Mar 10, 2026

Oil nears $100 after US details 172mn-barrel SPR draw

Crude spiked in after-hours trading despite the reserve plan, keeping inflation and transport-risk pressure on equities and rates.• Oil/Policy: Energy Department said the US will release 172mn SPR barrels starting next week over 120 days; WTI rose about 7% after hours to above $93, and Brent reached $98.78 in Asia.• Shipping/Gulf: Iraq said two tankers, Safesea Vishnu and Zefyros, were attacked in its waters; one sailor died, 37 were rescued and Iraq suspended oil-terminal operations.• Gulf Security: UAE intercepted 6 ballistic missiles, 7 cruise missiles and 39 drones; Saudi said one drone targeted Shaybah, Bahrain reported fuel tanks hit, and Dubai said a fallen drone caused a minor fire.• Credit/Software: Morgan Stanley returned only 46% of tender requests from an $8bn private-credit fund; Atlassian will cut about 1,600 jobs, citing AI-driven skill shifts.

Oil settles higher after US declines tanker escorts

War risk still overpowered policy offsets: crude finished higher, energy equities finally caught up, and officials gave conflicting signals on whether Hormuz can reopen quickly.• Oil/Hormuz: WTI settled 4.6% higher at $87.25 and Brent 4.8% higher at $91.98 after US defense officials said tanker escorts are not currently feasible while Iran can still attack ships.• Energy Policy: Trump said he would reduce the SPR “a little bit,” while Canada asked producers to release inventories and New Zealand will contribute about six days of fuel supply.• Energy Stocks: The S&P 500 Energy Index rose 2.5%, its best day since the war began; Chevron gained 3% to a record high.• Single Names: Sable jumped 28% after Trump prepared DPA support for California offshore output; SLB warned Q1 EPS will be cut 6-9c by Middle East demobilizations.• Security/Credit: The FBI and Newsom acknowledged West Coast drone-risk alerts; Cliffwater capped Q1 redemptions at 7% after requests reached 14%.

Trump urges Hormuz transits while Iran threatens regional ports

Risk tone stayed hostage to Gulf shipping: Washington signaled confidence that Hormuz can reopen, but military warnings and corporate evacuations kept the risk premium intact.• Hormuz/Ports: Trump urged oil companies to use the Strait, saying the US had taken out nearly all Iranian mine ships and did not think mines were present; Iran warned regional ports would be targets if its ports were hit.• Energy/Data: EIA crude stocks rose 3.82mn barrels versus a 2.5mn survey build, while gasoline fell 3.65mn; WTI traded near $87 and Brent above $91 after the IEA release.• Banks/Cyber: Goldman, Citi and Standard Chartered cleared Dubai offices after Iranian bank threats; Stryker said a pro-Iran group claimed a hack that disrupted global operations.• Shipping/Insurance: DFC picked Chubb to lead a $20bn rolling reinsurance facility for eligible Gulf vessels.• Trade: USTR opened Section 301 probes targeting 16 trading partners and signaled another case covering 60 countries.

Oil holds gains after IEA approves record reserve release

Crude stayed firm despite confirmed emergency barrels, while the war widened across Gulf infrastructure and Lebanon. AI infrastructure news remained supportive for selected tech names.• Oil/Policy: IEA members unanimously approved a 400mn-barrel emergency release, the largest ever; timing and daily pace were not specified. WTI briefly dipped then traded near $86, and Brent was around $91.• Gulf Security: Iran said no oil benefiting the US or its allies would pass Hormuz and claimed a shift to continuous strikes; Oman said drones hit fuel tanks at Salalah port without casualties.• War/Military: Centcom said the US has hit more than 5,500 Iranian targets, including 60-plus ships, and Israel reported targeted raids against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.• Macro/Rates: CPI reaction was muted, but forecasters estimated core PCE was tracking around 0.45% for February; Treasury yields rose about 3 bp near session highs.• Tech/AI: Nvidia agreed to invest $2bn in Nebius for more than 5GW of AI data centers by 2030.

Oil rises despite IEA proposing record reserve release

Crude held a war premium despite a larger reserve response taking shape, while Gulf security risks spread across shipping, airports, banks and LNG contracts.• Oil/Policy: IEA proposed releasing 300mn-400mn barrels; Japan may start a unilateral draw March 16, Germany said it would contribute, and Brent/WTI still rose more than 4%.• Gulf Security: UAE defenses intercepted new Iranian missile and drone threats, Qatar reported a missile attack, Oman shot down one drone, and Iran warned US- and Israeli-linked banks.• Shipping/Airlines: Maersk said 10 ships are trapped in the Gulf and Asia fuel shortages may lift freight rates; KLM canceled Dubai flights through March 28.• Macro/Rates: February CPI matched forecasts at 2.4% headline and 2.5% core; 30-year mortgage rates rose 10 bp to 6.19%.• LNG: Shell declared force majeure on some Asia LNG contracts tied to Qatar’s Ras Laffan shutdown.

Brent rebounds after three ships are struck near Hormuz

Crude regained risk premium as ship strikes outweighed reserve-release signals; energy inflation and credit concerns also broadened the market pressure.• Oil/Hormuz: UKMTO said three vessels were hit near Hormuz and the Gulf. Iran said it fired on the Thai-owned Mayuree Naree after warnings; 20 crew were evacuated and three sailors were missing.• Energy Policy: G-7 ministers backed using strategic reserves in principle, but France said no decision had been made; Brent rose more than 2% toward $90.• LNG/Fertilizer: Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG plant has gone five days without an export, the longest halt in data since 2008, tightening nitrogen fertilizer inputs.• Rates/Credit: ECB’s Kazimir said an Iran-driven rate hike may be closer than expected; JPMorgan reportedly marked down some software-linked private-credit loans.• Amazon: Amazon launched a record eight-part euro bond sale of about €10bn after Tuesday’s $37bn dollar deal to fund AI spending.

Oil falls after IEA proposes record reserve release

Energy headlines stayed volatile, but the clearest market impulse was lower crude after a reported IEA plan to tap reserves at unprecedented scale, even as Hormuz and Gulf security risks worsened.• Oil/Policy: WSJ reported the IEA proposed its largest-ever reserve release, exceeding 182mn barrels; Brent erased an almost 4% gain and traded near $88, with a decision expected Wednesday.• Hormuz/Military: US officials told WSJ Iran placed fewer than 10 mines in the Strait of Hormuz; Centcom raised its tally of destroyed Iranian mine-laying vessels to 16 from Trump’s earlier 10.• Gulf Security: Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles aimed at Prince Sultan Air Base and drones near Shaybah, while the UAE reported incoming Iranian missiles and drones.• Airlines: Asian carriers raised fares or fuel surcharges; Cirium counted more than 43,000 Middle East flight cancellations since Feb. 28.• Single Stocks: Starboard reportedly built a roughly $350mn CarMax stake and nominated two directors.

Oil rebounds after Trump says US destroyed Iranian mine-laying boats

Oil volatility intensified into the close as a confirmed US strike on Iranian mine-laying vessels and contradictory mine reports reversed part of the day’s crude collapse, while AI/cloud demand and credit issuance stayed strong.• Oil/Hormuz: WTI settled 11.9% lower at $83.40 and Brent settled 11.3% lower at $87.80, then WTI rose as much as 5.3% to $87.89 after Trump warned Iran over mines.• War/Military: Trump said the US destroyed 10 inactive Iranian mine-laying boats; a US official confirmed preemptive strikes. Reports on whether Iran had laid mines conflicted, and Trump said the US had no such reports.• Casualties/Defense: The Pentagon said 140 US troops have been wounded, eight severely, and seven have died since Feb. 28.• Credit/Tech: US high-grade issuance hit a record $66bn day, led by Amazon’s $37bn deal; Oracle rose more than 7% after hours on 84% infrastructure-cloud growth.• Energy Policy: US officials told Israel to stop hitting Iranian energy facilities unless Washington approves, according to WSJ.

Oil whipsaws after US denies Hormuz tanker escort

Markets traded headline-to-headline: an erroneous Hormuz escort claim briefly deepened oil’s collapse, but official denials left shipping access unresolved while Washington signaled the war may run longer than Trump implied.• Oil/Hormuz: WTI fell as much as 18% below $80 after Chris Wright posted that the Navy escorted a tanker; the post was deleted, and the White House, a military official and Leavitt said no escort occurred.• War Policy: Leavitt said Operation Epic Fury was initially planned for four to six weeks and would end when Trump judged Iran effectively at “complete and unconditional surrender.”• Energy Forecasts: EIA sees Brent above $95 for two months, below $80 in 3Q, and US output rising 220k b/d to 13.83mn b/d in 2027.• Credit/Corporates: Amazon drew about $126bn of orders for its bond sale; Salesforce is planning up to $25bn of debt to fund buybacks.• Banks: BofA expects low-double-digit 1Q trading revenue growth, above the 6.8% consensus.

Oil falls after G-7 asks IEA to ready reserve-release plans

Risk tone improved after oil slid further and stocks recovered, though Hormuz access and allied endgames remained unsettled.• Oil/Policy: G-7 ministers asked the IEA to prepare emergency stockpile-release scenarios; the agency called an extraordinary meeting, with members holding more than 1.2bn barrels of public reserves.• Markets/Rates: Brent was cited down 13% near $86, and the S&P 500 turned positive after falling as much as 0.5%; Treasury yields rose 2-4 bp as corporate issuance reopened.• Hormuz/Shipping: The White House said the US Navy had not escorted a ship through Hormuz, contradicting a deleted energy-secretary tweet; the Pentagon indicated no current escort orders.• Macro/Housing: Existing-home sales rose 1.7% to a 4.09mn annualized pace, beating forecasts, as affordability improved.• Single Stocks: Nvidia will invest in Thinking Machines and supply Vera Rubin chips; Boeing fell on a new 737 Max wiring flaw.

UAE refinery shuts while Pentagon flags most intense Iran strikes

War-risk relief faded before the open as energy-infrastructure damage and a more hawkish Pentagon briefing offset hopes for talks; corporate news flow was more idiosyncratic.• Gulf Energy: A drone attack caused a fire at Ruwais, and officials said Adnoc halted the 922,000 b/d refinery as a precaution; no injuries were reported.• Pentagon/Iran: Hegseth said Tuesday would bring the campaign’s most intense strikes, while Caine said missile launches were down 90% from day one and targets remain missiles, the navy and military-industrial sites.• Hormuz/Shipping: Bloomberg tracking showed no ships entering the Persian Gulf in 24 hours, while Goldman said Monday traffic ticked up to 20% of pre-war levels; both warned tracking is noisy.• Markets/Credit: S&P futures fell 0.4% and Brent pared losses to $93.35, down 5.7%; Amazon and Honeywell Aerospace launched large bond offerings.• Single Stocks: Nio posted its first quarterly profit; Kohl’s fell premarket after comparable sales dropped 2.8%.

Oil holds near $90 after Gulf producers cut output

Energy markets stabilized despite fresh supply evidence: traders leaned on policy backstops and rerouting plans, while regional military risk broadened around Hormuz and Turkey.• Oil/Supply: Bloomberg reported Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq have cut output by as much as 6.7mn b/d as Hormuz stays near shut; Brent barely reacted, trading around $90.80.• Oil/Logistics: Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said exports from Red Sea ports can reach about 5mn b/d within days, roughly 70% of normal Saudi shipments.• Hormuz/Military: CENTCOM said US forces struck 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait; Pakistan began escorting its merchant ships.• Defense/Turkey: NATO deployed a Patriot system in Malatya after a second Iranian missile entered Turkish airspace.• Policy/Markets: Japan backed an IEA reserve release; Stoxx 600 rose about 2%, European gas fell 16%, and 10-year Treasury yields held near 4.09%.

Brent holds below $100 while Iran rules out US talks

Relief from Monday’s oil spike persisted, but diplomacy and shipping data kept the energy-risk premium from fully clearing.• Oil/Markets: Brent was quoted below $90 early in Asia before trading at $94.74, still down 4.3%; S&P 500 futures fell 0.4% and 10-year yields slipped to 4.12%.• Iran Diplomacy: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ruled out negotiations with the US or cease-fire talks, contradicting earlier signs of peace-talk momentum.• Hormuz/LNG: Bloomberg tracking showed jamming affecting more than 1,100 Persian Gulf ships and Hormuz traffic falling to five vessels on March 4 from 120 on Feb. 26; Asian LNG tenders went unawarded.• Tech/Supply Chains: TSMC said January-February sales rose 30% to NT$718.9bn, while Apple now makes about 25% of iPhones in India after a 53% production jump.• Energy Stocks: Saudi Aramco announced a $3bn buyback; FT said its main hub cannot ship through Hormuz.

Trump threatens Iran over Hormuz while Asian stocks rebound

Oil’s relief move held in Asia, but late rhetoric and Gulf attacks kept the de-escalation trade fragile.• Oil/Geopolitics: Trump said Iran would be hit “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it stopped Hormuz oil flows, and said the US may waive unspecified oil-related sanctions to reduce prices.• Hormuz/Iran: The IRGC said its forces are “waiting for the US Navy” in the Strait and offered vessel access to countries that expel US or Israeli ambassadors.• Gulf Defense: Bahrain said an Iranian strike on a Manama residential building killed a 29-year-old woman and injured eight; Saudi Arabia and Kuwait reported new missile and drone interceptions.• Markets/Asia: Brent fell 7.6% to $91.35, while Japan’s Nikkei rose about 3% and South Korea’s Kospi climbed as much as 5.5%.• Defense/Politics: Australia will send an E-7A Wedgetail and missiles to the UAE; Senate Democrats moved to force Iran war-powers votes.

Oil tumbles after Trump says Iran war is nearly complete

Risk assets reversed sharply late after Trump’s CBS remarks, but follow-on comments and renewed strikes left the de-escalation read unstable.• Markets/Oil: WTI fell as low as $81.19 after settling at $94.77 and trading above $119 earlier; Brent swung to about $89.6. The S&P 500 closed up 0.8% and Nasdaq 1.4%, with nine S&P sectors higher.• Iran War: Trump told CBS the war was “very complete,” then told House Republicans the US “will not relent” until Iran is defeated; Iranian media and Israel reported a large new wave of strikes on Tehran, Isfahan and Tabriz.• Energy Policy: EU’s Dombrovskis said a strategic-reserve release would be warranted; Schumer urged an immediate SPR draw, and France said it is preparing an allied Hormuz escort mission.• Single Stocks: HPE guided current-quarter revenue above consensus and disclosed a $5bn AI-server backlog; Vertex rose late after its kidney drug met the primary endpoint; Tesla finance VP Sendil Palani is leaving.

Saudi Arabia shuts oilfields as Trump weighs oil-price curbs

Oil stayed volatile while the policy response broadened and supply risks became more concrete; equity losses narrowed, but sector stress spread beyond energy.• Oil/Supply: Saudi Arabia began shutting offshore fields including Safaniya and Zuluf, likely cutting output by more than 2mn b/d, though officials said exports were not yet affected.• Oil/Policy: Reuters reported Trump may review export curbs, tax waivers, Jones Act relief and possible futures-market intervention to curb prices; he holds a 5:30 p.m. ET press conference.• Markets/Rates: WTI traded near $94-$95 after topping $119 intraday; Nasdaq turned slightly positive, the S&P 500 was down about 0.2%, and 10-year Treasury yields were unchanged near 4.13%.• Airlines/Industrials: Airlines and lessors are reviewing growth plans and delivery schedules as jet-fuel costs surge; Boeing is cited as more exposed to the region than Airbus.• Single Stocks: Apple delayed its smart-home display until around September because new Siri work slipped again.

Brent slips below $100 after G-7 stops short of reserve release

Oil volatility eased from the overnight panic, but policy action remained provisional and Gulf logistics worsened.• Energy/Policy: Brent fell back below $100, up 5.9% at $98.20, after the G-7 said it stood ready to use stockpiles but left any release decision to Tuesday’s energy-minister meeting.• Gulf Logistics: Kpler data indicated petroleum-product loading at Fujairah, the UAE’s largest oil terminal and a key Hormuz bypass, had substantially halted after last week’s drone-debris fire.• Markets/Rates: The S&P 500 fell as much as 1.5%, with airlines, autos and retailers leading fuel-sensitive losses; CME pricing put an 18% chance on no Fed cuts this year.• AI/Software: Microsoft launched a $99-per-user monthly E7 workplace bundle, 65% above its previous flagship package, adding Copilot and AI-administration tools.

NATO intercepts Iranian missile as Saudi cuts oil output

Risk stayed defensive as the conflict began to test NATO airspace, while energy-logistics stress broadened into freight, travel and pump prices.• Geopolitics/Defense: NATO intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran into Turkish airspace, the second such incident in six days. Debris fell in Gaziantep with no injuries; WSJ said a US destroyer shot it down.• Energy/Oil: Saudi Arabia has begun reducing production as the Hormuz blockage fills storage, according to a person familiar. The kingdom produces about 10mn b/d and exports about 7mn b/d; Brent traded near $104 and S&P futures fell 1.1%.• Shipping/Travel: Clarksons said its freight-rate index rose 20% last week to a record $53,319/day; Middle East-China VLCC rates hit about $480,000/day. Cirium counted 4,983 regional flight cancellations Monday.• Healthcare: Novo confirmed it will sell Ozempic and Wegovy through Hims and drop its lawsuit; Hims will stop advertising copies.• Index/AI: Vertiv, Coherent, Lumentum and EchoStar will join the S&P 500 on March 23, lifting all four premarket.

Gas surges after Qatar delays LNG expansion to 2027

Energy stress broadened from crude into LNG, rates and single-name healthcare, while oil stayed below the overnight extremes ahead of G-7 reserve talks.• LNG/Gas: QatarEnergy is said to be delaying the North Field East LNG expansion to at least 2027 after the Ras Laffan drone attack; European gas futures rose as much as 30% to €69.50/MWh.• Oil/Policy: France confirmed G-7 finance ministers will discuss strategic reserve releases at 8:30 a.m. ET; WTI fell back near $96 after topping $118 overnight, and Brent’s prompt spread narrowed below $7.• Rates/FX: Swaps priced two ECB hikes this year and about a 70% chance of a BOE hike, while euro options turned the most bearish since 2022.• Healthcare: Hims rose 47% premarket on a reported Novo Nordisk weight-loss drug distribution deal; Moderna gained 6.1% after FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad stepped down.

Oil pares gains after G-7 reserve talks emerge

Policy headlines finally checked the oil spike, but energy logistics and inflation pressure still worsened across several channels.• Oil/Policy: Brent fell to about $108 from the $119.50 intraday peak after the FT said G-7 finance ministers will discuss a possible IEA-coordinated reserve release at 8:30 a.m. New York time; three G-7 countries, including the US, reportedly support the idea.• Gulf Supply: Bahrain’s Bapco Energies declared force majeure after the refinery attack, while Saudi Aramco offered roughly 4.6mn barrels through rare prompt tenders outside the Persian Gulf.• Rates/Macro: The global bond selloff deepened, with the US 10-year yield up about 7 bp to 4.2% and traders pushing the next fully priced Fed cut toward September.• Single Stocks: SoftBank shares fell as much as 12.5% and CDS widened on Stargate AI concerns; Live Nation neared a DOJ settlement that avoids a Ticketmaster sale.