Public Markets 3h Briefing
×Market Turmoil
US stocks bloomberg.com plunged Friday as Middle East conflict and a surprise jobs decline sent investors fleeing. BMO investing.com upgraded Okta on demand for AI identity security, while BofA investing.com boosted Ciena on cloud data center spending. Marvell investing.com received a Buy rating as outlook signals growth re-acceleration.
Economic Data Shock
US nonfarm payrolls investing.com unexpectedly fell in February, defying expectations. US retail sales wsj.com sagged in January, extending a tepid trend since late last year. The disappointing jobs report undermined the benign outlook bloomberg.com, according to BlackRock's Rosenberg, while bond traders bloomberg.com boosted bets on Fed cuts this year.
Energy Crisis
Kuwait investing.com cut oil output as storage fills up amid Middle East tensions. Qatar bloomberg.com loaded its first LNG cargo since force majeure. US aluminum buyers bloomberg.com hunt for alternatives as Iran war upends global supply. The IEA bloomberg.com sees no need yet to tap oil stockpiles amid Mideast crisis.
Corporate Moves
Servier wsj.com will buy Day One for $2.5 billion, expanding its oncology portfolio. Blue Owl bloomberg.com has £36 million exposure to a collapsed UK lender. BlackRock ft.com limited redemptions at private credit fund as outflows swelled. CoreWeave investing.com is building a 'gigawatt-sized engine for an AI future,' says Oppenheimer.
Policy & Politics
Trump investing.com demands no Iran deal except unconditional surrender. Western Alliance wsj.com sued Jefferies over loans linked to First Brands. Fed's Waller bloomberg.com says Iran war 'unlikely to cause sustained inflation.' Colombia bloomberg.com faces risks of being seduced by populists, warns presidential candidate Roy Barreras.
Tech Sector
Anthropic finance.yahoo.com says it will fight Pentagon's 'supply chain risk' label. Nvidia stopped H200 chip production. Hargreaves Lansdown ft.com postponed fee rises for some customers after wealthier clients switched to rivals. Regeneron investing.com profits from Dupixent are underpriced, says Barclays.
Market Sentiment
BlackRock's Rick Rieder bloomberg.com says US economy is 'doing fine' despite recent volatility. BP wsj.com asks shareholders to vote against calls for more disclosures. Dow stock investing.com jumped 4.5% on JPMorgan upgrade amid oil surge. Citi investing.com upgraded Holcim, seeing 19% upside after ETS-driven selloff.
Regional Banking
Western Alliance ft.com filed a lawsuit against Jefferies Financial Group in New York state court. The regional lender was informed that $126.4 million in forbearance payments would not be made. This follows Century Capital Partners bloomberg.com, a London-based property lender that filed for administration last month.