MARKET INSIGHTS

Weekly market commentary

02-Mar-2026
  • BlackRock Investment Institute

Gauging the Mideast supply shock

Weekly video_20260309
Natalie Gill
Senior Portfolio Strategist, BlackRock Investment Institute

Opening frame: What’s driving markets? Market take

Camera frame

The Middle East conflict is causing energy supply disruptions and price shocks with very different regional market effects. It adds to inflation risk and reinforces our long-held view that we are in a world shaped by supply. For now, we see energy supply disruptions lasting weeks – not months – and don’t currently see any reason to push back on current pricing.

Title slide: Gauging the Mideast supply shock

1: Upending market trends

The conflict is upending recent trends and well-established relationships in global markets. International equities had outperformed US stocks this year – but that leadership has reversed abruptly.

Similarly, prices of liquified natural gas – or LNG – are rocketing upward in regions that rely heavily on imports such as Europe, but staying mostly put in the US Long-term US Treasuries declined, whereas they would often rally and cushion equity market selloffs in past geopolitical crises. This aligns with our view that we are at risk of an inflationary supply shock, rather than a classic demand-driven growth slowdown.

2: Sizing up the shock

This is a disruption at the heart of the global LNG infrastructure – very different from the Europe-centric, pipeline-driven energy crunch of 2022. Back then, LNG prices tightened through competitive bidding and stockpiling. Today, the strain on energy starts at export terminals and shipping posts. We think that Europe and parts of Asia will feel the most strain since they rely on imported LNG for industrial production.

3: A world shaped by supply

These developments fit a pattern we’ve long observed: geopolitical shocks creating supply constraints in a fragmenting world. Structurally sticky inflation remains the risk if the disruption endures. Against this backdrop, growth-inflation trade-offs become even more acute. That tension is already showing up in rising long-term bond yields and upward pressure on term premia, or the extra compensation investors demand to hold long-term bonds. Even without a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we could see the shock upend the 'low inflation, lower interest rates' narrative that has powered markets until recently.

Outro: Here’s our Market take

The situation remains fluid, with real risks. For now, we believe the shock is likely to be short-lived. We see disruptions measured in weeks, rather than in months. We stay underweight long-term US Treasuries and favor US and Japanese stocks. In Europe, we like select sectors such as financials, pharma and infrastructure.

Supply chain shock

The Middle East conflict is causing a supply chain shock. Energy prices have spiked, and we don’t see a basis to disagree given what we know now.

Market backdrop

US stocks ended the week lower, outperforming sharp equity declines elsewhere. US 10-year Treasury yields climbed, defying their role as a haven.

Week ahead

US inflation data this week could test whether energy-driven price pressures broaden, shaping the Fed’s policy flexibility amid rising inflation risk.

The Middle East conflict is causing an energy-led supply chain shock, with very different effects around the world. Market pricing suggests weeks of disruptions, not days or months. The episode adds to inflation risk in a world shaped by supply factors. That’s why long-term Treasury yields have edged up, defying their role as a haven. There’s a risk of a stagflationary shock but it’s not a given, as market pricing indicates. We stay underweight long-term Treasuries and favor US stocks.

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A shock with disparate outcomes

US equity performance vs the rest of the world, 2025-26

The chart shows how the conflict in the Mideast has abruptly reversed recent equity market trends. Until March, emerging markets were far outperforming the US; now, their performance has plummeted while the US has held mostly steady.

The figures shown relate to past performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. Source: BlackRock Investment Institute with data from LSEG Datastream, March 2026. Note: Price indices used as follows: MSCI Emerging Markets, MSCI All Country World Excluding United States and MSCI USA.

The conflict is upending recent trends and well-established relationships in global markets. International equities had walloped US stocks until the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, driven largely by AI-related disruption fears in industries the US is exposed to. See the bars on the left side of the chart. That leadership has reversed abruptly: equity markets in regions most dependent on energy imports have sagged sharply whereas the MSCI US has been steady (right set of bars). Prices of liquified natural gas (LNG) showed similar trends, rocketing upward in regions that rely heavily on imports such as Europe and staying mostly put in the US Long-term US Treasury yields jumped even as stocks pulled back, showing their supposed diversification properties can be a mirage. The yield increase aligns with our view that we are at risk of an inflationary supply shock, rather than a demand-driven growth slowdown.

How big will the shock be? It comes down to supply chain disruptions, in particular for energy. Months of disruptions could push up inflation and materially hurt growth. Oil futures pricing indicates disruptions could last for weeks, not months. This is reasonable because economic and political pressures will likely provide strong incentives to contain the conflict. And disruptions could ease in the meantime if US naval escorts and shipping insurance prove effective in preventing a prolonged closure of the world’s energy aorta – the Strait of Hormuz. The net result of all this: a short-term supply squeeze with disparate regional effects.

Energy infrastructure in focus

The conflict is a disruption at the heart of LNG infrastructure, very different from the Europe-centric, pipeline-driven energy crunch in 2022. Back then, LNG prices tightened through competitive bidding and stockpiling. Today, the strain on energy starts at export terminals and shipping posts. We see Europe and parts of Asia as most vulnerable given their reliance on imported LNG for power and industrial production. These markets have underperformed the more shielded US as a result, and we see no reason to push back on that. The performance divergence reflects an asymmetrical energy market structure: oil can be rerouted globally, but LNG infrastructure, shipping and pricing are very regional.

The episode fits a pattern of geopolitical shocks creating supply constraints in a fragmenting world. Structurally sticky inflation remains the risk if the disruption endures. This makes growth-inflation trade-offs more acute than in the pre-fragmentation era – and reinforces our long-held view of a world shaped by supply. Markets are reflecting this in rising bond yields and upward pressure on term premia, or the extra compensation investors demand to hold long-term bonds. Even absent a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, we could see the shock upend the “low inflation, lower interest rates” narrative that has powered markets until recently. This reinforces our view that inflation could surprise to the upside.

Our bottom line

The situation is fluid, and the risks are real. For now, we believe the shock is likely to be short-lived. We see disruptions measured in weeks, rather than in months or days. We stay underweight long-term US Treasuries and favor US and Japanese stocks. In Europe, we like the financial, pharma and infrastructure sectors.

Market backdrop

The Middle East conflict had disparate market effects last week, with energy-importing markets hit hardest. European natural gas spiked nearly 70% in stark contrast to the 8% gain in US gas prices. The S&P 500 fell 2%, holding up better than international peers: Europe’s Stoxx 600 shed 6%, alongside Japan’s Topix. South Korea’s Kospi fell 11%. Yields on the US 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.11% on inflation fears, defying its role as a haven in geopolitical conflicts.

We focus this week on US inflation data, with CPI and PCE likely to reinforce the persistence of underlying price pressures on sticky services inflation and solid wage growth. In China, CPI and PPI data are expected to remain subdued, underscoring weak domestic demand and lingering deflationary pressures.

Week ahead

The chart shows that gold is the best performing asset year-to-date among a selected group of assets, while bitcoin is the worst.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. Indexes are unmanaged and do not account for fees. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Sources: BlackRock Investment Institute, with data from LSEG Datastream as of March 6, 2026. Notes: The two ends of the bars show the lowest and highest returns at any point year to date, and the dots represent current year-to-date returns. Emerging market (EM), high yield and global corporate investment grade (IG) returns are denominated in US dollars, and the rest in local currencies. Indexes or prices used are: spot Brent crude, ICE US Dollar Index (DXY), spot gold, spot bitcoin, MSCI Emerging Markets Index, MSCI Europe Index, LSEG Datastream 10-year benchmark government bond index (US, Germany and Italy), Bloomberg Global High Yield Index, J.P. Morgan EMBI Index, Bloomberg Global Corporate Index and MSCI USA Index.

March 8

Japan trade balance; China CPI, PPI

March 11

US CPI

March 12

US trade balance

March 13

US PCE; University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey; UK GDP

Read our past weekly commentaries here.

Big calls

Our highest conviction views on six- to 12-month (tactical) and over five-year (strategic) horizons, March 2026

Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective, March 2026. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon by the reader as research or investment advice regarding any particular funds, strategy or security.

Tactical granular views

Six- to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, March 2026

Legend Granular

We have lengthened our tactical investment horizon back to six to 12 months. The table below reflects this and, importantly, leaves aside the opportunity for alpha, or the potential to generate above-benchmark returns – especially at a time of heightened volatility.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Note: Views are from a US dollar perspective. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Euro-denominated tactical granular views

Six to 12-month tactical views on selected assets vs. broad global asset classes by level of conviction, March 2026

Legend Granular

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of current or future results. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Note: Views are from a euro perspective, March 2026. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific time and is not intended to be a forecast or guarantee of future results. This information should not be relied upon as investment advice regarding any particular fund, strategy or security.

Meet the authors

Jean Boivin
Head – BlackRock Investment Institute
Wei Li
Global Chief Investment Strategist – BlackRock Investment Institute
Mark Hume
Portfolio Manager Thematics and Sectors Team of BlackRock Fundamental Equities
Natalie Gill
Senior Portfolio Strategist – BlackRock Investment Institute
Ehsan Khoman
Economist — BlackRock Investment Institute

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