NVIDIA Corporation

Microsoft Corporation

Palantir Technologies Inc.

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

"Timing is not important." Trump named four goals of military operation in Iran

Startup Anthropic has experienced glitches with its artificial intelligence app Claude. This happened shortly after the app topped the Apple App Store charts. The company reported record volumes of user registrations. It was Anthropic's AI tools that caused investors to worry about the future of the business model of companies in a number of industries, causing a "software apocalypse" - a stock sell-off.

Anthropic has announced a glitch in its AI. This startup has launched a "software apocalypse"

Analysts expect the S&amp;P 500 to grow by 13% by the end of the year - only a sharp and sustained rise in the price of oil can change this forecast

Morgan Stanley refused to change its bullish outlook on US stocks because of the Iran war

The Nasdaq Composite index of the US technology sector has recovered the fall it showed after the opening of trading and even gained almost 0.2%. However, the index is unstable and from time to time goes into negative territory again. At the beginning of trading on March 2, the index fell by 1.6% on the background of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, which began on February 28.

The Nasdaq index recovered its losses and turned to growth. Investors buy on the downturn

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

Citigroup has revised its global strategy, choosing the UK's FTSE 100 index as its main "geopolitical hedge"

Citigroup has upgraded its rating on UK stocks. Why did they become a "safe haven"? 

The U.S.-flagged tanker Stena Imperative was damaged in a Bahraini port on Monday night, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-flagged-products-tanker-hit-by-unknown-projectiles-bahrain-port-sources-say-2026-03-02/">reported</a>, citing two sources.

U.S.-flagged tanker damaged in Bahrain port - Reuters

On the first day of trading after the start of a large-scale military conflict between Israel and the United States and Iran, in which other Middle Eastern oil-producing countries were also involved, oil prices predictably jumped. Sergey Pigarev, Senior Analyst at Freedom Finance Global, wrote for Oninvest about who in the Middle East was in a more favorable position and how long the period of high oil prices will last.

Oil prices jumped due to the war in the Middle East. Who in the region is in a better position?  

France intends to increase its nuclear arsenal and may temporarily deploy warheads abroad for the first time, French President Emmanuel Macron said. On Monday, he unveiled a new doctrine of "forward deterrence" that envisions deeper cooperation between France and European countries, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-02/france-to-increase-nuclear-arsenal-with-us-commitments-in-doubt">reported</a>.

France to increase nuclear arsenal - Macron

The president of Yardeni Research believes the current campaign will not be a repeat of the protracted crises of the 1970s and advises profit taking in gold and oil