Markets slide as geopolitical tensions and related energy price shocks drive broad risk-off moves.
This week @ 3:36pm – Friday 6th March – London.
Markets:
- FTSE 100 fell 5.94% to 10,262.63, driven by the sharp rise in global energy prices and market risk aversion linked to the Middle East conflict.
- S&P 500 fell 0.70% to 6,830.71, as higher oil prices and renewed inflation concerns outweighed mixed sector performance.
- Nasdaq Composite fell 0.78% to 22,492.52, with tech stocks under pressure amid uncertainty over AI‑related spending.
- Euro Stoxx 50 fell 6.18% to 4,967.23 as European equities sold off sharply due to rising energy costs and geopolitical tensions.
Bonds:
- UK 10-year gilt yield rose to 4.68%, reflecting higher inflation expectations as energy prices surged.
- US 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.16%, driven by concerns that elevated oil prices could keep inflation higher for longer.
Commodities:
- Brent crude rose 25.47% to 91.43, supported by supply disruption fears following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
- Gold fell 2.79% to 5,101.30, moving lower as the stronger US dollar and higher Treasury yields offset safe‑haven demand.
- Copper fell 4.36% to 5.80, reflecting weaker industrial demand expectations.
FX:
- GBP/USD fell 1.19% to 1.3324, as rising geopolitical risks supported the dollar.
- EUR/GBP rose 0.86% to 1.1512, driven by broader sterling weakness.
Macro:
- Eurozone inflation for February rose to 2.8% headline and 2.9% core, keeping the ECB cautious on monetary easing.
- The US ISM Manufacturing Index rose to 52.4, while ISM Services remained resilient, indicating steady underlying activity.
- US nonfarm payrolls fell by 92,000, with unemployment rising to 4.4%. This data matters for future monetary policy because weaker employment reduces pressure on the Federal Reserve to keep rates elevated, but higher energy-driven inflation complicates the outlook.
Companies:
No notable updates from our holdings or target list this week.
What we will be keeping an eye on next week…
w/c 9th March 2026
- US CPI, providing policy makers with the direction of inflation and will help the Federal Reserve with interest rate decisions in the coming months.
- UK GDP, providing indicators on the health of the UK economy helping the Bank of England when setting interest rates at the next meeting.
- Oracle will release its Q3 FY2026 results on 10th March, after the close. The results will provide a crucial indication on broad enterprise IT spending and cloud‑infrastructure demand.
Markets move constantly and the numbers in this update will change. This is a snapshot only, pulled together from a range of sources, and is meant as a quick guide rather than a precise record. It’s not investment advice and shouldn’t be used to make trading or investment decisions. If you need more accurate or specific data over a defined period, please get in touch with a member of the team who will be happy to help.
Important Information
This article is for information only and does not constitute advice or recommendation and you should not make any investment decisions based on it. The views and opinions of this article are those of Casterbridge at the time of writing and may change without notice. Any opinions should not be viewed as indicating any guarantee of return from investments managed by Casterbridge nor as advice of any nature. It is important to remember that past performance and the value of an investment, and any income from it, may go down as well as up and the investor may not get back the original amount invested.