Katherine Sullivan

The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.4%.

The Nasdaq led the declines, dropping 1.6%.

The S&P 500 was down 1.3%, and the Dow was down 1%.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices surged above $90 a barrel.

Escalating military conflict in the Middle East drove oil to record weekly gains.

Among individual companies, Marvell Technology shares surged over 18 percent.

Strong demand for artificial intelligence and upbeat revenue projections fueled the rally.

Costco wholesale shares added 1.6 percent.

The discount retailer posted strong quarterly results driven by product sales and membership fees.

Nike shares dropped nearly 2% after the company announced a $300 million charge related to cutting costs and laying off workers.

And Gap shares skidded 14% following the company's latest quarterly report.

Declining sales for its Athleta brand dented the clothing retailer's results.

Heads up, an artificial intelligence tool helped us make this episode by creating summaries that were based on WSJ reporting and then reviewed and adapted by an editor.

We'll have a lot more coverage of the day's news on the WSJ's What's News podcast.

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Here's your closing bell brief for Wednesday, March 4th.

I'm Katherine Sullivan for The Wall Street Journal.

U.S.

stocks moved higher today as investors set aside concerns regarding Middle East tensions.

The Nasdaq led the gains with a rise of 1.3 percent.