2026-03-16 21:05
publication
2026-03-16 21:05
Monday's session on Wall Street brought a recovery after the declines in the first half of March. The S&P 500 rebounded from its lowest levels since November, driven by the AI sector. In the background there was the war in the Middle East, pushing oil prices to approximately one hundred dollars per barrel.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended Monday at 46,946.41 points, which meant an increase of 0.83% compared to Friday's close. The S&P500 index went up by 1.01% and ended the day at 6,699.38 points. This happened after two weeks of decline, during which the S&P500 lost 1.6% and almost 3%, respectively. It was also a rebound from the lowest level since November.
The Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.22%, reaching 22,374.18 points. The VIX volatility index dropped by almost 12%, dropping below 24 points.
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As in the previous two weeks, the situation in the Middle East was in the spotlight on Wall Street on Monday. Over the weekend, the US military bombed the Iranian island of Khark, hitting military targets but sparing oil infrastructure. The Strait of Hormuz remains closed to shipping, which initially pushed crude oil prices to USD 106 per barrel on Monday morning, but later Brent prices dropped to approximately USD 100 per barrel. Meanwhile, Texas WTI crude oil was depreciated by over 6%, to just over USD 92 per barrel.
– We have received news that Iranian tankers are passing – or will pass – through the Strait of Hormuz, which is good news from the point of view of global economic stability. But in general, there is no shortage of prospects for ending this conflict, Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at US Bank Wealth Management, told Reuters.
The best performers in the market looking for an excuse to rebound were shares of technology giants. Mata's stock rose by more than 2% after Reuters reported that the Facebook owner intends to lay off 20% of its staff to find money to invest in AI. Nvidia's shares increased by 1.7%, while the shares of Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft gained approximately 1%.
The March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will begin on Tuesday. Investors are 99% confident that the FOMC will not change interest rates. The next cut in the federal funds rate is not expected until September or October at the earliest. In general, the futures market does not fully price in even a single 25-point rate cut by the Fed by the end of 2026. Therefore, it is no longer a factor supporting the valuation of stocks and bonds in the US.
In the macroeconomic area, not the best data from industry was recorded. February industrial production in the US moved up by only 0.2% m/m (and 1.4% y/y) after an increase of 0.7% m/m in January. In turn, the March reading of the NY Empire State indexes measuring the economic situation in the New York industrial district saw a decline from 7.1 points. to -0.2 points This is an unpleasant surprise, because the market consensus assumed a decline only to 3.2 points.
K.K
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