Public Markets 3h Briefing
×Last updated: March 12, 2026, 12:32 AM ET
Energy& Commodities
Oil futures slipped 1.3% wsj.com in early Asian trade as OPEC+ signaled potential output increases, while gold held near $2,340/oz nytimes.com despite a weakening dollar. 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. Asian buyers of liquefied natural gas prepared for prolonged Middle East disruption bloomberg.com, as a key export plant outage threatened tighter supply bloomberg.com, prompting insurers to pause Gulf lending bloomberg.com amid escalating war risks. Meanwhile, Oman evacuated all vessels bloomberg.com from its key oil terminal at Mina Al Fahal as a precautionary measure.
Fixed Income
Japanese government bonds extended gains bloomberg.com tracking overnight Treasury rallies, as traders increasingly priced 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 bloomberg.com is testing investor appetite amid geopolitical uncertainty. Singapore's biggest 2026 IPO raised $764 million bloomberg.com for UI Boustead REIT, while Allianz and Sun Life weighed bids bloomberg.com for HSBC Singapore's insurance unit following the bank's strategic review.