Public Markets 3h Briefing
×Last updated: March 13, 2026, 9:31 AM ET
Energy & Geopolitical Markets
Oil prices hovered near $100 bloomberg.com per barrel as the conflict in Iran continued to disrupt global energy supplies, while European bond yields wsj.com rose to multimonth highs amid growing uncertainty over Middle Eastern developments. The strait of Hormuz bloomberg.com remained effectively closed with no confirmed transits in either direction over the past 24 hours, causing India's neighbors to seek additional fuel bloomberg.com from New Delhi and leading to long queues at LPG dealers across the country bloomberg.com. Meanwhile, Canadian drivers lost their reprieve bloomberg.com from lower gasoline prices as the Iran war ended their nearly yearlong benefit from the elimination of the country's consumer carbon tax.
Central Banking & Fixed Income
The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge increased 2.8% nytimes.com annually in January before Iran hostilities added further price pressures, causing economists to push back expectations for the next Fed rate cut to June from March while still projecting two quarter-point reductions by year-end bloomberg.com. Bank of America's Michael Hartnett warned markets bloomberg.com are beginning to resemble the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis as oil price spikes and growing concerns around private credit create turbulent conditions. In corporate credit markets, BNP Paribas tested investor appetite bloomberg.com for a significant risk transfer tied to about €2.5 billion ($2.9 of corporate loans, while investors hoarded AT1 bonds bloomberg.com to avoid missing out on acquiring the instruments again.
Equities & Corporate Activity
S&P 500 Index futures rose 0.4% bloomberg.com in premarket trading as investors assessed the impact of Middle Eastern tensions on global markets, while shares of energy companies treaded water bloomberg.com despite crude's rally, suggesting investors anticipate oil prices will soon subside. The French defense contractor Exail Technologies SA rallied strongly bloomberg.com in the past two weeks as Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz thrust its mine-destroying drones into the spotlight, and China's BYD took on premium brands ft.com Porsche and BMW with its 5-minute "flash charging" technology for electric vehicles. In India, the Raajmarg Infra Investment Trust drew strong demand bloomberg.com with its 60 billion rupees ($649 IPO being subscribed four times on the final day of bidding, signaling resilient appetite for yield-focused infrastructure assets.