Daily Market Report – March 13, 2026

Friday on the financial markets was dominated by the escalation in the Iran war. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened further attacks on Iranian targets and even on Iranian energy infrastructure if Tehran continued to jeopardize oil transport in the Persian Gulf. Special attention is focused on the Iranian island of Kharg, through whose terminal around 90% of Iranian crude oil exports are processed; any military threat to this port would therefore have immediate impacts on global oil supply.

At the same time, the new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei adopted an uncompromising tone and announced plans to extend the conflict to further targets. These mutual threats heightened concerns about the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy corridors. Accordingly, the oil market remained extremely tense.

The immediate market reaction was a correction in the stock market. In the U.S., the S&P 500 (SP:SPX) fell by 0.6% to 6,632 points, the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:IXIC) lost 0.9%, and the Dow Jones (DJ:DJI) declined by 0.3%. The Euro Stoxx 50 (INDEX:STOXX50E) and the Stoxx 600 (INDEX:STOXX) were both down by about 0.5–0.6%, while the DAX (XETR:DAX) also closed weaker.

The trigger was primarily the renewed jump in oil prices – Brent (TVC:UKOIL) rose to about $103 per barrel, WTI (TVC:USOIL) to around $98.7. This marked the first time in years that Brent significantly surpassed the $100 mark again, intensifying inflation and interest rate concerns among investors.

The same pattern was reflected in the bond and currency markets. The dollar index (TVC:DXY) increased, while the euro and other major currencies weakened against the dollar. The yield on ten-year U.S. Treasury bonds was around 4.28%, while German Bunds yielded about 2.99%. At the same time, the commodity market remained the central driver: The conflict has already led to significant price jumps and could, according to analysts, massively disrupt global energy flow. The combination of expensive energy, geopolitical risk, and lower expectations for interest rate cuts clearly shaped the market picture on Friday.