Stocks enjoyed an end-of-the-week rebound to close out a volatile start to March. The Dow added triple digits, paring a much steeper weekly loss. All three major indexes still benchmarks finished the week lower, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq marking their worst five-day declines since September.

Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX), surged to its highest level since December at session highs before slipping into the red, but secured its third-straight weekly win. 

OIL MARKS 7TH-STRAIGHT WEEKLY LOSS

Oil prices finished higher amid plans to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to full capacity and Trump's announcement of potential sanctions on Russia. The front-month contract, April-dated Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, rose 68 cents, or 1%, to settle at $67.04 a barrel on the day, but still fell 3.9% for the week -- its seventh consecutive weekly loss and longest weekly losing streak since December 2023. 

Gold prices fell today, but still finished with a weekly gain as investors targeted the safe-heaven commodity. U.S. gold futures settled 0.4% lower at $2,914.10, adding around 1.7% for the week. 

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