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Relief Rally Lifts Stocks as Dollar Retreats: Markets Wrap

By Andre Janse Van Vuuren and Nick Heubeck

March 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM EDT Updated on March 10, 2026 at 5:14 AM EDT

Stocks rose as crude extended declines, with traders monitoring the impact of the war in the Middle East on oil flows after President Donald Trump signaled a quick end to the conflict. The dollar fell for a third day.

S&P 500 contracts advanced 0.4% after the benchmark rebounded. Europe’s Stoxx 600 posted its biggest daily jump since April. Brent fell more than 7% toward $91 a barrel, extending Monday’s losses as Trump said the war could be over “very soon” and pledged the US Navy would escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

Treasuries held steady, with the 10-year yield little changed at 4.10%. European bonds staged a recovery on hopes that oil prices would weigh less on inflation than previously feared, dimming the prospects for interest-rate hikes. Gold edged higher.

Oil Had One of Its Wildest Days Ever on Monday

WTI futures price swung $38, most since pandemic

Source: Nymex

The relief rally in US stocks is extending into a second session after fears of a protracted US-Israeli war against Iran triggered seismic moves in oil markets. Even so, much hinges on geopolitical developments, with flows through the Strait of Hormuz at a near standstill and Gulf producers deepening production cuts.

“We are not out of the weeds,” said Joachim Klement, head of strategy at Panmure Liberum. “Any gains will remain limited until there are clear signs of an end to hostilities in the Gulf and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz improves again.”

What Bloomberg Strategists Say…

“Stocks are rallying today but little has changed fundamentally. With no resolution to the conflict in Iran firmly in sight, volatility is likely to remain elevated. That persistence suggests another ongoing headwind for global equity markets.”

— Skylar Montgomery Koning, macro strategist. For the full analysis, click here.

Corporate Highlights:

Saudi Aramco announced a first-ever share buyback of $3 billion and raised its dividend, while warning that the impact on global oil markets will be “catastrophic” the longer the disruption from the Iran war drags on.
Volkswagen AG is targeting more cost reductions to protect profitability that is set to remain under pressure from competition, tariffs and the cost of developing electric vehicles.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. gave an outlook for revenue in the current quarter that exceeded analysts’ estimates, a sign the company is benefiting from solid demand for hardware that helps customers run AI workloads.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s sales rose 30% in the first two months of the year, buoyed by the robust pace of AI infrastructure construction.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 2.2% as of 9:11 a.m. London time
S&P 500 futures rose 0.4%
Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.6%
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 3.1%
The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rose 3.3%

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%
The euro rose 0.1% to $1.1651
The Japanese yen was unchanged at 157.67 per dollar
The offshore yuan rose 0.2% to 6.8769 per dollar
The British pound rose 0.2% to $1.3464

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin rose 2.6% to $70,754.74
Ether rose 1.7% to $2,060.29

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 4.11%
Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 2.84%
Britain’s 10-year yield declined eight basis points to 4.56%

Commodities

Brent crude fell 7.9% to $91.15 a barrel
Spot gold rose 1% to $5,187.46 an ounce

This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.

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