S&P 500 – 6,632.19 (-0.61%)

Dow Jones – 46,558.47 (-0.26%)

NASDAQ – 22,105.36 (-0.93%)

• Market Performance: Markets ended the week on a weaker note as tensions surrounding the Iran conflict escalated. The S&P 500 reversed an earlier gain of nearly 1% to close down 0.6%, extending a recent stretch of declines. The Dow Jones fell 0.26%, and the Nasdaq slid 0.93%, reflecting investor caution amid geopolitical uncertainty.
• Geopolitical Risks – Strait of Hormuz: President Donald Trump called on allied nations to deploy warships to secure the strategic Strait of Hormuz following U.S. strikes on Kharg Island, heightening concerns over potential disruptions to global oil supplies. WTI crude oil is trading around $99 per barrel as investors monitor the potential impact on energy markets.
• Artificial Intelligence – ByteDance Delay: ByteDance has paused the global launch of its AI video-generation model Seedance 2.0 after copyright disputes with major studios, including The Walt Disney Company, over alleged use of protected characters in its training data. The delay comes as the company works to address legal concerns and implement safeguards to prevent copyright violations.
• M&A Activity – Caesars Entertainment: Tilman Fertitta is negotiating to acquire Caesars Entertainment in a deal valued at roughly $31.5 billion, including debt. Rival bidder Carl Icahn remains poised with a competing offer, highlighting a high-stakes negotiation for one of the largest casino operators in the U.S.
• Tech & Innovation – Travis Kalanick’s Atoms: Travis Kalanick has rebranded his startup as Atoms, expanding beyond food infrastructure into robotics, mining, and transportation. The move builds on his success with CloudKitchens, a multibillion-dollar ghost-kitchen network, and signals Kalanick’s broader ambitions in automation and physical-world computation.
• Media Oversight – FCC Warning: Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr warned broadcasters of potential license consequences after Donald Trump disputed media reports claiming Iranian missiles damaged U.S. refueling aircraft in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing the importance of accurate reporting.
• Bond Markets: Bond markets were mixed after a challenging week for sovereign debt. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose two basis points to 3.84%, while the two-year note fell one basis point amid shorter-term rallies.
• Economic Indicators: The second estimate of Q4 U.S. GDP growth was revised down to an annualized 0.7%, roughly half the initial 1.4% estimate, reflecting weaker consumer spending, investment, government outlays, and exports. Core PCE inflation rose 0.4% in January, leaving the year-over-year rate at 3.1%, higher than comparable CPI readings. The Federal Reserve meets this week amid volatility in energy prices, which have risen roughly 40% year-to-date, prompting scaled-back expectations for near-term rate cuts.
• Corporate Earnings & Tech Stocks: Adobe (ADBE) fell despite beating revenue and earnings forecasts and issuing above-expectation guidance, as investors focused on Q1 net new recurring revenue below estimates and CEO succession planning. Nvidia (NVDA) gained ahead of its annual GTC conference, where it is expected to announce AI hardware innovations. Ulta Beauty (ULTA) dropped after missing earnings-per-share expectations, while Meta Platforms (META) slipped due to a delayed launch of its Avocado AI model.
• Cryptocurrencies & Currency Markets: Bitcoin rebounded modestly in a technical recovery, showing resilience despite geopolitical tensions. The U.S. dollar remained strong, with the U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) trading just above 100, its highest level this year and surpassing the November 25 mark.

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“Las Vegas looks the way you'd imagine heaven must look at night.” 

— Chuck Palahniuk

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Notable Stocks

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Adobe (ADBE)
• Ulta Beauty (ULTA)
• Amazon (AMZN)
• Tesla (TSLA)

Weekly Notables

FCC Chair Warns Broadcasters After Trump Disputes Reports of Iran Damaging U.S. Tanker Aircraft

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr sharply criticized broadcasters after Donald Trump rejected media reports claiming Iran damaged several U.S. military tanker aircraft. The dispute followed a report from The Wall Street Journal stating that five U.S. Air Force refueling tankers were struck during an Iranian missile attack on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. In a post on the social platform X, Carr warned that broadcasters spreading what he called “hoaxes” or distorted reporting could risk losing their broadcast licenses if they fail to operate in the public interest. His comments came shortly after Trump labeled the reports “fake news” in a post on Truth Social, accusing several outlets—including The New York Times—of publishing misleading coverage about the incident.

Fertitta in Talks to Acquire Caesars as Carl Icahn Waits with Rival Bid

Tilman Fertitta’s company, Fertitta Entertainment, is in active negotiations to acquire Caesars Entertainment, according to people familiar with the discussions. The proposed deal values Caesars at about $32 per share, implying an equity value of roughly $6.5 billion and an enterprise value of about $31.5 billion when including the company’s large debt load. The talks are taking place during a 45-day exclusivity window, with negotiations reportedly occurring this weekend at Fertitta’s The Post Oak Hotel headquarters in Houston. If a deal is reached, it likely would not be finalized until early April and would not close until 2027.

Earnings Spotlight: Alibaba Group Holding (BABA)

Alibaba (BABA) is expected to report its fiscal third-quarter 2026 results on Thursday, March 19, 2026. Wall Street expects the company to report earnings of $1.63 per share on revenues of $42.07 billion.  BABA stock has declined 7% year-to-date.

What's Ahead

Economic:

• Monday (Mar. 16): Capacity Utilization, Empire State Manufacturing, Industrial Production
• Tuesday (Mar. 17): Building Permits, Housing Starts, NAHB Housing Market Index, Pending Home Sales
• Wednesday (Mar. 18): Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Rate Decision, Producer Price Index (PPI), EIA Crude Oil Inventories, Mortgage Applications Index, Net Long-Term TIC, BOJ starts two-day Monetary Policy Meeting
• Thursday (Mar. 19): ECB Governing Council monetary policy meeting, Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Initial Claims, New Home Sales, Philadelphia Fed Index, Wholesale Inventories
• Friday (Mar. 20): no reports
  

Earnings:

• Monday (Mar. 16): Annexon Inc. (ANNX), Dollar Tree Inc. (DLTR), Forgent Power Solutions Inc. (FPS), Ke Holdings Inc. (BEKE), MBX Biosciences Inc. MBX), Oruka Therapeutics Inc. (ORKA), Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), Semtech Corp. (SMTC), VinFast Auto Ltd. (VFS)
• Tuesday (Mar. 17): Academy Sports and Outdoors Inc. (ASO), Alour Lifestyle Holdings Ltd. (ATAT), Corporacion America Airports SA (CAAP), DocuSign Inc. (DOCU), Elbit Systems Ltd. (ESLT), GDS Holdings Ltd. (GDS), Lululemon Athletica Inc. (LULU), New Gold Inc. (NGD), Oklo Inc. (OKLO), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME)
• Wednesday (Mar. 18): Dlocal Ltd. (DLO), Equipmentshare.com Inc. (EQPT), Five Below Inc. (FIVE), General Mills Inc. (GIS), H World Group Ltd. (HTHT), Jabil Inc. (JBL), Macy's Inc. (M), Micron Technology Inc. (MU), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM)
• Thursday (Mar. 19): Accenture PLC (ACN), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), Carnival Corp. (CCL), Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), Erasca Inc. (ERAS), FedEx Corp. (FDX), PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD), Planet Labs (PL), Signet Jewelers Ltd. (SIG)
• Friday (Mar. 20): SANUWAVE Health Inc. (SNWV), Xpeng Inc. (XPEV)