. pickup trucks and SUVs over a software issue that could disable trailer brake functionality and cause exterior light failures; it plans an over-the-air update — a remote software fix — and said it was aware of 407 related incidents, with no crashes reported. 4
Investors are also trying to judge whether Ford can turn software into an edge, not a cost sink. Chief executive Jim Farley said in a recent interview that “the software thing is 10 times bigger” to him than EVs or competition from China, according to InsideEVs. 5
Beyond geopolitics, the week’s big test for risk assets is U.S. labor data. A Reuters poll cited expectations for a 60,000 job increase in February, and strategists said the print could shift bets on when the Federal Reserve might cut rates — a key input for credit-sensitive sectors such as autos. 6
The next hard catalyst is Friday’s U.S. Employment Situation report for February, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, while traders keep one eye on crude and any signs the conflict is disrupting supply for longer than markets are pricing in. 7
