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March 6, 2026 – 10:21
(Bloomberg) — US stocks slid alongside modest moves in oil and the dollar as traders continued to assess energy markets amid a fresh barrage of military strikes across the Middle East. Bonds extended their slump.
Futures for the S&P 500 were 0.2% lower after a week of sharp swings in which investors repeatedly recalibrated their outlook on the duration and impact of the US-Israeli war against Iran. Ten-year Treasury yields climbed two basis points to 4.16%, on course for the biggest weekly climb in nearly a year ahead of February’s payrolls report.
Brent crude erased losses as data showed maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz had ground to a near-complete halt. Oil initially pared part of its 18% advance from the first four days of the week as US officials looked to tame the spike in energy costs. The dollar was little changed.
The increase in oil prices has raised fears of a renewed inflation spike, prompting investors to dial down bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. The employment report due Friday is expected to show hiring moderated last month after a strong reading in January, and unemployment held steady.
Traders are expecting that a stronger-than-expected jobs report will buoy equities, even though a weaker print would give the Fed more reason to consider rate cuts. The logic is that robust data would reinforce the view that the economy can avoid stagflation despite rising energy prices.
“The market would likely interpret robust job creation as evidence that the US economy remains on solid footing,” said Florian Ielpo, head of macro research at Lombard Odier Investment Managers. “This would accelerate the current rapid return to US equities and further fuel the reverse rotation we’ve observed over the past two weeks.”
European shares headed for their worst weekly decline since April. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2%, but remained on course for a drop of more than 4% this week.
Corporate Highlights:
Oracle Corp. is planning to ax thousands of jobs among its moves to handle a cash crunch from a massive AI data center expansion effort. Marvell Technology shares are up 10% in extended trading after the chipmaker’s first-quarter outlook was stronger than expected. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed as of 9:18 a.m. London time S&P 500 futures fell 0.2% Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2% Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were unchanged The MSCI Asia Pacific Index was little changed The MSCI Emerging Markets Index was little changed Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1588 The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 157.82 per dollar The offshore yuan rose 0.1% to 6.9090 per dollar The British pound was little changed at $1.3346 Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $70,508.85 Ether fell 1% to $2,060.18 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.16% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.87% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 4.60% Commodities
Brent crude was little changed Spot gold rose 0.4% to $5,101.01 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Jan-Patrick Barnert.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.