U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. may ease sanctions on Iranian oil already at sea in the coming days to ease pressure from rising energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East. He <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/bessent-rules-out-government-intervention-oil-futures-market-during-iran-war">said</a> this in an interview with Fox Business television channel.

The U.S. allowed the easing of sanctions against Iranian oil. Brent fell to $109

Venture Global, Inc.

Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Equinor ASA

Norwegian Equinor, a major European producer of natural gas, also grew its securities

Shares of U.S. gas exporters jump after damage to Qatar LNG plant

U.S. Treasury bonds have fallen in price and traders have stopped pledging the likelihood of a U.S. interest rate cut this year. Such sentiment in the bond market Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-19/bond-traders-no-longer-price-in-any-chance-of-fed-cut-in-2026">recorded</a> after the Bank of England fueled concerns that global central banks may soon have to act to rein in inflation. Meanwhile, some bond market participants are already hedging against a possible rate hike in the coming months, the agency said.

The market is no longer mortgaging the likelihood of a Fed rate cut this year

Brent crude oil slowed at the opening of the US trading session and is trading at nearly $113 a barrel - after an intraday high above $119

US stocks continued to fall: investors are pricing in a "prolonged energy shock"

This is the sixth consecutive time the ECB has made such a decision

The European Central Bank, following the Fed, kept rates unchanged amid the war

"We're moving from a supply chain problem to a potential supply problem itself - that's a big difference," Pickering Energy Partners said

'Turning point': analysts warn of new energy shock over war

Perfect Corp.

Shares of Perfect Corp., a small-cap developer of AI-powered beauty solutions and a partner to global brands including L’Oréal, surged nearly 30% on Wednesday after the company <a href="https://ir.perfectcorp.com/news-and-events/news-releases/news-details/2026/Perfect-Announces-Receipt-of-Preliminary-Non-Binding-Going-Private-Proposal/default.aspx">said</a>&nbsp;it had received a preliminary <a href="https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001899830/a78d3f1c-b1a9-470f-b4c6-7f9fc0aec3c0.pdf">buyout offer</a>&nbsp;from Taiwan-based software developer CyberLink and founder Alice Chang.

Shares of virtual beauty company Perfect Corp. soar on going-private proposal

ADTRAN Holdings, Inc.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation

Bowman Consulting Group Ltd.

Portfolio managers of three funds at Royce Investments, Jim Stoeffel and Andrew Palen, <a href="https://www.royceinvest.com/insights/2026/1Q26/how-micro-caps-can-stay-on-top">named</a>&nbsp;three small-cap stocks “in which we have long-term conviction.” Two of them, in their view, will benefit from investments in AI, while one will gain from rising U.S. infrastructure spending.

Three 'long-term conviction' holdings from Royce

Quotes have declined for seven consecutive trading days while oil over $100 per barrel and a strong U.S. dollar pressured the precious metals market

No longer a protective asset: gold nears longest losing streak in 2.5 years

BankUnited, Inc.

Champion Homes, Inc.

ESAB Corporation

FirstService Corporation

AZZ Inc.

Patrick Industries, Inc.

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc.

Primoris Services Corporation

The S&amp;P SmallCap 600 index has <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5ESP600/">risen</a>&nbsp;1.5% year to date, while the broader-market S&amp;P 500 has <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC/">fallen</a> more than 3.0%. On the one hand, investors are seeking more attractive alternatives to tech stocks and diversifying their portfolios, Barron's <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/small-cap-stocks-funds-21f99423?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfo1dD7hiMDWoiAMoUesBM2U_8b7jNmNWUguoHoGBVCLwkL3scN4izy&amp;gaa_ts=69b7c082&amp;gaa_sig=z-A7l6M0qp-rQ1Zzcerb0ado3JXtJhXJMAXeCQnPcOkZCjhr9CqVAUeiO1Og_NZnMSI40M3x8Uiu4sgZCnx8vA%3D%3D">writes</a>&nbsp;in a feature. On the other, earnings among small-cap companies are recovering after nearly three years of decline. That “represents a meaningful shift” for smaller companies, T. Rowe Price notes. Trailing 12-month earnings for the S&amp;P SmallCap 600 have increased nearly 30% since last October, following almost three years of contraction.

Four 'top-notch' funds, eight 'under-the-radar' stocks for small-cap investors

Rocket Lab Corporation

Red Cat Holdings, Inc.

Five Below, Inc.

Micron Technology, Inc.

EquipmentShare.com Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

Amazon.com, Inc.

Macy's, Inc.

Jabil Inc.

Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

Daily review and forecast of events on the U.S. stock market from Mikhail Denislamov, Deputy Director of Freedom Capital Markets Research.

Morning in New York: external background favors continuation of correction

Saudi Arabian Oil Company

On March 19, futures for the benchmark Mark Brent crude oil <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/@LCO.1">rose by</a> more than 10%, exceeding the $119 per barrel mark in the course of trading. Then the growth slowed down a bit, at the time of publication of this text Brent was trading above $116 per barrel.

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