US EQUITY OPEN: Indices open the week in the green as focus continues on the Middle East, ahead of NVDA's Huang keynote address

Analysis details (13:50)

OPEN: US indices opened the first trading session of the week in the green, as the Middle East war rages on, albeit with no major escalation over the weekend. Trump said he ordered a strike that wiped out every military target on Kharg Island, where Iran exports nearly all of its oil, but left the oil infrastructure intact. On the Strait of Hormuz, which remains essentially closed, Trump’s admin plans as soon as this week to announce a coalition to escort ships, although they are still discussing if such operations would begin before or after hostilities have ended. As such, WTI and Brent are seeing weakness, with WTI underperforming its peer, and on USD 95/bbl and 102 handles, respectively, which is dictating broader price action. The Dollar is lower, with G10s gaining and Antipodeans outperforming ahead of the expected RBA hike overnight. Treasuries are firmer, with plenty of central bank announcements through the week. All sectors are firmer, with Industrials and Tech sitting atop of the pile, as traders await Nvidia CEO Huang’s keynote address at GTC later this evening. On US/China meeting, Treasury Secretary Bessent said US-China trade meetings in Paris "very good", and will see whether Trump China visit goes as planned, but it is false to say China trip maybe delayed on Iran.

STOCK SPECIFICS:

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  National Storage Affiliates (NSA) to be acquired by Public Storage (PSA) for USD 41.68/shr in a USD 10.5bln deal.


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  Nebius (NBIS) signed $12bln AI capacity deal w/ META; Meta to spend up to $27bln over 5yrs on AI deal


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  Sable Offshore (SOC) ordered to restore ops. at Santa Ynez Unit & Santa Ynez Pipeline System


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  Intuit (INTU) halts mgmt. stock sales & accelerates buyback


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  Meta (META): Techzine reported that META denies rumours of sweeping layoffs to fund AI, which could affect up to 20% of its workforce


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  Alibaba (BABA) plans to launch an agentic AI service for Cos. based on its Qwen model.


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  Venture Global (VG): DoE authorised immediate 13% increase in exports from Plaquemines LNG terminal in Louisiana


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  Blue Owl Capital (OWL) Board unanimously urged shareholders to reject minority tender offer from Cox Capital Partners & Saba Capital Management for up to 8mln shares, worth c. $ 30mln


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  Ford (F) authorised repurchases of up to 31.7mln shares under an anti-dilutive buyback prog.


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  Dollar Tree (DLTR): EPS, rev. beat & sees annual sales largely below exp.

16 Mar 2026 - 13:50- EquitiesGeopolitical- Source: Newsquawk