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Major Banks Announce Expanded Share Buyback Programs Ahead of Q1 2026 Earnings

JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America each disclosed expanded share repurchase authorizations ahead of Q1 2026 earnings season, signaling confidence in capital positions and near-term earnings power. The announcements come as robust trading revenues and resilient net interest income support a broadly bullish bank sector outlook.

Powell Shocks Markets With Hawkish Peterson Institute Speech — Rate Hike Odds Surge to 68%

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a sharply hawkish address at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, signaling the Fed retains all tools to combat inflation. Rate hike odds for October surged to 68 percent as the S&P 500 fell 1.4 percent and 2-year Treasury yields jumped 18 basis points to 4.92 percent.

Brent Crude Breaks $121 as Third U.S. Carrier Strike Group Enters Persian Gulf; OPEC+ Maintains Output Freeze

Brent crude broke above $121 per barrel for the first time since 2022 as the Pentagon confirmed a third carrier strike group entering the Persian Gulf, while OPEC+ ministers meeting in Vienna reaffirmed their production freeze through at least June, removing any prospect of supply relief and pushing Goldman Sachs to raise its 90-day Brent target to $130.

Energy Sector Posts Third Consecutive Weekly Gain as XOM and CVX Hit Multi-Year Highs on $118 Oil

The energy sector extended its remarkable 2026 outperformance on Friday with a third consecutive weekly gain as Exxon Mobil and Chevron closed at their highest levels in nearly two years, ONEOK surged an additional 2.3% on a bullish throughput update, and the XLE ETF is now up approximately 34% year-to-date in stark contrast to the S&P 500's double-digit year-to-date loss.

Pentagon Sends USS Boxer and 2,500 More Marines to Persian Gulf as Iran Escalation Deepens; Oil Resumes Climb

The Pentagon on Friday approved the deployment of the USS Boxer amphibious ready group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit — comprising roughly 2,500 Marines and three additional warships — to U.S. Central Command, marking the second major marine deployment in a week and bringing total American personnel in the Middle East to approximately 50,000. The development, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, accelerated an already weak stock market selloff and pushed Brent crude back toward $110 as Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions showed no signs of easing.

Markets Price 50% Chance of Fed Rate Hike by October as Powell's 'Hawkish Hold' Reverberates Through Risk Assets

Bond futures markets are pricing a 50% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by October 2026, a dramatic and rapid shift from the multiple rate cuts that were widely expected just three months ago, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell's press conference this week signaled that inflation progress has stalled and the Iran war's economic consequences will not meaningfully alter the central bank's calculus. The repricing has sent Treasury yields higher, crushed gold and growth stocks, and introduced the specter of stagflation across Wall Street's macro outlook.

Iran Strikes Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG Hub Twice in 12 Hours; Brent Crude Briefly Surges Past $119 as Global Energy Crisis Deepens

Iranian missile strikes inflicted 'extensive damage' on Qatar's Ras Laffan Industrial City — the world's largest LNG export hub — sending Brent crude briefly above $119 a barrel on Thursday before it retreated to around $114. The attacks, which came in retaliation for Israeli strikes on Iran's South Pars gas field, have paralyzed nearly 20% of global LNG supply, triggered drone strikes on Saudi and Kuwaiti refineries, and raised the specter of a full-scale stagflationary energy shock across the global economy.

Federal Reserve Holds Rates at 3.50%–3.75%, Flags Sticky Inflation and Iran War Uncertainty; Markets Sell Off on Powell's Hawkish Tone

The Federal Reserve voted 11-1 to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50%–3.75% on Wednesday, while its updated dot plot showed only one rate cut projected for all of 2026 and Chair Jerome Powell delivered a more hawkish-than-expected press conference that rattled markets. The Dow fell 768 points to its lowest close since November, as investors processed Powell's warning that higher energy prices could reignite inflation and that the Fed had 'not made as much progress on inflation as hoped.'

Hot PPI Data Rattles Wall Street as Wholesale Inflation Surges 0.7% in February, Doubling Expectations

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the Producer Price Index jumped 0.7% in February — more than double the 0.3% consensus estimate — pushing annual wholesale inflation to 3.4%, its highest level in a year. The hotter-than-expected reading, driven by a 48.9% spike in vegetable prices and broad goods inflation of 1.1%, arrived hours before the Federal Reserve's rate decision and reignited stagflation fears across equity and bond markets.