On Monday, March 16, the S&P 500 was down 0.6%, the Nasdaq composite dipped 1.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. Markets moved higher as oil prices decreased, with Brent crude falling to $80 after briefly spiking to $90 due to the Iran War and blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is proposing to eliminate quarterly reporting requirements for companies, which could shift focus on long-term company performance. This means the market could get less visibility in the equities.
On Tuesday, March 17, the S&P 500 was down 0.8%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.1% and the Dow slid 0.6%.
Markets pulled back as geo- political tensions escalated. Iran launched a new wave of attacks on the United Arab Emirates’ energy and transport infrastructure, raising concerns about broader supply disruption across the region and pushing energy prices higher. This fed directly into inflation concerns and weighed on equities.
On Wednesday, March 18, the S&P 500 decreased 1%, the Nasdaq was down 1.6% and the Dow dropped 0.7%.
Markets sold off as energy-driven inflation concerns intensified, with oil rising after Israel struck an Iranian gas field. Iran retaliated by hitting a Qatar fuel hub.
At the same time, both the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan held rates steady but flagged uncertainty around inflation as energy risks build. The dollar briefly strengthened, with the U.S. dollar index touching 100 before pulling back.
Copper prices fell from $5.70 to $5.40 as growth expectations softened alongside the strong dollar and rising macro uncertainty.
On Thursday, March 19, the S&P 500 declined 0.4%, the Nasdaq fell 0.9% and the Dow decreased 0.2%. Micron Technology Inc. fell about 5.6% despite strong earn-
ings, with a $23.9 billion revenue driven by strong artificial intelligence-related demand for high bandwidth memory and limited supply that pushed pricing higher for DRAM and NAND.
However, the market focused more on forward-looking risks as Micron announced plans to increase capex to over $25 billion, which raised concerns of oversupply and potentially signaled a peak in the memory cycle.
On Friday, March 20, the S&P 500 was fell 0.7%, the Nasdaq dropped 1.3% and the Dow was down 0.5%. Markets remained pressured with U.K. 10-year yields moving above 5% for the first time since 2008 as markets repriced inflation and potential Bank of England tightening.
On the equities side, Super Micro Computer, Inc. plunged 25% after employees were charged with smuggling NVIDIA chips to China, adding to regulatory concerns in the AI space.
The energy market stayed in focus as the U.S. moved to restrict Cuba from receiving Russian oil shipments.
