Washington failed to stabilize markets this week, despite several claims of peace progress from President Donald Trump regarding the war with Iran. Though the U.S. issued a 15-point peace plan early in the week, Iranian leaders rejected the proposal to end the conflict and made demands of their own. Trump halted strikes on the region's energy infrastructure for five days and then until April 6, however, which set the week off to a good start, pushing oil prices lower.
However, as ICE agents flooded airports and the Department of Homeland Security remained unfunded, markets suffered whipsaw action for the remainder of the week. By Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) had slipped into correction territory. Despite several impressive pops, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) also eyed a drop on Friday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are now on track for a fifth-straight weekly loss, as Brent crude topped $110 Friday.
Where Analysts, Brokerages Are Placing Their Bets
Elliott Investment Management triggered a massive surge for Synopsys (SNPS),after reports surface that the finance firm took a multibillion-dollar stake in the chipmaker. AI giant CoreWeave (CRWV), meanwhile, enjoyed reinstated coverage from BofA Global Research.
Even the Pentagon placed is betting on Palantir Technologies (PLTR), with Reuters indicating it will use its AI platform for weapons targeting. On the sour side of things, Qualcomm (QCOM) suffered a pullback after Bernstein downgraded the stock to "market perform," citing industry headwinds.
Historic 'Buy' Signals Now Flashing
Several historic bullish signals flashed this week. Uranium giant Centrus Energy (LEU), crypto favorite Riot Platforms (RIOT), and satellite stock AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) all looked poised for noteworthy jumps higher.
Amid the geopolitical tensions, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) looked like a solid buy as well, with the drone stock set to potentially gain as much as 9.1%. There is one red-hot oil stock you might want to avoid, though, as Devon Energy (DVN) nears a trendline with historically bearish implications.
March Expiration, Selloffs, and Easter Week
Make sure you check out Schaeffer's Senior V.P. of Research Todd Salamone's take on whether March expiration accentuated the broader market selloff, as well as Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White's look at hedging during a market struggles.
While a holiday-shortened week is ahead, the end of March still brings few earnings stragglers and economic reports worth catching. Plus, don’t forget about our Market Madness going on over at Substack.
