During the week of March 23-27, 2026, US financial markets once again experienced significant turbulence, marking the fourth consecutive week of losses for major equity indices. The S&P 500, Nasdaq, and Dow Jones finished 1-3% lower. Simultaneously, the 10-year Treasury yield surged to 4.43%, reaching its highest level since July 2025, as investors fled bonds amid concerns about prolonged higher interest rates.
The market volatility was driven most notably by the escalating Middle East conflict, which created supply shock concerns and pushed oil prices above $100 per barrel. Additionally to that, persistent inflation and a reassessment of Federal Reserve policy led investors to scale back rate cut expectations. The AI sector remains in an uncertainty phase, with focus on high valuations, massive investments, and the possible disruption in other sectors. Meanwhile, the private credit sector is also raising concerns about possible loan price markdowns and their overall impact on financial markets.
Precious metals experienced their worst performance in over a decade, with gold plummeting roughly 15% month-to-date and suffering its worst week since 2011. Gold ETFs saw nearly $11 billion in outflows as investors rotated away from traditional safe-haven assets. In a surprising divergence, Bitcoin demonstrated greater resilience, stabilizing in the high-$60,000 range and returning to attract institutional inflows.
Markets continue to focus on Iran war developments in this new week, along with important new economic data like the Payroll jobs report due on Friday.
