Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (-1.2%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.6%), and DJIA (-1.5%) are charting session lows an hour into the session. 

Though the materials sector (-0.2%) now faces a modest loss due to a pullback in precious and industrial metal prices today, fertilizer names such as CF Industries (CF 131.90, +11.76, +9.79%) and Mosaic (MOS 31.22, +2.06, +7.08%) are surging as the war in Iran creates a structural supply shock just as the spring planting season begins. The primary driver is the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as roughly 33% of the world's fertilizer supply and 25% of the global nitrogen market pass through this waterway.

CNBC reports that the White House has floated the idea of tightening oil export restrictions, though the oil industry is against the move.