Dow down, Nasdaq modestly higher as Oracle lifts tech but Gulf shipping attacks eyed
4:15pm: Wall Street mixed
It was another strong day for oil prices as conflict in the Middle East continued, with crude oil up almost 6% to about $88 per barrel.
US stocks were mixed at the closing bell, with the Nasdaq up 0.1% at 22,716 points, buoyed by a 9% surge in Oracle following its earnings report. The S&P 500 was down 0.1% at 6,775 points and the Dow Jones fell 0.6% to 47,417 points.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines
- Power Metallic Mines Inc (TSX-V:PNPN, FRA:IVV1, OTCQB:PNPNF) may be undervalued according to Noble Capital Markets, with high-grade copper results at the Lion Zone highlighting near-surface continuity and district-scale potential.
- Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF) has increased its private placement from $5 million to $7 million, issuing 14.89 million units with accompanying share purchase warrants.
- Millennial Potash Corp (TSX-V:MLP, OTCQB:MLPNF, FRA:XOD) hosted Gabon’s Minister of Mines at PDAC, showcasing the country’s interest in mining investment and resource diversification beyond oil and gas.
- Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF, FRA:3XS0) announced the retirement of board member Michael Haworth following the divestment of Greenstone fund shareholdings.
- Ocean Power Technologies Inc (NYSE-A:OPTT) reported a growing U.S. government backlog of $19.9 million and a project pipeline of $163.9 million, signaling rising defense and maritime opportunities.
- NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) completed manufacturing of its NV-387 oral drug product, moving a step closer to patient dosing in an upcoming mpox clinical trial.
- 1911 Gold Corp (TSX-V:AUMB, OTCQB:AUMBF, FRA:2KY) confirmed continuity of gold mineralization in early-mining areas at its True North Project in Manitoba through 25 underground drill holes totaling 3,894 metres.
2:25pm: Market movers
- Oracle Corporation shares rose nearly 10% after the company reported fiscal third-quarter revenue above expectations, driven by strong cloud infrastructure growth and accelerating AI infrastructure adoption.
- Nvidia Corporation agreed to invest $2 billion in Nebius Group to help build hyperscale cloud infrastructure platforms designed to support growing demand for artificial intelligence workloads.
- Campbell Soup Company shares fell after the packaged-food maker reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and cut its full-year outlook amid declining sales.
- Rainbow Rare Earths Ltd rose after releasing a $916 million NPV economic assessment for its Uberaba rare earths project in Brazil and signing a joint development agreement with The Mosaic Company.
1:00pm: Little to dislike
Analysts at Bank of America said February U.S. inflation largely met expectations, though underlying measures suggest the Federal Reserve may remain cautious about cutting interest rates.
The bank said the report’s details were generally favorable, noting modest price increases across most categories, declining used car prices and a slowdown in rent inflation.
“Overall, there was little to dislike in the details of the report,” Bank of America analysts said.
However, the bank highlighted that inflation measured by the Fed’s preferred gauge—the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index—appears firmer. Analysts said they are tracking core PCE at about 0.43% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year, significantly stronger than CPI.
Because of that divergence, Bank of America said the latest data does little to strengthen the case for near-term rate cuts, particularly as risks to inflation remain from factors such as higher oil prices.
11:55am: Oracle shares gain
Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL, XETRA:ORC) shares jumped nearly 10% in Wednesday trading following a fiscal third-quarter report that highlighted accelerating cloud growth and expanding AI infrastructure adoption.
UBS analysts called the results “relatively clean,” noting that Oracle’s capital expenditures of $18.6 billion likely reflected near-term capacity coming online, but the full-year capex guidance suggests a material step-down in the final quarter.
“Oracle posted strong 3Q numbers with cloud growth accelerating materially from prior quarters and record sequential cloud dollar adds,” UBS wrote. “Importantly, the ramp in GPU revenue didn’t translate to material bottom-line pressure.”
10.53am: Trump says Iran strikes to end ‘soon’
Donald Trump said he expects the war with Iran will end “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target.”
In a short interview he gave to Axios today, the President said: “Any time I want it to end, it will end.”
The report also said US and Israeli officials are preparing for “at least” two more weeks of strikes in Iran.
Intelligence suggested Iran had started laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, though it is not clear how many mines have been deployed.
Yesterday, in a social media post, the President said, “within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow”, with US Central Command later clarifying that 16 mine-laying ships had been sunk.
On Wall Street, stock indexes have flattened slightly, with the Dow Jones down 0.3%, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%.
Of the 20 largest stocks on the S&P, only Nvidia (0.8%), Chevron (1.7%), Caterpillar (0.1%) and United Health (0.1%) are in the green.
10am: Nasdaq rises but Dow drops
US markets were mixed in early trade, with the Nasdaq up 0.5% and the S&P 500 edging 0.2% higher, while the Dow Jones fell 0.4% as gains in technology stocks offset weakness in more defensive names.
Gains on the S&P 500 were led by Oracle, surging more than 14% after its earnings beat overnight.
Fertiliser producers CF Industries and The Mosaic Company also rallied strongly due to read-across from shipping disruption int the Gulf.
Energy groups including Valero and Marathon Petroleum, and tech hardware names such as Uber, Super Micro Computer , HP Enterprise, Tesla and Dell were among the other top risers.
On the Dow, the biggest fallers were defensive and cyclical names, including Procter & Gamble, paint maker Sherwin-Williams, heavy equipment group Caterpillar and retailer Home Depot.
8.44am: CPI in line, futures a little worse
US futures were little-changed after the CPI release, as inflation data broadly matched expectations.
Headline CPI rose almost 0.3% month-on-month and 2.4% year-on-year, matching forecasts. On an unrounded basis, CPI was up 0.267% on the month, up from 0.171% in January.
Core inflation increased 0.2% on the month and 2.5% annually, also in line with consensus. Unrounded core CPI grew 0.216% on the month, down from 0.295%.
The largely unchanged readings suggest underlying price pressures remained stable heading into the recent surge in energy prices.
Dow futures are down 0.3%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures are down around 0.15%.
Wall Street has inflation as measured by the CPI running sideways in February and holding near the lowest 12-month rates in five years*
*at least until April, when the data collection/imputation distortions from the Oct govt shutdown could fully unwind pic.twitter.com/Q7XREUGXRV
— Nick Timiraos (@NickTimiraos) March 10, 2026
8.15am: Wall Street futures flat on Wednesday
US futures were pointing to a cautious open to Wedneday trading on Wall Street, ahead of the release of US inflation data, as escalating attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz keep oil prices elevated and nerves frayed across global markets.
Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all down around 0.1% to 0.15% ahead of February’s consumer price index release.
European stocks were under heavier pressure, with London’s FTSE 100 down 0.9% and Germany’s DAX off 1.4%, led lower by exporters, defence stocks and miners.
It is difficult for stocks to make any headway with bond market volatility running at unprecedented levels, said XTB analyst Kathleen Brooks, adding that “we are living through a period of high volatility right now.”
Oil is back on the rise, with WTI up over 3% at $86.63 a barrel after a second vessel was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz overnight, forcing its crew to evacuate.
Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted seven drones targeting a strategic oil field, while the US said it destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the waterway yesterday.
If Gulf shipping routes remain impassable, Brooks warned that the inflationary impact extends well beyond fuel, with fertiliser, food and industrial inputs all at risk.
Agricultural commodity prices have already moved sharply, with cocoa up nearly 20% this month, and coffee and wheat both around 5% higher.
In individual stock news, Oracle’s shares were up almost 10% afterhours on the back of an overnight earnings beat.
