Daily Market Report – March 24, 2026

Today's trading was a day of sobering reality after the brief relaxation fantasy from Monday. The trigger was the open contradiction between Washington and Tehran: Donald Trump had spoken of a possible "complete and total resolution," but Iran denied direct negotiations on Tuesday and hardened its negotiating position. This abruptly brought back the geopolitical risk premium.

Brent (TVC:UKOIL) rose back above $100 per barrel during the day. The Dax (XETR:DAX) closed nearly unchanged at 22,637 points. The European Stoxx 600 (INDEX:STOXX) ended a erratic session slightly in the plus, while in the USA, the Dow Jones (DJ:DJI) and the S&P 500 (SP:SPX) saw slight increases. In the USA, the largest growth stocks were under moderate pressure; the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:IXIC) declined slightly.

The Dollar Index (TVC:DXY) increased to 99.36 points, as the rise in oil prices also lowered expectations that the Federal Reserve would ease soon. The yield on two-year US Treasury bonds rose to 3.91%, while that of ten-year Treasuries (TVC:US10Y) reached around 4.37%. Gold (TVC:GOLD) stabilized at around $4,409 per ounce but remained under pressure as rising yields made the non-yielding precious metal less attractive.

The US Purchasing Managers' Index for the overall economy fell to 51.4 points, marking the lowest level in eleven months. The economy in the Eurozone also noticeably cooled; the Composite PMI dropped to 50.5, which some market participants interpreted as an early warning of stagflation.

There was no broad-based sell-off of mega-caps today, but there was a clear rotation: energy and financial stocks supported the market, while technology and communication services weighed on it. SAP (XETR:SAP) declined by around 4% after a downgrade by J.P. Morgan.