MARKET WRAPS
European stocks were down Thursday, extending Wednesday's lower close, as investors awaited the European Central Bank's interest rate decision and considered the aftermath of tit-for-tat strikes on key energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
Approaching midday - the FTSE 100, CAC 40 and the DAX were in negative territory after having started in the red at the opening bell. The Stoxx 600 was around 2% down.
As oil prices surged, stocks across all sectors fell. Miners pulled on the FTSE 100 while real estate and energy shares acted on the DAX. The CAC 40 was dragged by basic materials and consumer-sensitive stocks.
Semiconductor companies edged lower as well joining losses in that sector in Asia.
In contrast, energy stocks including Equinor, BP and TotalEnergies traded higher as fears regarding Middle East energy supplies lifted prices.
Investors also sought to lock in gains, according to AJ Bell Investment, causing defense stocks to fall .
Airline and travel names suffered from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with Air France, Lufthansa and British Airways owner IAG extending losses.
The ECB Thursday is expected to follow the Federal Reserve in holding its interest rate as energy prices edge higher and higher.
Earlier the Swiss National Bank and Sweden's Riksbank held their key rates. So too did the Bank of Japan .
The Bank of England's decision is expected later.
Elsewhere, the U.K.'s unemployment rate remained at its highest level in nearly five years in the three months through January. The unemployment rate was 5.2%.
The U.K.jobs market data signals that the market is stabilizing, Deutsche Bank said, adding however that high energy prices due to the Middle East war could stall any labor market recovery.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament's trade committee voted on Thursday to progress on pieces of legislation that would put tariff-related aspects of the EU-U.S. trade deal into effect.
The committee vote sets the stage for a second parliamentary vote to ratify the agreement.
U.S. Markets:
Futures in New York pointed to a lower open Thursday after fears rising oil prices could increase inflation expectations and hit economic growth weighed on shares in the prior session.
Forex:
The dollar rose against a basket of currencies and alongside Treasury yields, reflecting yet another jump in oil prices.
"We emphasize that rising global energy prices and tighter global financial conditions would both be supportive factors for the broad U.S. dollar," Danske Bank said.
The euro traded steadily against the dollar ahead of the European Central Bank's policy decision where rates are expected to stay on hold.
The Swiss franc was little moved, remaining slightly higher on the day versus the euro, after the Swiss National Bank left interest rates on hold at 0%.
Bonds:
Spain and France will hold scheduled government bond auctions Thursday as markets await the European Central Bank's policy meeting to gauge its reactions to soaring oil prices.
"[ECB President Christine] Lagarde will likely talk tough, but we ultimately expect soft action," Commerzbank said, expecting the ECB to stay on hold.
Yields on U.K. 10-year government bonds climbed to a six and half month high amid inflation concerns.
U.K. government bonds yields rose faster than their eurozone and U.S.
equivalents.
"The higher energy prices climb, the further away the dream of a BOE cut drifts," Swissquote said.
The two-year, 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields rose in Asian trade as Brent crude was above $113 a barrel.
Soaring oil prices accelerated a selloff in Treasurys, particularly short-dated Treasurys.
"Escalating tensions in the Middle East remain a key market force, with continued disruptions to regional energy infrastructure pushing oil prices higher and amplifying inflation concerns," Naga said.
Energy:
Front-month crude futures rose and Phillip Nova said that oil prices could stay elevated for some time.
Threatened strikes on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar could push oil prices past $120 a barrel , according to Rystad Energy.
"If statements from Iran's Tasnim news agency come to fruition, with facilities in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Qatar all hit, at least 700,000 barrels per day of refined product capacity would be removed from global markets overnight, hitting diesel, jet fuel and naphtha supply simultaneously across three countries."
Attacks on key Middle Eastern energy facilities are reshaping how markets asses s the risk profile of liquefied natural gas.
"Over time, higher prices could slow demand growth among some price--sensitive buyers and alter how buyers assess long--term LNG investment decisions," Jefferies said. "The current disruption has removed material volumes and injected uncertainty around the timing of future supply."
Metals:
Gold prices plunged below $4,800 a troy ounce, pressured by a stronger dollar and dimming hopes for further interest-rate cuts in the near term. In early European trading, futures fall 2.9% to $4,755 an ounce
"The rally in oil followed renewed escalation in the Middle East, with markets increasingly pricing the risk of disruptions to energy supplies and shipping routes. "While geopolitical tensions typically support safe-haven demand, the inflationary impact of higher energy costs is weighing on gold," ING said.
Silver and platinum prices tumbled, pressured by a firmer dollar and mounting concerns that high energy prices will fuel inflation.
EMEA HEADLINES
Shell Assesses Attack Damage to Gas-to-Liquids Plant in Qatar's Ras Laffan
British energy major Shell said it was assessing damage at the world's largest gas-to-liquids plant, Pearl GTL, after an attack by Iran on the Ras Laffan Industrial City in Qatar.
Shell said Thursday that the facility was damaged during the attack and that a fire had been extinguished.
Germany's Lanxess Shares Slip as Hopes for Chemicals Revival Prove Muted
Shares in Lanxess slid after the company said it doesn't expect any uptick in its business until at least the second half of the year amid mounting challenges for Europe's chemicals industry.
The German supplier booked an 11% drop in sales last year to 5.67 billion euros ($6.49 billion), it said Thursday. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization fell more sharply, declining 17% to 510 million euros as the profit margin contracted to 9.0% from the 9.6% posted in 2024.
Swiss Watch Sector Posts Uptick in Exports as Geopolitical Upheaval Mounts
Swiss watch exports recorded an increase in February after a lackluster start to the year and ahead of a potential hit from the current geopolitical turmoil.
Total exports of timepieces made in Switzerland rose to 2.2 billion Swiss francs ($2.77 billion) in February, according to figures from the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, or FH, released Thursday. This was 9.2% higher compared with the same period a year earlier and in contrast to the overall trend in total exports of Swiss products, which fell by 2.7% over the month.
BP to Sell German Refinery as Streamlining Efforts Continue
BP agreed to sell its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany to Klesch Group, as the British energy major continues to simplify its portfolio and shore up its balance sheet.
The company didn't disclose the terms or price of the transaction.
GLOBAL NEWS
Why Companies Are Chopping Up Big Bond Deals Into Smaller Pieces
Companies are breaking up some of this year's biggest bond offerings into bite-size pieces for the debt market to digest.
Businesses this year have issued a record amount of debt to fund digital infrastructure, acquisitions and refinancing. To make their jumbo deals palatable to the most possible investors, big companies are splitting up their deals into more pieces than ever before.
Economists Don't See a Recession Unless Oil Hits $138-and Stays There for Weeks
The war on Iran has caused a record disruption to oil supply and sent prices of crude and other commodities sharply higher. Economists still doubt the U.S. is at much risk of a recession.
The consensus of economists surveyed this week by The Wall Street Journal is that inflation will be temporarily higher and growth and unemployment largely the same, assuming the oil shock is temporary.
Resignation of Top Intelligence Official Exposes Bitter MAGA-Influencer Divide
When Joe Kent resigned his post this week as the White House's chief counterterrorism officer over his opposition to President Trump's Iran war he appeared to be out of touch with MAGA world.
But Kent's antipathy for Trump's Iran strikes-for which he blamed Israel and its lobbyists-has chimed with one vital constituency: an isolationist faction of leading influencers and stars of the conservative podcast arena where so much MAGA discourse transpires.
China Hoped Trump Summit Would Cement Its Superpower Status. Now Xi Has to Wait.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping had hoped next month's summit with President Trump would cement China's status as a peer superpower. But the U.S. request to delay it served as a frustrating reminder that Washington still drives the global agenda.
Trump, deciding he needed to stay in Washington to manage the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, asked to bump back the summit, originally scheduled for April 1 in Beijing, by "a month or so." The move signals that U.S. security concerns remain far more important than honoring Beijing's diplomatic calendar or bolstering Trump's personal connection with Xi, an authoritarian whom Trump has said he admires.
The Land-Based Missiles That Are Crucial to America's Air War on Iran
In the opening hours of the war, the U.S. fired ballistic missiles that streaked high over the Persian Gulf and slammed into targets in Iran, the first use of the Army's two-year-old highly accurate missiles in combat.
The attacks with Precision Strike Missiles were followed by more barrages, including from so-called Atacms missiles, that have hit and sunk Iranian navy vessels and a submarine in port, said Air Force Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, who said last week that the missile attacks have "made history." Iran has accused the U.S. of using ground-based missiles to hit Kharg Island, its offshore oil-processing facility.
Russia's Shadow-Fleet Kingpin Is Back in Business
Etibar Eyyub is back in business.
Moscow's shadow-fleet kingpin and premier oil trader was reeling until President Trump attacked Iran. Eyyub's tankers had been boarded by French soldiers and attacked by Ukrainian drones.
Write to pierre.bertrand@wsj.com
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 19, 2026 06:58 ET (10:58 GMT)
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