Tuesday, March tenth, 2026
With assurances that the struggle in Iran might be a short-lived “tour,” oil costs yesterday pulled again from their highest ranges in nearly 20 years — the primary drop in oil costs because the U.S. and Israel initiated their assaults on Iran every week and a half in the past. This helped moved markets ahead to begin the brand new buying and selling week: +0.50% on the blue-chip Dow, +1.38% on the S&P 500 and +0.38% on the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
We started early-morning buying and selling in first rate form at present, as effectively, however this has turned again down into the purple at this hour: -0.32% on the Dow, -0.28% on the S&P 500, -0.15% on the Nasdaq and -0.64% on the small-cap Russell 2000. Oil costs are additionally larger than the place they have been within the early buying and selling hours, however nonetheless -4% on the WTI and -5% on Brent crude — to $90.75 per barrel (/bbl) and $93.64/bbl, respectively.
Early Monday, we noticed these oil costs elevated as excessive as $119/bbl, which was past the heights we noticed within the months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 4 years in the past. We’d have to return to the primary half of 2008, once we noticed oil costs up as excessive as $147/bbl, previous to the monetary collapse within the second half of that yr.
Retail Numbers Wholesome for February…
The Nationwide Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail commerce affiliation, launched its month-to-month numbers on this morning’s NRF Retail Monitor for February. On each headline and core (which subtracts restaurant checks, autos and gasoline from their tally), we noticed progress of +0.3%, 10 foundation factors (bps) larger month over month.
12 months over yr, +6.2% on headline and +5.9% on core adopted the +5.7% and +5.5%, respectively from the January NRF report. This was led by Digital Merchandise +1.0% final month, adopted by Clothes & Equipment +0.7% and Well being/Private Care +0.5%. Solely Residence Furnishings got here in detrimental for February: -0.3%.
…however Optimism Dips
Early this morning, the NFIB Small-Enterprise Optimism Index got here up barely wanting estimates for February: 98.8 versus 99.5 anticipated, and decrease for the second-straight month: 99.3 and 99.5 beforehand. Usually, we’ve been rangebound between 98 and 100 — we moved barely above this threshold final summer time and hit a near-term low 95.8 final April, throughout “Liberation Day” tariff initiatives.
What to Anticipate from Right this moment’s Inventory Market
Once more, we’ll hold an in depth eye on what’s occurring in Iran at present, significantly the Strait of Hormuz, which usually brings 20 million barrels of oil by means of it per day however now not does. Will the narrative on the U.S. targets for Iran change once more? It’s value maintaining eyes and ears open. Notes from the Pentagon this morning is that the heaviest bombing on the Center Japanese nation comes at present.
Present Residence Gross sales for February are anticipated to drag again barely to three.86 million seasonally adjusted, annualized items from the earlier stage of three.91 million, which was the weakest month for present residence gross sales in a yr and a half. We’d have to return to October of 2023 to discover a decrease headline quantity than what’s forecast for final month.
Oracle ORCL stories fiscal Q3 earnings outcomes after at present’s shut. Expectations are for double-digit progress on each prime and backside strains, and the tech large appears for its third earnings beat previously 4 quarters. Shares are up +1% this morning forward of the print, however -21% yr up to now.
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