US equity futures and Asian stocks declined, extending a volatile week, as oil prices rallied after an attack on tankers in Iraqi waters highlighted the threat to energy infrastructure and stoked concerns of an escalating conflict in the Middle East. Contracts for the S&P 500 Index were down 1% while a gauge of Asian shares dropped 1.9%. Brent crude climbed back above $100 a barrel as the assault on tankers prompted Iraq to stop operations at its oil ports. Separately, Bahrain said Iran targeted its fuel tanks, while Oman evacuated all vessels from its key oil export terminal at Mina Al Fahal as a precautionary measure. Energy markets remained the biggest focus for investors as volatility in oil and gas prices continued to feed into inflation expectations. Oil’s renewed rally signaled that fears of a prolonged war outweighed relief offered by the largest-ever emergency release of crude reserves by wealthy nations. Meanwhile, mounting strain in the private credit market also weighed on sentiment as Morgan Stanley and Cliffwater LLC capped withdrawals from their multibillion-dollar private credit funds. The industry has been hit by a wave of redemption requests amid growing worries over the quality of loans. The Iran war is in its second week and the Strait of Hormuz — through which a fifth of global oil typically flows — remains effectively closed. Brent may rally to $150 a barrel or even higher as the Middle East crisis could last for months, spurring physical shortfalls, according to Commonwealth Bank of Australia. A 10% increase in energy prices that persists for a year would push global inflation up by 40 basis points and slow economic growth by 0.1-0.2%, according to the International Monetary Fund. Earlier, the US said it plans to release 172 million barrels from its emergency oil reserve as nations around the world work to ease surging crude and fuel prices. That’s part of the plan by member countries of the International Energy Agency to discharge 400 million barrels from reserves globally. President Donald Trump said the move would ease energy price pressures while the US seeks to “finish the job” in its campaign against Iran. Trump, who repeated his suggestion the war would end soon, is also preparing to invoke powers that would permit renewed oil production off the southern California coast. Meanwhile, Iran told regional intermediaries that for a ceasefire, the US must guarantee neither it nor Israel will strike the country in the future, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Separately, the Trump administration also started the first of several sweeping trade investigations that set the stage for new tariffs, the centerpiece of a push to replace levies struck down by the US Supreme Court. US equities ended little changed Wednesday while Treasuries fell across the curve even as data showed inflation slowed in February from a month earlier. That reflected concern that the Iran war, which has boosted energy costs, is complicating the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates. Traders now anticipate the Fed will cut rates only once this year. Data out Friday will likely paint a picture of more stubborn inflation. Economists see the Fed’s favored core personal consumption expenditures price index up 0.4% again in January. Compared with the same month last year, the median forecast calls for a 3.1% increase. Elsewhere in Asia, the yen hovered near its weakest level against the dollar this year. The Japanese currency briefly fell to 159.24 per dollar on Thursday, approaching the 159.45 level that prompted a so-called rate check in January by the Federal Reserve. After holding policy settings steady next week, the Bank of Japan will likely raise its benchmark interest rate in April, according to more than a third of surveyed economists. US After Hours BMBL +21.5%, DSGX +1.1% higher on earnings; NTSK -17.2%, HPK -8.5%, PATH -4% lower on earnings; LWLG +31.3% popping on development deal with TSEM; TEAM +2.3% announces restructuring.
Nikkei -1.64% Hang Seng -1.23% CSI -0.97% Shanghai -0.64% Shenzen -1.26%
Eur$ 1.1539 CNH 6.8823 CNY 6.8794 JPY 159.04 GBP 1.3371 CHF 0.7819 RUB 79.2537 TRY 44.1140 WTI$ 94.32 +8.08% Gold 5,151 -0.49% BTC 69,538 -1.64% ETH 2,028 -2%
S&P -0.94% Nasdaq -1% EuroStoxx -0.95% FTSE -0.32% Dax -1.11% SMI
Macro :
- Brent Tests $100 Again on Hormuz Supply Disruption: Macro Squawk
- US to Release 172 Million Barrels for IEA Plan to Tap Reserves
- Citadel Securities Hires Goldman’s Choraria to Run Fixed Income
- Citadel Securities Hires Goldman’s Choraria to Run Fixed Income
- Goldman, Citi Tell Staff to Exit Dubai Offices Amid Iran Threats
- US Feb. Budget Deficit at $307.50b, Est. -$310.0b
Keep an eye on :
Keep an eye on :
- ACLN SW : Accelleron FY Revenue Beats Estimates
- ANTIN FP : Antin FY Net Income Beats Estimates
- APAM NA : Aperam to Join BEL 20 Index, No Exclusions, Euronext Says
- AAPL US : Apple’s Foldable iPhone to Have iPad-Like Interface When Opened
- POST AV : Austrian Post FY Ebit Meets Estimates
- AUTN SW : Autoneum Sees 2026 Ebit Margin 5.5% to 6.1%
- BANB SW : Bachem Sees 2026 Revenue +35% to +45%
- BX US : Anthropic in Talks With Blackstone, Other PE Firms to Form AI Consulting Venture
- BX US : Blackstone in Early Talks to Sell Canary Wharf Building: FT
- BX US : Blackstone, Blue Owl Confirm Taking Minority Stake in Atlas
- BMW GY : *BMW SEES 2026 AUTOMOTIVE EBIT MARGIN 4% TO 6%, EST. 5.27%
- BNR GY : Brenntag FY Dividend per Share Beats Estimates
- CAN LN : Canal+ Suffers Record Drop as MultiChoice Weighs
- ACA FP : Credit Agricole Ukraine to Acquire Bank Lviv
- DTG GY : Daimler Truck 2026 Adjusted Ebit Forecast Misses Estimates, Daimler Truck Says Higher Orders, Savings to Offset Tariffs
- DSFIR NA : DSM-Firmenich Sees 2%-4% Organic Sales Growth in 2026
- LLY US : Eli Lilly to Invest 20b Yen in Japan Plant to Boost Output
- PRT IM : Esprinet FY Sales Meet Estimates
- EL US : Estée Lauder sues perfumer Jo Malone for breach of contract
- SFER IM : Ferragamo FY Ebitda Beats Estimates
- FRA GY : Fraport Feb. Frankfurt Airport Passengers 3.9M
- GALD SW : Galderma’s Backers Exit Stake in One Mammoth Selldown
- GEBN SW : Geberit FY Ebitda Meets Estimates
- G IM : Generali FY Dividend per Share Beats Estimates
- GLJ GY : Grenke Sees 2026 Net Income EU74M to EU86M, Est. EU74.1M
- HOLN SW : Cemex to Sell $555 Million of Colombia Assets to Holcim, Others
- ICEYE : Satellite Firm Iceye Targets €1 Billion Revenue Next Year
- INRN SW : Interroll FY Ebitda Meets Estimates
- JHG US : Victory Capital Says Janus Refused to Engage With Takeover Offer
- SDF GY : K+S Sees 2026 Ebitda EU600M to EU700M, Est. EU649.9M
- KARN SW : Kardex FY Ebit Matches Estimates
- LDO IM : Leonardo FY Ebita Forecast Beats Estimates, Leonardo Sees 2027 Ebita EU2.38B in 2026-2030 Strategy Update
- MSFT US : Microsoft Pushes for Africa AI Adoption in Challenge to DeepSeek
- MS US : Private Credit Exits Force Cliffwater, Morgan Stanley to Cap, -1.4% in after hours
- MLP GY : MLP Sees 2026 Ebit EU100M to EU110M, Est. EU109.8M
- MTRS SS : Munters Names Stefan Aspman CEO to Succeed Klas Forsström
- NFLX US : Netflix to Pay as Much as $600 Million for Ben Affleck’s AI Firm
- PANW US : Palo Alto Networks Approves Added $1b of Stock Buybacks
- PZZA US : Papa John's Draws Fresh Takeover Interest -- WSJ +19%
- PHGN SW : Partners Group Sounds Alarm on Private Credit Default Rates: FT
- PHARM NA : Pharming 4Q Revenue $106.5M
- PPGN SW : PolyPeptide Group FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- RHM GY : Rheinmetall Estimates Early US Iran Strike Cost at $4 Billion
- RIVN US : Rivian’s R2 Will Cost More Than $45,000, Says Barclays
- RUI FP : Rubis FY Ebitda Meets Estimates
- RWE GY : RWE Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit EU2.80B to EU3.40B, Est. EU3.06B, RWE to Invest $19.6 Billion in US With Focus on Gas Generation
- S92 GY : SMA Solar Jumps as Deutsche Bank Hikes PT on Restructuring
- 9984 JP : SoftBank’s PayPay Sets IPO Price at $16/Share, Below Range
- SLHN SW : Swiss Life FY Net Income CHF1.26B
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Returns to Profit After Four Years Amid Revamp
- UBER US : Uber, Nissan, Wayve to Tie Up on Robotaxis in Japan
- UBSG SW : Top Swiss Bankers Risk Bonus Ban as Lawmakers Weigh Crackdown
- ULVR LN : Unilever to Propose Raising CEO Salary in Annual Report: Sky
- UTHR US : United Therapeutics TETON-2 Phase 3 Trial Met Primary Endpoint
- ZAL GY : Zalando Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebit EU660M to EU740M, Est. EU678.6M
- FHZN SW : Zurich Airport Feb. Passenger Traffic +7.9%
- FHZN SW : Zurich Airport Feb. Passenger Traffic +7.9%