Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Market Reactions and Volatility
The S&P 500 wsj.com dropped 0.4% in premarket trading as uncertainty over American trade policy clouds sentiment. Trade-related stocks bloomberg.com including retailers, industrials and autos spiked Friday after the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs. Hedge funds bloomberg.com sold the most global equities since April, reaching the fastest pace since the tariff meltdown of early April 2025, according to traders on Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s Prime Services Desk.
Corporate Developments
Abbott Laboratories bloomberg.com is selling corporate bonds in as many as eight parts to help fund its around $21 billion acquisition of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences Corp. Generate Biomedicines Inc. bloomberg.com, a biotechnology firm using artificial intelligence in drug development, is seeking to raise as much as $425 million in an initial public offering. Cosan SA bloomberg.com, the Brazilian conglomerate, said it is mulling a share sale of its gas and energy business unit as the group seeks to reduce its debt burden.
Energy Markets
US natural gas futures bloomberg.com rose slightly Monday as traders factored in a blizzard slamming into the Northeast pushing up demand for the heating and power-plant fuel. US natural gas futures wsj.com rose as a cold shot brought freezing temperatures and snow to the Northeast. West African crude traders bloomberg.com are being forced into offering deep discounts by soaring freight costs and an unfavorable price spread that is eroding Asian buyers' appetite for the region's cargoes.
Tech and AI
Nvidia stock finance.yahoo.com hit a bizarre valuation level amid ongoing market volatility. Google investing.com was upgraded as Wells Fargo cited widening AI capacity lead. Cybersecurity stocks investing.com dropped as Anthropic launched Claude Code Security tool. AI startups wsj.com are using AI tools to keep their staff as small as possible, but some are discovering that becoming too lean carries risks.
Macroeconomic Policy
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller bloomberg.com said his decision on whether to support an interest-rate cut at the US central bank's next policy meeting on March 17-18 will depend on upcoming labor-market data. Waller bloomberg.com said his decision on whether to support an interest-rate cut will hinge on upcoming labor-market data. Citi investing.com remains bullish on stocks amid strong Q4 results, while JPMorgan's Misra bloomberg.com says the market is at a plateau of uncertainty on tariffs.
International Markets
The Swiss franc bloomberg.com could surge as much as 17% to the dollar amid growing confidence in the currency's haven status in the face of US policy uncertainty, according to Morgan Stanley strategists. Institutional investors bloomberg.com have turned long the Australian dollar for the first time in more than a year, driven by the combination of a hawkish Reserve Bank and weak greenback. Countries hit hardest by Trump's tariffs bloomberg.com emerged as the biggest winners from the Supreme Court's decision to strike down his emergency economic powers.
Legal and Regulatory
The US Supreme Court bloomberg.com agreed to hear an appeal by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Suncor Energy Inc. in an industry bid to stop dozens of city and state lawsuits that blame oil companies for climate change. The Supreme Court struck down large swathes of Trump's tariff regime, triggering market volatility. The European Union bloomberg.com is poised to halt the ratification process of its trade deal with the US as it awaits more details on the new tariff program from President Donald Trump's administration.
Weather Impact
A powerful winter storm bloomberg.com has cut off New York City, grounding thousands of flights, as 41 million people along the US East Coast brace for blizzard conditions. Thousands are without power and 10,000 flights have been canceled as the storm rips up the US East coast. Parts of New York City bloomberg.com got up to 28 inches of snow during this blizzard, but most of the transit system is up and running with reduced schedules.
Private Markets
Blue Owl's bloomberg.com woes cloud the outlook for private credit as opaque assets become a tougher sell when investors can't pull their cash out. Boaz Weinstein wsj.com is hunting Blue Owl's funds, adding private credit to his crusade against funds sold to individual investors. BlackRock bloomberg.com active equity veteran Belinda Boa is leaving the firm after over 25 years.