2026-03-03 22:05
publication
2026-03-03 22:05
Tuesday's session on the New York stock exchanges brought only mild declines in the main indexes, although the very beginning of trading brought quite a deep regression. Investors could be reassured by the announcement of the US president, who expressed readiness to convoy ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P500 index ended the day at 6,816.63 points, which meant a loss of 0.94%. Not as bad as it was feared at the beginning of trading on the spot market. At the worst moment of the day, the S&P500 lost almost 2.5%, and stock exchanges in Europe fell by 3-4%. In this context, losing less than 1% almost sounds like a bullish session.
The Nasdaq Composite went down by 1.02%, although at times it fell by almost 3%. The Dow Jones, after losing 0.83%, reached 48,401.27 points, making up for almost a thousand points from Tuesday's minimum.
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The main focus of the markets was, of course, the economic consequences of the US-Israeli attack on Iran. The main concern was whether tankers carrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf countries would be able to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian authorities announced a blockade of this water area and attacked the Athe Nova tanker. Hence, there was a visible panic on the fuel markets, where at times the price of diesel oil increased by 15% and gasoline by over 6%.
Later, however, the market stress subsided somewhat. Perhaps President Donald Trump's declaration contributed to this. The US leader wrote on his social media profile that: The U.S. government will provide insurance for ships wishing to cross the Strait of Hormuz. And that the US Navy will escort tankers if necessary to ensure “the free flow of energy for the world.” It sounded like we were in the North Atlantic in the spring of '42.
– Effective IMMEDIATELY, I have directed the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to make available at a very reasonable cost political risk insurance and financial security guarantees for ALL maritime, and primarily energy, trade that passes through the Strait. This will be available to all shipping lines, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
– Although little has changed since yesterday in terms of fundamentals, investors are increasingly concerned about the duration of this war and its impact on energy prices, Joseph Tanious, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust Asset Management, told RESuters.
Looking at the market by sector, two industries were hit the hardest. First, the shares of semiconductor producers fell. AMD's stock dropped by 3.9%, Intel's by 5.3%, and SanDisk's by as much as 8.7%. For the record, let us add that the Korean KOSPI index, which is overweight in technology companies, dropped by as much as 7.2% after information about plans to transfer part of American air defense to the Middle East. The second victim was industrial companies. Caterpillar's stock dropped by 3.9%, Applied Materials' stock dropped by 5.6%, and Eaton Corp.'s stock dropped. discounted by 5.8%.
There was a significant weakening of the euro in relation to the dollar on the currency market. It is no secret that Europe, dependent on overseas energy supplies, is most sensitive to the effects of the war in the Middle East. It may be quite surprising that gold has been significantly overvalued. Prices of the royal metal fell by 3.5% after hitting their highest level since the January crash on Monday. The prices of silver, palladium and platinum also dropped by several percent.
K.K
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