Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 12, 2026, 12:30 AM ET
Public Markets
Energy &Commodities
Oil futures dropped 1.3% wsj.com in early Asian trade after OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340 bloomberg.com as a weakening dollar offset risk-on sentiment. A surge in aluminum prices bloomberg.com pushed China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo past the $48 billion mark, cementing his position among Asia's wealthiest industrialists. Meanwhile, oil risks rising to never-before-seen levels wsj.com as analysts warn the Middle East conflict's disruption might last months instead of weeks, and Asian currencies weakened slightly against the dollar wsj.com amid rising oil prices. The Iran war's impact nytimes.com is reshaping energy dependencies, with U.S. Treasury yields mostly falling wsj.com but ultra-long yields edging higher on potential renewed geopolitical escalation.
Fixed Income
Japanese government bonds extended gains bloomberg.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies as traders increasingly price in a September Fed rate cut. Conversely, U.S. airline bonds weakened bloomberg.com after jet fuel costs spiked 8% on Middle East supply fears, and Chicago's planned muni bond sale wsj.com is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. The Iran war darkens the outlook for UK house prices ft.com, surging energy costs changing expectations for interest rate cuts, while Asian buyers of liquefied natural gas hunker down for the war lasting months bloomberg.com, facing potential tighter supply from the disrupted Middle East. Private credit funds face redemption pressure, with Morgan Stanley capping redemptions ft.com from one fund after a wave of demands, and Ares Management Corp. held a town hall bloomberg.com to reassure employees amid market volatility.
Equities & Markets
A surge in aluminum prices bloomberg.com also impacted equity markets, propelling China Hongqiao's Zhang Bo to a $48 billion fortune. The Iran war jitters keep Asian stocks poised to open lower bloomberg.com, extending volatile trading after a coordinated oil reserve release failed to stem the oil rally. Hedge funds loaded up on Aussie call options bloomberg.com betting on the Australian dollar before the RBA decision, while Australian pension funds raised FX hedges bloomberg.com amid the local dollar's biggest annual surge in five years. The AI threat forces Atlassian to cut 10% of its workforce ft.com, joining other tech firms adapting, and Blackstone arranged a $1.2 billion credit facility bloomberg.com for Air Trunk's expansion into Japanese data centers. The public markets are bracing for a deluge of SPAC IPOs bloomberg.com, with buyers joining special purpose vehicles to gain exposure to hot companies pre-IPO, though some funds may not actually own shares.