GoAI Market Wrap - 10th Mar

Stock Market

U.S. equities closed significantly higher on Monday as market sentiment received a substantial boost from President Trump’s declaration that the war is "essentially over." The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the rally, surging more than 1%.

 

By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.50% to 47,740.80; the S&P 500 climbed 0.83% to 6,795.99; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.38% to 22,695.95.

 

In an interview with CBS News White House correspondents on Monday, Trump stated: "This war is essentially over, just about." He added that the U.S. is "far ahead" of the initial four-to-five-week timeline he had proposed. Furthermore, he noted that the U.S. is "considering taking over the Strait of Hormuz" and that there are "many actions" the administration could take.

 

Following these reports, Brent crude plummeted toward $84 per barrel. This followed an overnight session where oil prices breached the $100 mark and briefly spiked above $119—the first time prices have exceeded that level since 2022.

 

Wall Street views $100-per-barrel oil as a critical economic tipping point, warning of severe repercussions unless hostilities end swiftly and prices retreat. John Luke Tyner, Portfolio Manager and Head of Fixed Income at Aptus Capital Advisors, noted: "It looks like things are moving in a much better direction."

 

Commenting on the recent volatility, Tyner added: "I don't think this spike was severe enough or lasted long enough to truly disrupt economic growth and corporate earnings. Unless there is massive destruction of energy infrastructure, oil is likely to retreat soon and stabilize between $65 and $75—a relatively ideal equilibrium for all parties."

Global Markets

Trump to Lift Sanctions to Cool Oil Prices

 

President Trump announced during a Monday press briefing that he would lift certain oil-related sanctions to stabilize markets following volatility caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. He stated that the conflict in Iran would end "soon," though "not this week."

 

G7 Prepared to Tap Reserves

 

G7 Finance Ministers issued a statement on March 9 affirming their readiness to take necessary measures, including the release of strategic reserves, to support global energy supplies. The group discussed the Middle East conflict with heads of the IMF, World Bank, OECD, and IEA, pledging to maintain close coordination.

 

EU Prepared for Strategic Reserve Release

 

Following a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, President Kyriakos Pierrakakis noted that the bloc is closely monitoring upward pressure on energy prices and is coordinating potential measures among member states.

Corporate News

Novo Nordisk Settles with Hims & Hers

 

Novo Nordisk will drop its lawsuit against Hims & Hers and begin selling its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy (including the oral version) via the Hims platform.

 

In exchange, Hims will cease advertising its compounded versions as direct generics, though it will continue selling compounded formulations when medically necessary.

 

Anthropic Sues DoD over "Supply Chain Risk" Label

 

Anthropic has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense challenging the Trump administration's decision to designate the firm as a "supply chain risk." The company argues the classification lacks legal merit and disrupts its business with defense contractors.

Forex & Commodities

International oil prices tumbled on March 9.

 

WTI Crude: Settled down $5.82 (6.40%) at $85.08 per barrel.

 

COMEX Gold futures fell 0.19% to $5,148.70/oz; Spot Gold dropped 0.66% to $5,136.81/oz.

 

COMEX Silver futures surged 3.60% to $87.345/oz; Spot Silver gained 3.07% to $86.96/oz.

Key Events

G7 Holds on SPR Release

 

A G7 official stated Monday that Finance Ministers reached a consensus to temporarily withhold the release of Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR), pending further assessment of the market impact following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto markets saw broad-based gains over the last 24 hours.

 

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $69,083.55 (+4.20%), while Ethereum (ETH) rose 3.39% to $2,013.59.

 

Notable performances included Solana (SOL) at $85.58 (+3.83%) and BNB at $639.19 (+3.77%).

Key Events

MicroStrategy ($MSTR) Acquires $1.2B in BTC

 

The largest corporate holder of Bitcoin continues to double down.

 

Regulatory filings show MicroStrategy purchased 17,994 BTC between March 2 and March 8 for approximately $1.28 billion (average price: $70,946).

 

The company’s total holdings now stand at 738,731 BTC with an aggregate average cost of $75,862 per coin.