Energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have been disrupted - a scenario analysts called "worst-case" among the possible consequences of escalating conflict in the Middle East 

Coal at highs, oil at $80: What's happening in the markets on day 4 of the Iran war

The escalation of the conflict in Iran has led to higher energy prices and increased geopolitical risks: it is unclear how long the crisis will last and how much the region's energy infrastructure will be affected. One of the few beneficiaries may be Russia.

"A reason for optimism": how the war in Iran and the ruble will affect the Russian economy

Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Bausch + Lomb Corporation

Core Scientific, Inc.

Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V

TOR Minerals International, Inc.

Barrick Mining Corporation

Oaktree, an investment firm known for finding value in "unloved" assets, focused on specific niches at year-end, from bitcoin mining to Latin American aviation

Aviation, pharma and bitcoin miner: how billionaire Howard Marks' portfolio has changed

Amazon.com, Inc.

Hanwha Aerospace Co., Ltd.

Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd.

LIG Nex1 Co., Ltd.

Hensoldt AG

BAE Systems plc

Lockheed Martin Corporation

OpenAI admitted that it rushed into a contract with the Pentagon and promised to enshrine a ban on the use of AI for internal surveillance, while Anthropic, after breaking off negotiations with the US Defense Ministry, received a sharp influx of users and opened the "memory" function for the free version. On these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of March 3.

Main by morning: gold and defense rise due to escalation in the Middle East

The risk of oil price rise to $100 per barrel is now considered real even by stock "bulls", notes Bloomberg

Wall Street warned against buying back U.S. stocks on the downturn because of the threat of $100 oil

NVIDIA Corporation

Lumentum Holdings Inc.

Coherent Corp.

Nvidia is investing $2 billion each in photonics manufacturers <a href="https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-announces-strategic-partnership-with-lumentum-to-develop-state-of-the-art-optics-technology">Lumentum Holdings</a> and <a href="https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/nvidia-and-coherent-announce-strategic-partnership-to-develop-optics-technology-to-scale-next-generation-data-center-architecture">Coherent</a> - the chipmaker has entered into strategic agreements with them to beef up its data center processors, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/nvidia-invest-2-billion-photonic-product-maker-lumentum-2026-03-02/">reports </a>. The deals also include Nvidia's commitment to purchase billions of dollars worth of laser and optical components, as well as future access to manufacturing capacity.

Nvidia is investing $4 billion in photonic technology developers. Why would it do that?

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Oracle Corporation

Microsoft Corporation

Zscaler, Inc.

Intuit Inc.

At the same time, bets against software stocks reached the highest level since the 2008 crisis

Is the "software apocalypse" over? The war in Iran has not prevented the return of investors in software

American investor Steve Iceman, who managed to capitalize on the 2008 global financial crisis and became the prototype of one of the main characters in the movie "The Downgrade Game," believes that investors should ignore the war between the U.S. and Iran, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/02/steve-eisman-says-investors-should-ignore-us-iran-war-will-be-long-term-positive.html">reports </a>. On the long horizon, it could prove positive for markets, Iceman told the network.

"Wouldn't change a trade." Investor from "The Downgrade Game" on strategy in a time of war

The Nasdaq Composite Index went into plus territory on Monday, March 2, after recovering from a sharp drop at the beginning of the session. It also recovered from the collapse of the S&amp;P 500. Investors were buying back shares on the drawdown during the first day of trading after the US and Israel began strikes on Iran. The technology sector index was positively affected by the growth of Nvidia and Microsoft securities. Also, against the background of geopolitical risks, shares of oil and defense companies became more expensive.

US tech sector rises on first day of trading after Iran operation begins

The commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Strait of Hormuz is closed and "any ship that tries to pass will be set on fire," Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/iran-live-israel-strikes-hezbollah-uk-base-hit-cyprus-conflict-widens-2026-03-02/">reported </a>, citing Iranian media.

Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil corridor

The start of hostilities in Iran last weekend changes short-term benchmarks for investors: in the current environment, a tactical reduction in the share of stocks in portfolios is justified, keeping the focus on the energy sector, while technology securities may face additional pressure, according to Marko Papich, a strategist at independent research company BCA Research. His note is <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/conflict-in-the-middle-east-wont-stop-markets-rotation-away-from-u-s-tech-stocks-but-accelerate-it-says-bca-strategist-bd0bedd8?mod=newsviewer_click_seemore">quoted by</a> MarketWatch.

Conflict in the Middle East will accelerate sell-off in US IT stocks - BCA

He allowed that the hostilities could last longer than 4-5 weeks

Oil