Major U.S. stock market indexes declined on Thursday, March 5, after rising on Wednesday. Fears around war with Iran intensified after Iranian uncrewed boats attacked several oil tankers far from the Strait of Hormuz. The price of oil jumped and the fear index soared.

Oil rally, stock market panic and falling gold: results of the sixth day of the war

Oil is an asset of trust, and trust starts to fracture when oil tankers become strike targets, says Stephen Innes, managing partner of SPI Asset Management

Oil prices soar to highest in more than a year due to Iranian attacks on tankers 

NVIDIA Corporation

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Broadcom Inc.

Marvell Technology, Inc.

Intel Corporation

Shares of Nvidia, AMD and Marvell have fallen sharply in price

The US may impose export licensing on all AI chips. What does this mean for the market?

Caterpillar Inc.

The Boeing Company

Iran said it is "not asking for a ceasefire" from the U.S. and Israel and "sees no reason why the country should negotiate" after nearly a week of military operation, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/05/iran-us-war-invasion-abbas-araghchi.html">reported </a>. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with NBC News that Tehran is not afraid of a ground invasion because it would be able to stand up to the U.S. military. "And it would be a big disaster for them," the official warned.

Brent crude oil over $85, fear index soars 18%: Iran steps up military rhetoric

Prada S.p.A.

The luxury group posted its fifth consecutive year of sales growth

Prada increased revenue but warned of pressure on profits due to Versace

Star Equity Holdings, Inc.

Investors should pay attention to the shares of Star Equity Holdings - they can rise in price by more than 60%, says broker Noble Capital Markets. The company has a multifaceted growth plan and seeks to replicate Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway strategy, but in the microcapitalization segment, analysts explain.

Mini-Berkshire stock has 60% upside potential, says Noble. What is its secret?

Investors now it is more important to follow not political statements, but the structural weaknesses of importing countries, for which this conflict may become critical, JPMorgan strategist believes

The bottleneck: how the Iran crisis is reshaping the energy risk map

U.S. stocks resume declines on sixth day of war in the Middle East

Data

Ondas Inc.

BlackSky Technology Inc.

Iridium Communications Inc.

Oppenheimer analysts have identified three small companies whose technology could help the U.S. and its allies defend against drone attacks in the Middle East. “It appears the US and Israel have significantly underestimated Iran’s drone capabilities,” Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan wrote in a research note <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/anti-drone-stocks-iran-war-ondas-blacksky-iridium-4066149d?mod=RTA">cited</a>&nbsp;by Barron’s.

Oppenheimer names three promising small caps making counter-drone technology

Small caps are more vulnerable than large caps to further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, according to a BofA <a href="https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/russell-2000-how-exposed-is-it-to-the-iran-shock-4537982">note</a>. The main risk is a stagflation shock triggered by higher oil prices. At the same time, small caps tend to recover faster than their large-cap peers after risk-off periods, BofA points out.

BofA: Key risk for small caps in Iran conflict is oil-driven stagflation shock

NextVision Stabilized Systems, Ltd.

Aryt Industries Ltd.

Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.

Mobilicom Limited

ParaZero Technologies Ltd.

The escalating conflict between Israel and the U.S. and Iran is fueling demand for modern warfare defense and software systems faster than supply chains can keep up. In Israel’s equity market, this has significantly boosted defense and tech companies. On <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/news/te_news:529637:0-israel-stocks-hit-record-high/#:~:text=Israel%E2%80%99s%20main%20stock%20index%2C%20the%20TA%2D125%2C%20surged%20nearly%206%25%20on%20Monday">Monday</a>, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange’s benchmark TA-125 index rose as much as 6% intraday. On <a href="https://market.tase.co.il/en/market_data/index/137/major_data#:~:text=Previous%20Trading%20Days">Tuesday</a>, the index closed up 4.75%.

Which small Israeli defense tech stocks can vie with large peers for defense budgets?

GitLab Inc.

GitLab, a mid-cap provider of software development tools, fell nearly 9% in the first minutes of Wednesday's premarket trading after <a href="https://ir.gitlab.com/news/news-details/2026/GitLab-Reports-Fourth-Quarter-and-Full-Year-Fiscal-Year-2026-Financial-Results-Board-of-Directors-Authorizes-400-million-for-Share-Repurchase-Program/default.aspx">warning</a>&nbsp;that revenue growth will slow in the near term. CEO Bill Staples&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/gitlab-sees-ai-agent-platform-hybrid-pricing-driving-growth-131daa1a">said</a>&nbsp;"we aren’t satisfied with our revenue growth guidance."

Software provider GitLab sees shares tumble on disappointing sales guidance

M-tron Industries, Inc.

Shares of M-tron Industries, a small-cap firm that manufactures frequency and spectrum control products for electronic circuits, could now rise about 12% on a two-month horizon, according to a trade idea released by Freedom Broker (and seen by <i>Oninvest</i>). The analysts cite a likely rise in military spending amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Freedom Broker: M-tron has more than 12% upside on 2-month horizon amid ME conflict

Small Caps

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