Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders says investors can't ignore politics and Washington these days. That's why she says portfolio positioning is so important. She speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)
Charles Schwab Chief Investment Strategist Liz Ann Sonders says investors can't ignore politics and Washington these days. That's why she says portfolio positioning is so important. She speaks on "Bloomberg Surveillance." (Source: Bloomberg)
Douglas Rissing Wall Street's major averages were higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting, with traders widely expecting the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged. The benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was last +0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was +0.8%, and the Dow ( DJI ) was +0.9%. Over in the bond market, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yie...
Douglas Rissing Wall Street's major averages were higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting, with traders widely expecting the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged. The benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was last +0.8%, while the Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was +0.8%, and the Dow ( DJI ) was +0.9%. Over in the bond market, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) was 1 basis point lower at 4.21%, while the 2-year Treasury yield ( US2Y ) rose 1 basis point to 3.68%. “S&P 500 Saint Patrick’s Day is putting a smile on the bulls, as it’s not just one of the greenest days of the year but also historically the strongest for U.S. stocks in March, leaving bears short on luck,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group. The Fed's interest rate decision will be announced on Wednesday. Investors are pricing in more than 99% odds of keeping the interest rates the same at 3.50%-3.75%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. Crude oil futures ( CL1:COM ) have stayed around the same at $94.4, while Brent futures ( CO1:COM ) were at $101.5 per barrel. The Pending Home Sales Index is set for release later today. More on markets U.S.-Iran War: Hidden Risks For Semiconductors Time Is Running Out Since 1941, This Is How The Stock Market Has Behaved In Times Of War And Oil Shocks AI came up on over 65% of S&P 500 Q4 earnings calls S&P weighs rule change that could speed SpaceX entry into S&P 500 after IPO
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Micron Technology ( MU ) shares had edged up 1.5% during early market action on Tuesday after the memory maker confirmed its HBM4 36G 12H had entered high-volume production for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) Vera Rubin. Its HBM4 has 2.3 times the bandwidth and 20% improved power efficiency over the HBM3E. Micron has also already shipped samples of its HBM4 48GB 16H t...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Micron Technology ( MU ) shares had edged up 1.5% during early market action on Tuesday after the memory maker confirmed its HBM4 36G 12H had entered high-volume production for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) Vera Rubin. Its HBM4 has 2.3 times the bandwidth and 20% improved power efficiency over the HBM3E. Micron has also already shipped samples of its HBM4 48GB 16H to customers, which has a 33% increase in capacity per HBM placement compared to the HBM4 36GB 12H offering. Micron has started mass-producing a PCIe Gen6 data center SSD as well. The Micron 9650 is designed for high-speed, low-latency data access for AI training and inference workloads with the Nvidia BlueField-4 STX reference architecture. Micron's 192GB SOCAMM2 has also entered high-volume production for Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 systems and standalone NVIDIA Vera CPU platforms . "The next era of AI will be defined by tightly integrated platforms developed through joint engineering innovations across the ecosystem," said Sumit Sadana , executive vice president and chief business officer at Micron. "Our close collaboration with NVIDIA ensures that compute and memory are designed to scale together from day one." "With HBM4 36GB 12H, alongside the industry's first SOCAMM2 and Gen6 SSD now in high-volume production, Micron's memory and storage form a core foundation that unlocks the full potential of next-generation AI," he added. More on Micron and Nvidia Nvidia's Negative Feedback Loop - GTC Update Nvidia: Why The GTC Skepticism Is A Gift NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Presents at NVIDIA GTC AI Conference 2026 Prepared Remarks Transcript Nvidia’s OpenClaw push marks shift beyond hardware, Kevin Xu says - CNBC interview Nvidia-OpenClaw team up a 'gamechanger'; space data centers can unlock another growth lever: SA analyst
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Micron Technology ( MU ) shares had edged up 1.5% during early market action on Tuesday after the memory maker confirmed its HBM4 36G 12H had entered high-volume production for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) Vera Rubin. Its HBM4 has 2.3 times the bandwidth and 20% improved power efficiency over the HBM3E. Micron has also already shipped samples of its HBM4 48GB 16H t...
JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Micron Technology ( MU ) shares had edged up 1.5% during early market action on Tuesday after the memory maker confirmed its HBM4 36G 12H had entered high-volume production for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) Vera Rubin. Its HBM4 has 2.3 times the bandwidth and 20% improved power efficiency over the HBM3E. Micron has also already shipped samples of its HBM4 48GB 16H to customers, which has a 33% increase in capacity per HBM placement compared to the HBM4 36GB 12H offering. Micron has started mass-producing a PCIe Gen6 data center SSD as well. The Micron 9650 is designed for high-speed, low-latency data access for AI training and inference workloads with the Nvidia BlueField-4 STX reference architecture. Micron's 192GB SOCAMM2 has also entered high-volume production for Nvidia's Vera Rubin NVL72 systems and standalone NVIDIA Vera CPU platforms . "The next era of AI will be defined by tightly integrated platforms developed through joint engineering innovations across the ecosystem," said Sumit Sadana , executive vice president and chief business officer at Micron. "Our close collaboration with NVIDIA ensures that compute and memory are designed to scale together from day one." "With HBM4 36GB 12H, alongside the industry's first SOCAMM2 and Gen6 SSD now in high-volume production, Micron's memory and storage form a core foundation that unlocks the full potential of next-generation AI," he added. More on Micron and Nvidia Nvidia's Negative Feedback Loop - GTC Update Nvidia: Why The GTC Skepticism Is A Gift NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Presents at NVIDIA GTC AI Conference 2026 Prepared Remarks Transcript Nvidia’s OpenClaw push marks shift beyond hardware, Kevin Xu says - CNBC interview Nvidia-OpenClaw team up a 'gamechanger'; space data centers can unlock another growth lever: SA analyst
Leon Neal Elbit Systems ( ESLT ) shares jumped 11% as regular trading opened in New York on Tuesday after the defense contractor reported revenue that topped Wall Street expectations, even as adjusted earnings missed consensus. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 11.3% to $2.15 billion, ahead of the $2.1 billion analyst estimate, while adjusted earnings came in at $3.56 a share, above the year-earlier lev...
Leon Neal Elbit Systems ( ESLT ) shares jumped 11% as regular trading opened in New York on Tuesday after the defense contractor reported revenue that topped Wall Street expectations, even as adjusted earnings missed consensus. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 11.3% to $2.15 billion, ahead of the $2.1 billion analyst estimate, while adjusted earnings came in at $3.56 a share, above the year-earlier level and the $3.14 consensus figure cited by Wall Street. Margins improve as demand stays strong Among its business units, Elbit ( ESLT ) reported stronger sales in C4I and Cyber, ISTAR and EW, and Land systems. GAAP operating income climbed to $192.5 million from $141.4 million, while gross profit increased to $529.8 million from $465.2 million. Net income rose to $168.2 million, or $3.52 a share, from $90.0 million, or $2.00 a share. Full-year results show broader expansion For full-year 2025, Elbit ( ESLT ) reported revenue of $7.94 billion, up 16.3% from $6.83 billion in 2024. GAAP net income attributable to shareholders rose to $534.3 million, or $11.39 a share, from $321.1 million, or $7.18 a share, while non-GAAP net income increased to $598.0 million, or $12.75 a share. The company ended the year with an order backlog of $28.1 billion, up from $22.6 billion a year earlier. CEO points to growth and backlog gains In the earnings release, President and Chief Executive Bezhalel Machlis said, “The company is reporting excellent financial results.” He added that revenue grew 16% in 2025 and backlog expanded by $5.5 billion to more than $28 billion. Cash flow and dividend add to the picture Elbit ( ESLT ) also reported net cash from operating activities of $778.4 million for 2025, up from $534.6 million a year earlier, and said its board declared a dividend of $1.00 a share, payable on April 27 to shareholders of record on April 13. Conflict-driven demand remains a key factor Elbit ( ESLT ) said demand from the Israel Ministry of Defense has remained materially above pre-war...
US natural gas futures rose along with oil, which continues to climb on concerns over a prolonged disruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Those worries, which do not fundamentally affect the short-term US gas market, outweighed a small decrease in expected heating demand over the next two weeks. Oil futures have exerted a strong influence on US gas futures since the war broke o...
US natural gas futures rose along with oil, which continues to climb on concerns over a prolonged disruption to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Those worries, which do not fundamentally affect the short-term US gas market, outweighed a small decrease in expected heating demand over the next two weeks. Oil futures have exerted a strong influence on US gas futures since the war broke out in Iran last month. The gains in US gas futures represent “a continued sympathy rally with crude,” especially after a large gas field in the United Arab Emirates was struck by a drone, Dennis Kissler , senior vice president for trading at BOK Financial Securities Inc., said in a Tuesday note to clients. Futures for April delivery +6.3c, or +2.1%, to $3.086/mmbtu on Nymex, as of 9:37am ET Weather: Forecasts shifted slightly warmer, with above-average temperatures expected across the western half of the US through March 26: Commodity Weather Group See WHUT for a map of latest 6-10 day weather forecast: NOAA Click here for two-week temperature forecasts for the U.S. Daily BNEF Gas Data: Lower-48 dry gas production on Tuesday ~112.1 bcf/day, or +4.2% y/y Lower-48 total gas demand on Tuesday ~103.7 bcf/day, or +30.7% y/y Dry gas exports to Mexico on Tuesday ~6.4 bcf/day, or -11% w/w Estimated gas flows to LNG export terminals on Tuesday ~20.0 bcf/day, or +1.7% w/w Gas Market News: European Gas Rises as Iran Intensifies Infrastructure Attacks LNG WRAP: Asia Prices Hold Near $20 as Mideast Attacks Continue US LNG Supply Rises From Last Year While Qatar Drops: BNEF Chart Colombia in Talks with US for License to Import Venezuelan Gas
A sign displays the prices of diesel fuel at a BP gas station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, US, on Monday, March 9, 2026. Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. diesel prices on Tuesday topped $5 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, as the escalating war in the Middle East has triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history. The average price of diesel stood at $5.04 natio...
A sign displays the prices of diesel fuel at a BP gas station in Elizabeth, New Jersey, US, on Monday, March 9, 2026. Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. diesel prices on Tuesday topped $5 per gallon for the first time in more than three years, as the escalating war in the Middle East has triggered the biggest oil supply disruption in history. The average price of diesel stood at $5.04 nationwide, an increase of 34% compared with the cost of a gallon the day before the U.S. and Israel launched a massive wave of airstrikes against Iran. Diesel prices have hit the highest level since December 2022 when Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine disrupted global energy markets, according to the travel association AAA. Diesel fuel is the lifeblood of the transportation sector, making the fuel essential for the U.S. economy. It is used in trucks, trains and barges that transport goods to market. "One should really be worried about higher diesel prices," said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, in a Tuesday note. Trucking and rail companies are increasing their fuel surcharges in response, he said. Gasoline prices, meanwhile, could hit $4 per gallon, Lipow said. Prices at the pump have surged 27% to $3.79 on average since the war started, according to AAA. Gas prices have risen to the highest level since October 2023. Oil prices have surged more than 40% during the war. U.S. crude oil was trading around $94 per barrel on Tuesday while Brent prices, the international benchmark, hovered around $101 per barrel. Prices are rising because Iran has managed to halt most oil tanker traffic through the critical Strait of Hormuz by attacking commercial vessels. The Strait is the most important trade chokepoint for oil in the world. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the narrow sea route prior to the war. "Until we see a meaningful resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, upward pressure on fuel prices is likely to persist," said Patrick De Ha...
Qualcomm (QCOM) experienced significant intraday volatility today, with its share price moving upward. This positive movement appears to be primarily driven by the company's recent announcements regarding capital returns to shareholders. Qualcomm's Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend, raising it from $0.89 to $0.92 per share. This increase will be effective for d...
Qualcomm (QCOM) experienced significant intraday volatility today, with its share price moving upward. This positive movement appears to be primarily driven by the company's recent announcements regarding capital returns to shareholders. Qualcomm's Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly cash dividend, raising it from $0.89 to $0.92 per share. This increase will be effective for dividends payable after March 26, 2026. Furthermore, the company announced a substantial new $20 billion stock repurchase authorization, effective immediately. This new authorization is in addition to the approximately $2.1 billion remaining from a previous repurchase program. These actions signal robust financial health and a strong commitment to enhancing shareholder value, which often instills investor confidence. Contributing to positive sentiment are also Qualcomm's ongoing strategic advancements in artificial intelligence and its diversification efforts beyond the traditional smartphone market. The company recently announced collaborations, such as a long-term strategic partnership with NEURA Robotics to develop next-generation robotics and physical AI platforms, unveiled on March 9. Additionally, on March 10, Qualcomm and Wayve announced a collaboration to further production-ready end-to-end AI for advanced driver-assistance systems and automated driving. The upcoming COMPUTEX 2026 keynote by Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, with a theme focused on "AI Together," also highlights the company's commitment to and potential in the AI and computing sectors. Despite today's positive momentum, the company has faced recent headwinds that likely contributed to prior volatility and could cap further gains. Several analysts have issued downgrades and expressed concerns, with Bank of America initiating an "Underperform" rating on March 10 and Seaport Research Partners downgrading the stock to "Sell" on March 16. These negative outlooks largely stem from projections of a significant d...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images As we are already in mid-March trading, and with the financial sector often making headlines in recent weeks, financial stocks are my focus today with this follow-up article on American Express Company ( AXP ), which has actually been one of my best-performing stocks covered on Seeking Alpha, up around +85% since I called it a buy in Sept. 2023 . Since t...
winhorse/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images As we are already in mid-March trading, and with the financial sector often making headlines in recent weeks, financial stocks are my focus today with this follow-up article on American Express Company ( AXP ), which has actually been one of my best-performing stocks covered on Seeking Alpha, up around +85% since I called it a buy in Sept. 2023 . Since then, in subsequent articles, I continued recommending buying or holding it, and it went up. Some factors that drove my bullish or neutral view included the firm's strong credit ratings, loan and card growth, and proven dividend growth over time. This time around, we'll check out some data points since its last earnings results in late January and will apply a holistic 8-point rating methodology this time around. Thesis Summary My updated coverage today calls Amex a buy, and the worksheet below summarizes how my 8 rating factors contributed to the overall score: Amex - rating worksheet (author) Although the current macroeconomic environment is certainly a volatile one and could have negative impacts in the near term, as well as the share price chart already showing signs of bearishness, as a longer-term investment, I thought that key upside drivers overcome those short-term risks, and that includes card and loan growth, a compelling dividend growth story, an investment-grade A-level rating from Fitch, along with the trend in charge-offs not rising to a concerning point. Macro & Sector Outlook When thinking about the macro and sector impact on this stock, I first considered that, besides being known as a credit card company, Amex also has a banking component, so I think two clear upside drivers could be continued growth in card payment volumes as well as demand for loans and credit. Obviously, a major wrench was thrown into economic forecasts for this year when the Mideast war broke out, along with the oil price shock last week, so the question is how long that could last and...
Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 It’s St Patrick’s Day, sure’n begorrah, and pre-market futures are fighting back into the green, where they closed Monday. Tensions regarding the Middle East in general and the Strait of Hormuz in particular appear to have loosened, but it’s probably best to treat this as an ongoing situation worth checking back in with. As of right now, the Dow is +88 points, +0.19%, the...
Tuesday, March 17th, 2026 It’s St Patrick’s Day, sure’n begorrah, and pre-market futures are fighting back into the green, where they closed Monday. Tensions regarding the Middle East in general and the Strait of Hormuz in particular appear to have loosened, but it’s probably best to treat this as an ongoing situation worth checking back in with. As of right now, the Dow is +88 points, +0.19%, the S&P 500 is +8 points, +0.12%, the Nasdaq +13, +0.05%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 +2 points, +0.1%. We’re light on both earnings reports and economic releases this morning, with Pending Home Sales for February hitting the tape a half-hour after the open. Expectations are for another slight slip, -1.0%, following -0.8% the prior month, and this speaks to the ongoing morass in the domestic housing industry — particularly on the non-luxury side. For earnings, while we did see Tencent Music Entertainment TME meet earnings and see its share price jump ahead of the open, the main reportage happens after the close today. Once we’ve closed the regular trading session, lululemon LULU, DocuSign DOCU and nuclear reactor designer Oklo OKLO report quarterly results. While LULU expects negative earnings growth, -22.3%, DOCU is expected to gain +10.5% on its bottom line. As for OKLO, it has yet to be publicly traded a full year yet, though earnings are expected to come in light for the quarter. As we mentioned yesterday, Wednesday is the biggest day for both earnings and economic prints: Macy’s M reports ahead of the open and Micron MU follows the close, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) — the wholesale print on monthly inflation — brings us February numbers. Year-over-year PPI has been dancing above and just below +3%, clearly higher than Fed Chair Powell’s optimal +2% inflation; we’ll see if anything changes, while keeping clear that we are currently embarking on new global economic realities these numbers won’t show. Speaking of Fed Chair Powell, his penultimate Federal Open Mar...
International Energy Agency boss Fatih Birol said member countries could 'do more later as and if needed' to again tap their crude stockpiles (Nicolas TUCAT) · Nicolas TUCAT/AFP/AFP Oil prices rose again Tuesday as Iran launched fresh attacks on crude-producing neighbours, while stock markets were higher ahead of key central bank meetings. Prices rebounded from the previous day's sharp losses, whi...
International Energy Agency boss Fatih Birol said member countries could 'do more later as and if needed' to again tap their crude stockpiles (Nicolas TUCAT) · Nicolas TUCAT/AFP/AFP Oil prices rose again Tuesday as Iran launched fresh attacks on crude-producing neighbours, while stock markets were higher ahead of key central bank meetings. Prices rebounded from the previous day's sharp losses, which came after the head of the International Energy Agency said more stockpiles could be tapped if needed. Equity markets mostly gained after US chip titan Nvidia said it expected to make at least $1 trillion in revenue through the end of 2027 and several airlines reported better-than-expected revenue in the first quarter, taking some attention away from conflict in the Middle East. The three main US indices opened higher in New York while most major European bourses were also in the green in mid-afternoon trading. Delta Airlines and American Airline were up almost five percent. Stock markets have shown "resiliance", said David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, but "there was undoubtedly a cautious tone as investors weighed geopolitical risks and shifting monetary policy expectations." Earlier in Asia, Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei closed higher, though Tokyo and Shanghai dipped. Investors are awaiting a slew of central bank decisions this week, with expectations that interest rates will remain unchanged as elevated energy prices threaten to drive up inflation, even if the labour market appears to be softening in the United States. The caution ahead of the key bank meetings left currency markets in a holding pattern, with the dollar little changed against most of its peers. The US Federal Reserve "is in a bind," said eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell. "Slower growth and a softer labor market would normally argue for easing monetary policy. But inflation remains sticky, while surging oil prices add another layer of uncertainty to the outlook." Australia's ...
格隆汇3月17日｜华为乾崑与广汽集团联合打造的智能新能源汽车品牌启境（AISTALAND） 全球首发，首款车型启境GT7同步首秀并开启盲订。启境寓意“AI Start New Land”，双方实现技术、团队、流程与理念深度融合：华为乾崑全栈赋能智驾、座舱、底盘等核心领域，广汽依托数十年制造底蕴与品控体系筑牢品质根基。启境GT7定位新一代智能猎装轿跑，车身尺寸5050*1980*1470mm，轴距3...
格隆汇3月17日｜华为乾崑与广汽集团联合打造的智能新能源汽车品牌启境（AISTALAND） 全球首发，首款车型启境GT7同步首秀并开启盲订。启境寓意“AI Start New Land”，双方实现技术、团队、流程与理念深度融合：华为乾崑全栈赋能智驾、座舱、底盘等核心领域，广汽依托数十年制造底蕴与品控体系筑牢品质根基。启境GT7定位新一代智能猎装轿跑，车身尺寸5050*1980*1470mm，轴距3000mm，首发十大黑科技，越级首发搭载尊界S800和问界M9同款896线高规格激光雷达、新一代智能座舱、800V/6C麒麟电池及超级三电机系统。不仅预埋华为乾崑智驾L3级架构，全链路冗余，还首发搭载十大新一代智能技术。品牌预告未来三年将覆盖多品类车型，2026年推出智能猎装及中大型SUV。