In the United States, equity markets continued to be dominated by developments in the war in Iran. At the start of last week, sentiment was supported by optimism surrounding energy flows, following reports that Iran had allowed certain tankers to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. This helped to ease oil prices and lift broader equity markets. This trend continued into Tuesday, which was a relatively muted session despite ongoing conflict. However, sentiment shifted slightly on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected PPI data indicated that US factory gate prices had risen well above forecasts. This was compounded by the Fed’s hawkish stance, with rates held at current levels and projections indicating only one rate cut in 2026. Given the fluid economic backdrop, even this outlook remains uncertain. The pivotal moment of the week came with an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field, the largest of its kind globally. This marked the first direct attack on major energy infrastructure, prompting retaliatory action by Iran targeting the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar, the world’s largest LNG terminal. These developments drove gas and oil prices sharply higher, with oil reaching its highest level since the conflict began. As a result, equities fell on Thursday, reaching their lowest level since November 2025. For the week, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed down 2.99% and 3.24%, respectively.
In corporate developments, Uber, the ride-hailing giant, announced plans to invest up to $1.25 billion in electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian. The agreement will see 10,000 autonomous R2 SUVs deployed across the United States. These robotaxis, which are expected to compete with Tesla and Google’s Waymo, will be exclusive to Uber and initially rolled out in San Francisco and Miami. Uber also retains the option to expand the fleet to 40,000 vehicles by 2030. Elsewhere, the impact of the war has forced traditional buyers of Middle Eastern energy products to seek alternative supply sources. Australia is expected to receive a record 200,000 metric tonnes of gasoline from the United States, with the majority supplied by ExxonMobil, which has reportedly booked three shipments from the US Gulf Coast. The United States remains the world’s largest crude oil producer, with output exceeding 13.5 million barrels per day, almost 4 million more than Russia, the next-largest producer.
In technology, NVIDIA held its annual GTC conference in San Jose. GTC 2026, widely regarded as one of the most important industry events globally, featured a series of major announcements spanning artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics. Among the key announcements was the Vera Rubin platform, a system comprising seven new chips and associated infrastructure designed to function as an AI supercomputer. Microsoft has already deployed one of these systems. NVIDIA also unveiled the Nemotron Coalition, a collaboration with AI firms including Mistral, Cursor and Perplexity, aimed at developing next-generation frontier models. In terms of partnerships, NVIDIA announced plans to launch robotaxis in collaboration with Uber across 28 markets by 2028. CEO Jensen Huang described autonomous driving as a potential multi-trillion-dollar industry, stating that its “ChatGPT moment” has arrived. While NVIDIA will provide the underlying platform, automotive manufacturers including BYD, Isuzu and Nissan are developing vehicles based on its technology. From a demand perspective, NVIDIA forecasts approximately $1 trillion in demand for its AI products through 2027, double its previous 2026 estimate. Technologically, the Vera Rubin platform is estimated to deliver around 40 million times the computing power of the DGX-1 system released in 2016, underscoring the rapid pace of advancement in AI hardware.
In Europe, equity markets declined further last week as the war in Iran weighed heavily on sentiment. The sharp rise in European gas and Brent crude oil prices placed additional pressure on markets, as inflation concerns intensified. The European Central Bank held rates as expected and, in line with the US and UK, highlighted the uncertainty created by the conflict. The Euro Stoxx 50 and STOXX Europe 600 closed down 3.75% and 3.87%, respectively.
In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 also declined over the week. While rising oil prices supported energy majors such as BP and Shell, a broader sell-off in metals, driven by hawkish central bank signals, pushed the index close to the 10,000 level on Thursday. Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining led losses towards the end of the week as gold and silver prices fell sharply. Overall, the FTSE 100 closed the week down 3.57%.
In corporate developments, CRH, one of the world’s largest building materials companies, announced that it will fully delist from the London Stock Exchange. This follows its move to a primary listing in New York nearly three years ago and its earlier delisting from Ireland’s ISEQ. The company cited low trading volumes, along with regulatory and administrative burdens, as key reasons for the decision.
