​EBC Markets Briefing | Wall St got a reprieve; oil prices volatile

Wall Street ended sharply higher on Monday, fuelled by gains in AI-related stocks, with Meta Platforms climbing after a report that it is preparing for sweeping layoffs.

At Nvidia's annual developer conference on Monday, CEO Jensen Huang took the stage to a packed house and said he expects purchase orders between Blackwell and Vera Rubin to reach $1 trillion through 2027.

Vera Rubin will be rolled out later this year. The system, which is made up of 1.3 million components, will deliver 10 times more performance per watt than its predecessor, Grace Blackwell.

Meanwhile, the company is expanding deals for its autonomous vehicle development business to Hyundai Motor, Nissan Motor and Isuzu, as well as Chinese automakers BYD and Geely.

Investors were already nervous about the future returns on AI outlays. Significantly more expensive energy will only deepen their fears at a time when risks ⁠to many other sectors are growing too.

Goldman Sachs reckon the direct impact of "modestly" higher oil prices on S&P 500 earnings should be fairly muted, but an extended period of supply disruption or uncertainty poses much greater risk to economic activity.

The S&P 500 found support at its 200 SMA, but a bullish reversal may not happen soon. We see a prolonged period of consolidation above the level, unless a break above 50 SMA helps improve sentiment.

Asset recap

As of market close on 16 March, among EBC major products, iShares MSCI SOUTH KOREA ETF led gains. Goldman Sachs Research increased its year-end 2026 target for the KOSPI to 7,000 from 6,400 previously.

Five days after a cyberattack, Stryker has now shared an update saying that the services remain disrupted and that it is "prioritizing restoration of systems that directly support customers, ordering and shipping".

The US is allowing Iranian oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The ongoing war has triggered the largest oil supply disruption in history as exports through the strait collapse.

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