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With speculation of a potential conflict with Iran, oil prices are up another $1.31 to $66.50.
We have to consider that Iran is one of the world’s leading suppliers, with its government making it clear that it will retaliate if the U.S. attacks. This could eventually lead to a full blockage of the Strait of Hormuz or restricted access. All of which could send oil prices gushing even higher in the near term.
“Top national security officials have told Mr. Trump the U.S. military is ready for potential strikes on Iran as soon as Saturday, but the timeline for any action is likely to extend beyond this weekend, sources familiar with the discussions told CBS News, adding that President Trump had not yet made a final decision about whether to strike Iran.”
Not only are oil stocks, such as Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), gushing higher on speculation of war, but so are related ETFs such as the Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE).
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Ahead of Dell earnings next week, analysts at Evercore ISI have a tactical outperform rating on the stock. However, it did lower its price target to $160 from $180, noting:
“We expect Dell to print upside to current rev/EPS expectations of $31.4B/3.52, given strong NT demand trends across traditional hardware and AI compute. With concerns around memory inflation, expect DELL to have benefited from a demand pull-in across PCs and traditional servers as customers will have looked to get ahead of ASP [average selling price] increases,” as quoted by CNBC.
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Analysts at Deutsche Bank reiterated their buy rating on DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH), noting that DASH’s earnings was a “clearing event.”
They added, “Most positively, with grocery and retail unit economics and international contribution profit turning positive in the 2H, the margin cadence for 2026 should improve dramatically as we move through the year, offsetting growth investments that should scale later in 2026,” as quoted by CNBC.
The roller coaster ride continues.
After breaking higher yesterday, the major indices are back in the red. The S&P 500 is down about 0.28%, or by 20 points. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is down 0.34%, or by $2.40. The Dow is down 0.32%, or by 125 points. The Nasdaq is down 0.32%, or by about 80 points. Oil is up 2%, or by about $1.40, on Iran tensions, with some noting we could strike this weekend.
Bitcoin is down by $447 to $65,994, which is great news for those short Bitcoin-related names such as Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) and MARA Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA). Meanwhile, gold is gaining traction again, last trading up $4 at $4,993.88.
Not Helping, Walmart Disappointed with its Outlook
Shares of Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT | WMT Price Prediction) are down about $3.71.
Granted, its EPS of 74 cents beat by a penny. Revenue of $190.7 billion, up 5.6% year over year, beat by $2.38 billion. It also declared a 99-cent-per-share dividend, payable on April 6 to shareholders of record as of March 20. The company also announced a massive $30 billion share buyback program.
Unfortunately, Walmart said it expects net sales to increase by 3.5% to 4.5%. It also expects adjusted EPS to range from $2.75 to $2.85, which fell short of the $2.96 expected.
Market Movers: Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating on Nvidia
Analysts at Oppenheimer just reiterate their outperform rating on Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) ahead of earnings next week. “We see several structural tailwinds driving sustained out-sized top-line growth in high-performance gaming, datacenter/AI, and autonomous driving vehicles,” said the firm, as quoted by CNBC.
And, as we noted the other day, analysts at Citi just reiterated a buy rating on the tech giant. The firm noted that it’s recommending investors add to NVDA, as the valuation looks attractive and the stock is likely to outperform in the second half of 2026.
That’s because its status as an AI leader has made it a key bellwether for all AI stocks. The good news is that big tech companies that operate data centers, or hyper scalers, are saying they will increase massive AI capex this year, with a good chunk of that going to AI. We also have to consider that CEO Jensen Huang has said demand for the company’s new Blackwell platform data center products was “off the charts.”