Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Last updated: March 17, 2026, 7:30 PM ET
Geopolitical Tensions Drive Energy Markets
Global energy markets remained highly volatile nytimes.com as Brent crude held above $100 a barrel following escalating attacks by Iran on key infrastructure, while US natural gas futures rose bloomberg.com alongside oil due to persistent fears over disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. Asian refiners are scrambling globally for crude bloomberg.com as shipping through the vital waterway remains near a standstill, forcing nations like South Africa to seek alternative fuel suppliers bloomberg.com to mitigate import risks. The conflict has also caused a dislocation between global benchmarks ft.com and physical supply costs, with Oil in Oman soaring above $150 after the Strait’s closure, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed bloomberg.com the US is currently permitting Iranian oil shipments to continue.
The geopolitical stress is testing energy resilience across continents; in Europe, renewables are cushioning power prices bloomberg.com from fossil-fuel shocks, leading Spain to consider boosting pipeline gas imports from Algeria while warning the EU against suspending ft.com the carbon market to lower costs. Meanwhile, the fallout is impacting other commodities, as a Russian nitrogen fertilizer plant, struck by drones last month, is expected to remain idle bloomberg.com until May, further straining global supply chains already dealing with Middle East disruptions. Further evidence of supply chain strain appears as Alcoa Corp. fielded interest bloomberg.com from buyers seeking aluminum alternatives after production curtailments in the Gulf States.
Fixed Income & Central Banks
Bond traders are scaling back aggressive bets bloomberg.com that previously priced out Federal Reserve interest rate cuts for the year, as policymakers grapple with inflation risks stemming from the Middle East conflict which is sharpening Fed divisions nytimes.com. In Asia, Indonesia’s central bank is widely expected to keep rates steady bloomberg.com to confront pressure on the rupiah caused by war fears and local fiscal concerns, echoing caution seen in Australia, where bond sales have lagged peers since the Iran war began bloomberg.com due to rising local borrowing costs. Fixed income markets are also showing signs of stress elsewhere, with Barclays noting that investors are demanding higher risk premiums for business development company debt, suggesting anxiety over private credit exposure bloomberg.com.
The reopening of the Additional Tier 1 bond market is underway, as HSBC Holdings Plc is selling bloomberg.com the first major-currency AT1 bonds since the conflict began, signaling a cautious return to this riskier credit segment. In contrast to the volatility, Japanese government bonds held steady ahead of a 20-year auction wsj.com of 800 billion yen, while the Eurobond market, valued at €15.3 trillion, debuted its first paperless issuance bloomberg.com.
Equities & Corporate Moves
Asian equities were primed for a positive open bloomberg.com on Wednesday, attempting to look past immediate geopolitical uncertainty following modest gains in US stocks and Treasurys. Wall Street is flashing its strongest buy signal in nearly a year, according to Barclays’ Alex Altmann, suggesting the worst of the recent rout might be over bloomberg.com, though luxury stocks face the most bearish sentiment in years due to the Middle East war delaying a demand rebound, according to UBS. In corporate news, Prudential Plc reported rising new business profit bloomberg.com, driven by growth in China and Hong Kong, prompting the insurer to announce an additional $1.2 billion stock buyback program.
In the tech sector, Microsoft is reshuffling its AI team ft.com as it seeks to catch up on Copilot development, with scientist Mustafa Suleyman shifting his focus entirely to model research, while Nebius secured a five-year deal wsj.com with Meta worth approximately $27 billion to supply AI infrastructure capacity. Meanwhile, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang debuted nytimes.com new AI products at the GTC conference, confirming the company has restarted manufacturing of AI chips for China after receiving American licenses.
Dealmaking & Regulatory Shifts
The regulatory environment is shifting, with the SEC Chairman floating a proposal bloomberg.com to scale corporate disclosure frequency based on firm size, a move that comes as the agency weighs changes to earnings report mandates. In major private equity activity, Redwood Capital is nearing a deal bloomberg.com to take control of the bankrupt Office Properties Income Trust by handing ownership to creditors after months of restructuring. On the M&A front, Walmart-backed PhonePe deferred its India IPO plans bloomberg.com amid geopolitical tensions and a sharp equity market downturn, marking one of the first Indian companies to pull an offering.
In commodities and industry, BHP named Brandon Craig ft.com as its new chief executive, succeeding Mike Henry, while in energy storage, InCommodities inked a A$200 million deal wsj.com with Vena Group for battery storage in Australia, backed by Goldman Sachs. On the auto front, LG Energy Solution confirmed a $4.3 billion investment wsj.com in a Michigan plant to produce battery cells specifically for Tesla’s expanding energy storage division.
Political & Social Developments
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is causing political tremors, exemplified by the death of top Iranian politician Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief bloomberg.com, which followed earlier Israeli airstrikes that targeted key Iranian commanders in what analysts called a limited decapitation strategy nytimes.com. This escalation prompted the resignation of senior Trump official Joe Kent, who cited opposition to the war, stating that pressure from Israel had pushed the president nytimes.com into conflict. While the White House branded the military operation "Epic Fury," Germany and the UK refused ft.com to send vessels to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing calls for wider involvement.
Domestically, political discourse remains charged, with President Trump drawing criticism after stating that Governor Newsom should not be president due to dyslexia nytimes.com, prompting advocates for learning disabilities to speak out. Separately, the entertainment industry faced scrutiny as Oscars viewership slid 9% nytimes.com, marking the first drop since 2021, following similar declines for the Grammys and Golden Globes, while the Academy addressed claims that Teyana Taylor was shoved by outside security nytimes.com.
Tech, Media & Market Structure
The artificial intelligence race continues to draw massive capital commitments, with Meta agreeing to a $27 billion infrastructure pact wsj.com with Nebius over five years to fuel its surging data center needs. Meanwhile, the public markets saw a spectacular debut from Swarmer Inc., an AI drone software company whose shares skyrocketed up to 700% bloomberg.com on Tuesday, marking the best IPO performance since Newsmax Inc. in 2020. However, the software industry faces headwinds, as Morgan Stanley predicts default rates bloomberg.com in direct lending could climb to 8%, partly due to disruptions caused by advances in AI.
In media, the CEO of Wired, Katie Drummond, is favoring nytimes.com aggressive political reporting, transforming the publication under Condé Nast, while Piers Morgan hired a former MSNBC head nytimes.com to build out his independent digital content company focused on "Good TV." In the financial services space, wealth managers are increasingly offering lifestyle management wsj.com—handling travel and shopping—as a means to retain multimillionaire clients.