Wed 4 Mar: After the Bell🔒
Stocks Rise Despite Escalating Middle East Conflict; Rate-Cut Bets Fade:
ℹ️Today’s Performance tables.
Good evening,
Equities rebounded on Wednesday as risk appetite improved amid reports that Iran may have indirectly signalled openness to talks, lifting US and European stocks (not Asia) despite ongoing volatility. However, officials remain sceptical, oil prices stayed elevated, and markets trimmed expectations for a June Fed rate cut (to a 33% prob) as inflation risks resurfaced.
Meanwhile, the Middle East conflict continued to escalate on the ground, with fresh strikes, Iran’s naval losses in the Indian Ocean, and the Strait of Hormuz blockage trapping around a fifth of global oil and LNG supply, keeping geopolitics firmly at the centre of the market narrative.
Korea’s KOSPI index (-12%) underperformed sharply as the oil shock hit a major energy-importing economy, triggering heavy foreign selling and forced unwinds in large tech names, amplifying losses well beyond other markets.
Bitcoin jumped 8% today to a four-week high, boosted by news that Kraken Financial, Kraken Exchange’s banking arm, became the first crypto bank granted a Fed “master account,” giving direct access to Fedwire for payment settlements. This milestone signals growing integration of digital assets into the US financial system.
After the close, Broadcom’s quarterly revenue guidance topped estimates, with the stock trading sideways in after-hours.
Economics: → The Fed’s Beige Book showed a mixed US economic picture in February, with modest growth in seven districts offset by flat or declining activity in five, as hiring remained stagnant and tariffs raised business costs. Consumer spending edged up slightly, but uncertainty, price sensitivity, and winter storms restrained retail activity.
