US stocks weekly: Fiery situation

Campbells Co

13/03/2026 20:53

** S&P 500 .SPX retreats 3rd-straight week, loses 1.6% as Iran war intensifies and dominates the headlines .N

** Dow .DJI slides 2%, Nasdaq Composite .IXIC falls 1.3%

** Indeed, amid weakness, traders eye S&P 500 index support

** Nasdaq bulls pointed to strong bounce off its 200-DMA on Mon, but by week's end, tech-laden index scores first close below this closely followed long-term moving average since May 9, 2025

** Nasdaq breadth measure takes on water - Can bulls bail it out?

** U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield US10YT=RR vaults to around 4.28% as Iran attacks stoke inflation fears. Benchmark yield hits five-week high as Gulf tensions escalate US/

** Nearly every sector scorched: Financials melt, while just Utilities and Energy keep cool

** Financials .SPSY plummet 3.4%. Asset managers slump after JPMorgan JPM.N marks down private-credit loans, and extend declines as Morgan Stanley MS.N curbs private credit fund redemptions

For the week, S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK drops 3.6%, KBW regional banking index .KRX down 2.7%

** Industrials .SPLRCI crumble 3.2%. Boeing BA.N falls after co says wiring flaws could delay first-quarter 737 MAX jet deliveries

Jefferies lowers PTs on airlines as fuel prices surge. NYSE Arca Airline index .XAL descends >6%

** Materials .SPLRCM decline 1.6%. Gold heads for second consecutive weekly fall, as US dollar =USD on track for its biggest weekly gain since early-Oct 2024

PHLX Gold/Silver Index .XAU slides 7%

Though fertilizer stocks climb as Middle East conflict disrupts supply. CF Industries CF.N, Mosaic MOS.N notch weekly advances of ~12% and ~11%, respectively

S&P 500 Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals index .SPLRCCHFA rises ~6% for steepest weekly gain since early May

** Tech .SPLRCT down 0.8%. FICO FICO.N (Fair Isaac) ultimately hits over 2-year low after UBS cuts PT. FICO suffers 23% weekly loss

Adobe ADBE.O slides as Photoshop maker's long-time CEO to exit, fans uncertainty over AI strategy

On the flip side, Oracle ORCL.N jumps on upbeat AI outlook, allaying investor concerns that its multi-billion-dollar AI computing push wouldn't generate profits quickly enough

Semiconductor index .SOX lifts 1.8%

** Consumer Staples .SPLRCS dip 0.2%. Campbell's CPB.O drops on cutting annual forecasts

And packaged food firms sag as Wells Fargo downgrades to 'underweight', pointing to sluggish consumption trends, rising inflation as potential risk to margins

** Energy .SPNY surges 2.1%. Group rises as Iran escalates attacks on Gulf shipping, pushing crude prices higher. Brent crude LCOc1 settles above $100/barrel for first time since Aug 2022  O/R

** Meanwhile, individual investor bears jump to a 4-month high

** SPX performance YTD:

Energy
28.3%
Staples
10.0%
Utils
9.4%
Materials
7.5%
Industrials
5.9%
Real Estate
5.1%
Comm Svcs
-3.0%
SPX
-3.1%
Healthcare
-3.5%
Tech
-6.7%
Discretionary
-8.0%
Financials
-11.2%

(Lance Tupper and Terence Gabriel are Reuters market analysts. The views expressed are their own)

((lance.tupper@tr.com ; terence.gabriel@tr.com))