Welcome to closing bell this Friday. I am Leslie Picker in for Scott Wapner. This make or break hour starts with stocks on edge as the S&P 500 heads for its biggest weekly losing streak of the year. Here's the scorecard with just 60 minutes left in the trading week. You can see the Dow down 1% the S&P down 1.5% and the NASDAQ down 2%. The Russell down 2.4%.

Markets are moving lower into the close on some new headlines regarding Iran. Let's get straight

to PIPA Stevens with the latest on that. PIPA.

Hey Leslie, CBS reporting just now that the Trump administration is making heavy preparations

for the potential use of ground troops in Iran.

That comes after CNN and the Wall Street Journal reported earlier that more Marines were on their way to the Gulf.

Now, White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt telling CBS that, quote, as the president said in the Oval Office yesterday,

he is not planning to send ground

troops anywhere at this time. The oil had been inching higher, but now solidly in the green,

with WTI closing in on $100 while Brent is above 112, just a bit shy of yesterday's weekly

high of 119, as this week's attacks showed that energy infrastructure is now being targeted.

The spread between WTI and Brent hitting the widest in more than a decade, and the discount in WTI could

start to entice more buyers, since the lower price could offset higher shipping costs.

But European natural gas, the big gainer this week, surging 17% after the attack on Qatar's

Rass Lafanne. Those prices up some 85% since the start of the war, just as Europe's gas

injection season is set to begin. U.S. LNG companies like Venture Global and Schneer getting a lift

up double digits this week, B of A saying Venture Global offers the highest leverage to those global gas prices.

The energy sector is wrapping up a record 13 straight weeks of gains, but do watch the refiners

like Marathon Petroleum, Valero, and Phillips 66, as the product markets look increasingly

tight.

Leslie?

Pippa, thank you.

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