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March 20, 2026 – 09:38

(Bloomberg) — US stocks swung between small gains and losses as oil prices steadied in cautious trading, with sentiment sensitive to escalation in the war in the Middle East.

Futures for the S&P 500 advanced 0.1%. European equities recovered 0.9% from Thursday’s slump. Brent fell 1% toward $107 a barrel. UK gilts held steady after the previous session’s selloff, while their European counterparts staged a measured rebound. Treasury yields rose across the curve.

Traders are parsing every geopolitical headline after the conflict upended energy supply chains, causing a surge in the prices of gasoline and jet fuel. Central banks across the world have warned about the inflationary risk, which prompted traders to ramp up bets on tighter monetary policy.

“Investor sentiment has clearly shifted into a more bearish positioning,” David Kruk, head of trading at La Financiere de l’Echiquier in Paris. “That being said, the market is now at a level at which it could strongly rebound, should a path to the end of the conflict be found.”

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the nation will no longer target energy infrastructure, and added that the war will end a lot faster than people think as Iran is no longer able to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles. US President Donald Trump told reporters he’s “not putting troops anywhere” when asked about the deployment of ground forces.

Still, Kuwait on Friday shut down several units at the Al Ahmadi Refinery after multiple drone attacks caused a fire, according to state-run Kuna. Bahrain said it extinguished a fire in a company warehouse caused by Iranian attacks.

“Both US and Israel and some other countries are trying to manage risks as war’s impact via energy is broadening,” said Anna Wu, a cross asset strategist at Van Eck Associates Corp. in Sydney. “The narrative from the US side looks slightly more promising, but the consensus changes by the day.”

As the war reduces prospects for a US interest-rate cut in the near term, gold is heading for the biggest weekly loss in six years. The precious metal — widely viewed as a haven — has dropped every week since the US and Israel attacked Iran last month.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.9% as of 8:36 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.3% The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 0.2% Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.1% to $1.1574 The Japanese yen fell 0.4% to 158.40 per dollar The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.8843 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3430 Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 0.9% to $71,138.85 Ether rose 0.8% to $2,164.66 Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.28% Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.94% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced one basis point to 4.85% Commodities

Brent crude fell 1% to $107.60 a barrel Spot gold rose 1.2% to $4,707.27 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

–With assistance from Shikhar Balwani.

©2026 Bloomberg L.P.