Daily Dispatch: Oil prices continue to climb as third week of Iran conflict looms
Monday, 16 March 2026
Market Summary
In the US on Friday, as oil prices soared, the S&P 500 fell 0.61% to a new low and ended its third straight week of declines, the first time it has done that in a year.
The Nasdaq dropped 0.93% and the Dow Jones lost 0.26%.
Friday saw Brent oil futures settle at US$103.14 a barrel, having closed above $100 for the first time since 2022 the day before. Prices came back a little on Friday when US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about the Strait of Hormuz closure, saying “we have been dealing with it, and don’t need to worry about it.”
Fears of inflation have led to subdued expectations of an interest rate cut this year, both in the US and in other countries.
In Europe, the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.5% lower, while Asian markets also tumbled. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.16%, primarily because its largest stock, Honda Motor, forecast its first loss in almost 70 years.
South Korea’s Kospi slumped 1.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1% and mainland China’s CSI 300 slid 0.39%.
The S&P/NZX 50 dropped 0.09% on Friday and has fallen 4% in the month of March so far as war rages in the Middle East.
Business news on Friday was consumed by events in the region - how it was impacting KiwiSaver balances, how China announced it would stop exports of fuel immediately, impacting Australia;“risk forecasting” came to the fore, the aforementioned oil prices dampened sentiment and caused anxiety and petrol in New Zealand headed toward - and over - $3 a litre.
Metro Performance Glass warned shareholders its revenue would be about 9% forecasts in September on the back of lower volumes and the pricing pressures; efficiency measures would negate the impact on earnings to some extent but pre-tax earnings would also be below forecasts, falling anywhere between a loss of $2m to a profit of $2m. That compares to last year’s $16.6m pre-tax loss.
Geopolitics had not impacted the company’s supply of glass, it said. Its stock dropped 0.83%.
Meanwhile, Taiko Critical Minerals requested another trading halt while in talks with NZX supervisor NZ RegCo about its Barrytown Minerals Project on the West Coast.
On the main board, decliners included New Talisman Gold Mines, down 11.76%, ArborGen dropped 4.76%, Santana Minerals fell 3.38%, CDL ticked down 3.16% and Freightways Group dropped 2.91%.
Advances were small - Comvita gained 4.48%, Smart Bitcoin ETF rose 4.30% on a slight recovery in the cryptocurrency, fuel importer Channel Infrastructure rose 4% and Asset Plus gained 3.30%.
In Sydney the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 0.14% on Friday. The bottom performing stocks included one of the world’s largest gold producers, Northern Star Resources, which dropped 18.75% on production downgrades, and titanium and critical minerals play IperionX, which lost 14.05% after half year net losses widened.
While we slept
Meta is reportedly planning sweeping layoffs as AI costs mount, according to Reuters. The layoffs could affect 20% of staff, as Meta seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure investments and prepare for greater efficiency gains from the technology. CNBC reports that if the social media giant settles on culling 20% of its workforce, the layoffs will be the company’s most significant since late 2022 and early 2023. Meta employed nearly 79,000 people as of the end of December.
Oil is expected to further gains as the Middle East conflict threatens export facilities. The Middle East war has entered its third week, putting oil infrastructure and shortages at risk as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut. The International Energy Agency on Sunday said more than 400 million barrels of oil reserves would flow through to the market soon, a record draw aimed at combating price spikes caused by the US and Israel’s war against Iran. Crude oil closed above US$100 a barrel on Friday, for the second straight session.
What’s up today
In today’s The Post, in the first of a three-part series called Hollowed out, Miriam Bell reports AI, offshoring, and the brain drain are thinning the ranks of NZ’s professional workforce, Roeland van den Bergh reports truck maker Hino settles $10.9m class action claim in New Zealand and Dita De Boni reports an expert says New Zealand risks losing control over how AI is used in critical sectors. In this week’s The Small Business Project, Aimee Shaw profiles Christchurch catering company Fiona’s Food, and Deborah Morris reports Australian tourists can now take more of NZ wine back home.
Stats NZ is due to release its electronic card transaction data today.