The negative dynamics in the US stock markets continued last week amid the escalation of the war in the Middle East and a sharp increase in oil prices. On a weekly basis, the S&P 500 fell by about 2.02%, the Nasdaq Composite by 1.24%, and the Dow Jones by 3.01%, which was the latter’s largest weekly decline since April 2025.

European stocks also continued their downward trend. The pan-European STOXX 600 fell 0.3% in morning trading on Monday. The banking sector continued to weaken, recording a 0.6% decline, while energy companies recorded growth due to record high oil prices.

Investors remain cautious amid high oil prices and inflation risks due to the war in the Middle East. Brent crude oil prices rose to around $106.3 a barrel on Monday, recording a daily increase of 3.7%.

The US dollar strengthened in currency markets last week, driven by increased demand for safe assets from investors amid the war in the Middle East. The US dollar index rose by about 1.5% for the week, reaching 100.35 points, while the euro weakened against the dollar by 0.6%.

Gold prices fell last week as the strengthening dollar and expectations that the refinancing rate will remain unchanged in the near future reduced demand for the precious metal. Spot gold prices fell more than 2% for the week. Other precious metals also fell: silver fell about 3.3%, platinum fell about 4%, and palladium fell about 2.5%.

Global equity funds saw $7.05 billion in outflows last week, the largest weekly outflow since mid-December 2025. The largest outflows were from US funds, at $7.77 billion, followed by European funds, at $7.71 billion, while Asian markets saw inflows of $6.15 billion. Meanwhile, global bond fund inflows fell to a ten-week low, with money market funds attracting $6.93 billion as investors preferred less risky assets.

Adobe shares fell another 6% last Friday after it was announced that the company's longtime CEO, Shantanu Narayan, would step down. Investor concerns were also heightened by the fact that the company has yet to name a new CEO.

Among companies with a market capitalization of at least $10 billion, the biggest gainer last week was Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS), a provider of cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence computing solutions. The company's shares rose 26.44% in one week to $112.95 per share. Sandisk Corporation (SNDK), a manufacturer of storage media, followed with a 25.47% increase to $661.62 per share. Electric vehicle maker NIO Inc. (NIO), a 22.59% increase to $5.86 per share, rounded out this top three. The top three largest-cap companies with the biggest losses last week starts with Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), a developer of credit scoring and analytical software, whose shares fell 23.36% in one week to $1,131.22 per share. Next is health insurance service provider Centene Corporation (CNC), down 21.08% to $34.45 per share. This top three is rounded out by media and entertainment company Paramount Skydance Corporation (PSKY), down 18.93% to $9.72 per share.

The ongoing war in the Middle East and the sharp increase in gasoline prices have also negatively affected consumer confidence in the US. The latter’s consumer confidence index fell to 55.5 points, compared to 56.6 in February. At the same time, consumer inflation expectations remained largely stable, as for the next one year they amounted to 3.4%, and for the coming five years they decreased slightly to 3.2%.

Most economists surveyed by Reuters news agency expect the US Federal Reserve to make its first refinancing rate reduction for this year in June, even as a 40% rise in oil prices due to the Middle East war has raised inflationary risks. At the same time, market expectations have become more cautious, as the yield on 2-year US government bonds have risen by about 30 basis points against the backdrop of rising oil prices.

On March 10, a total 20 billion drams of government bonds were placed on Armenia’s securities market, and they will be redeemed on April 29, 2028. The public auction had three participants, and the bids submitted by them amounted to 47.14 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds was 102.15 drams, and the yield was 7.3%.

On Monday, a total 3 billion drams of government bonds were placed on Armenia’s securities market, and they will be redeemed on January 18, 2027. The public auction had three participants, and the bids submitted by them amounted to 6.5 billion drams. The weighted average price of the placed government bonds was 94.4 drams, and the yield was 6.9%.

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