{"id":12731,"date":"2026-03-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hazelbakerfinancial.com\/weekly-market-performance-march-20-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T10:00:00","slug":"weekly-market-performance-march-20-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advisors3.bradcable.com\/hazelbakerfinancial\/weekly-market-performance-march-20-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly Market Performance \u2014 March 20, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

LPL Research<\/a>
\nLast Updated: March 20, 2026<\/p>\n

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of\u00a0March\u00a016,\u00a02026.<\/b> Markets navigated a choppy week marked by ongoing geopolitical tensions and shifting rate expectations amid a flurry of\u00a0global\u00a0central bank decisions. U.S. equities showed resilience early on but\u00a0ultimately slipped\u00a0as inflation concerns, elevated energy prices, and hawkish Federal Reserve takeaways weighed on sentiment. International markets faced similar headwinds, with European equities pressured by rising rates and higher crude prices, while Asian markets ended mixed amid\u00a0a few different local developments. In fixed income, global front\u2011end yields surged as markets reassessed the path of rate cuts, while commodities remained volatile with energy prices rising and precious metals declining.<\/p>\n

Stock Index Performance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Index<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
S&P 500<\/b><\/td>\n-1.92%<\/td>\n-5.86%<\/td>\n-4.98%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dow Jones Industrial<\/b><\/td>\n-2.21%<\/td>\n-8.25%<\/td>\n-5.27%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nasdaq Composite<\/b><\/td>\n-2.17%<\/td>\n-5.51%<\/td>\n-6.96%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Russell 2000<\/b><\/td>\n-1.95%<\/td>\n-8.71%<\/td>\n-2.02%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MSCI EAFE<\/b><\/td>\n-2.96%<\/td>\n-10.92%<\/td>\n-2.69%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MSCI EM<\/b><\/td>\n-2.10%<\/td>\n-10.80%<\/td>\n1.64%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

S&P 500 Index Sectors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sector<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Materials<\/b><\/td>\n-4.75%<\/td>\n-11.86%<\/td>\n2.40%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Utilities<\/b><\/td>\n-4.76%<\/td>\n-3.74%<\/td>\n4.15%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Industrials<\/b><\/td>\n-2.26%<\/td>\n-9.32%<\/td>\n3.51%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consumer Staples<\/b><\/td>\n-4.14%<\/td>\n-6.59%<\/td>\n5.48%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Real Estate<\/b><\/td>\n-3.69%<\/td>\n-6.64%<\/td>\n1.19%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Health Care<\/b><\/td>\n-3.26%<\/td>\n-7.67%<\/td>\n-6.68%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Financials<\/b><\/td>\n0.30%<\/td>\n-6.72%<\/td>\n-10.89%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Consumer Discretionary<\/b><\/td>\n-2.78%<\/td>\n-7.50%<\/td>\n-10.60%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Information Technology<\/b><\/td>\n-1.88%<\/td>\n-5.14%<\/td>\n-8.47%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Communication Services<\/b><\/td>\n-1.91%<\/td>\n-4.65%<\/td>\n-4.87%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Energy<\/b><\/td>\n3.34%<\/td>\n8.68%<\/td>\n32.55%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Fixed Income and Commodities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Indexes and Commodities<\/b><\/td>\nWeek-Ending<\/b><\/td>\nOne Month<\/b><\/td>\nYear to Date<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate<\/b><\/td>\n0.28%<\/td>\n-1.07%<\/td>\n0.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg Credit<\/b><\/td>\n0.58%<\/td>\n-1.60%<\/td>\n-0.36%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg Munis<\/b><\/td>\n0.03%<\/td>\n-1.08%<\/td>\n0.76%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bloomberg High Yield<\/b><\/td>\n0.08%<\/td>\n-1.34%<\/td>\n-0.43%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oil<\/b><\/td>\n0.00%<\/td>\n48.09%<\/td>\n71.23%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Natural Gas<\/b><\/td>\n-0.61%<\/td>\n2.13%<\/td>\n-15.57%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Gold<\/b><\/td>\n-10.49%<\/td>\n-12.04%<\/td>\n4.01%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Silver<\/b><\/td>\n-15.75%<\/td>\n-19.79%<\/td>\n-5.25%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Source: LPL Research, Bloomberg 3\/20\/26 @3:23 p.m. ET
\nDisclosures: Indexes are unmanaged and cannot be invested in directly.<\/i><\/p>\n

U.S. and International Equities<\/h2>\n

U.S. Equities:\u00a0<\/b>Major domestic benchmarks, although lower, continued to display some resilience over the last five days amid quite a few moving pieces originating from at home and abroad.\u00a0At the forefront, inflation and economic growth jitters from still elevated energy prices kept a lid on equities, however, the S&P 500\u00a0received\u00a0some support from\u00a0optimism that additional tankers will pass the Strait of Hormuz after two vessels traversed the waterway last weekend with more attempts reportedly queued up.\u00a0Wall Street bulls held the line to post back-to-back gains with positioning and sentiment dynamics,\u00a0a\u00a0rate\u00a0reprieve,\u00a0as well as the favorable earnings backdrop flagged for the early week upside. Nonetheless, lingering geopolitical overhangs\u00a0pressured equities back below the weekly unchanged point\u00a0in conjunction with\u00a0Bureau of Labor Statistics data\u00a0indicating\u00a0producer price pressures increased more than expected last month.\u00a0\u00a0Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut expectations\u00a0were also\u00a0pushed out to 2027 on hawkish-leaning takeaways from\u00a0Wednesday\u2019s decision.\u00a0Simultaneously, regional Iranian attacks on key energy facilities\u00a0easily offset de-escalatory remarks from President Trump and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, before the equity slide was accelerated Friday by\u00a0additional\u00a0U.S. military assets\u00a0reportedly\u00a0heading\u00a0to the region.<\/p>\n

International Equities:\u00a0<\/b>Volatility in European equities remained elevated for another week of trading as\u00a0the STOXX\u00a0600 dropped just over 3.75%.\u00a0Crude oil posting another week of gains dragged on the oil- and natural gas-sensitive region,\u00a0while central bank takeaways also dominated\u00a0investor attention. Following Thursday\u2019s European Central Bank (ECB) hold, remarks from ECB officials that a rate hike could be considered soon if price pressures continue to build\u00a0was\u00a0among standout\u00a0headlines, while upward pressure on rates\u00a0exacerbated\u00a0the risk-off tone\u00a0over the last two days of the week.\u00a0The Swiss National Bank and Bank of England\u00a0also\u00a0fulfilled expectations of no change, as well as Sweden\u2019s\u00a0Riksbank.<\/p>\n

In Asia, geopolitical\u00a0developments\u00a0remained in focus in addition to a few regional developments, but major exchanges broadly\u00a0ended\u00a0mixed.\u00a0Greater China\u00a0was among laggards as\u00a0tech names faced\u00a0pressure from muddy artificial intelligence profit\u00a0worries after\u00a0Tencent curtailed\u00a0buybacks and offered\u00a0little insight into their agentic AI profitability strategy. Plus, the People\u2019s Bank of China\u00a0held\u00a0one- and five-year loan prime rates unchanged, after rate cut bets fizzled\u00a0following\u00a0strong activity figures earlier in the week.\u00a0Japanese\u00a0shares\u00a0reversed gains on Thursday\u00a0after the Bank of Japan\u00a0cited\u00a0the\u00a0geopolitical\u00a0uncertainty\u00a0in the Middle East\u00a0when holding rates unchanged. Elsewhere, South Korea held a weekly jump from\u00a0authorities\u2019\u00a0announcement\u00a0of\u00a0restrictions on publicly traded firms listing certain subsidiaries to help enhance shareholder value, while unemployment hit a three-month low.<\/p>\n

Fixed Income, Currency, and Commodity Markets<\/h2>\n

Fixed Income: <\/b>Core bonds, measured by the Bloomberg Aggregate\u00a0Index,\u00a0traded\u00a0lower after reversing a week-to-date gain as U.S. Treasury yields\u00a0\u2014 alongside\u00a0developed market bond yields\u00a0\u2014\u00a0moved sharply higher to end the week, with 10\u2011year U.K.\u00a0Gilts at 4.93%, the highest level since 2008.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., the Treasury\u00a0yield\u00a0curve has bear\u2011flattened aggressively this week. The 2s\/10s curve sits\u00a0near\u00a0the flattest\u00a0level\u00a0since last July and down from its recent peak of 73 bps on February 5.\u00a0The flattening is being driven by a front\u2011end selloff: the 2\u2011year yield has risen 42 bps since February 5, while the 10\u2011year is\u00a0down\u00a0only 12 bps.\u00a0Markets have shifted from pricing in\u00a0two-and-a-half\u00a0Fed rate cuts for 2026 to now assigning a non\u2011trivial probability of rate hikes this year. Markets have also priced\u00a0in\u00a0the end of the global rate\u2011cutting cycle, with rate hike probabilities increasing across all major developed markets.\u00a0Higher front\u2011end yields are being driven by inflation concerns linked to the conflict in Iran. U.S.\u00a0two\u2011year and\u00a0five\u2011year TIPS\u00a0breakevens\u00a0have become unanchored and continue to rise, though longer\u2011term inflation expectations\u00a0remain\u00a0well\u2011contained.\u00a0With long\u2011term inflation expectations still stable\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and with the\u00a0bar for\u00a0rate hikes still high, as reinforced by Chair Powell earlier this week\u00a0\u2014\u00a0market pricing may be overly hawkish, in our view. Front\u2011end yields globally now appear too elevated.\u00a0This move\u00a0provides\u00a0another opportunity for cash investors to extend excess cash out a few years (but not beyond\u00a0five\u00a0years) to take advantage of the backup in yields.<\/p>\n

Commodities and Currencies: <\/b>The broader commodities complex\u00a0remained volatile but\u00a0ultimately ended\u00a0the week moderately lower. Energy prices continued to take center stage with both West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude gaining ground as Iran\u2019s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz\u00a0and regional attacks on major gas fields and broader facilities\u00a0continued.\u00a0Mixed headlines around the U.S.-Iran conflict kept trading choppy with Brent briefly trading near $120,\u00a0before paring gains after\u00a0President\u00a0Trump\u00a0stated\u00a0the U.S. will look to end the conflict soon while Israeli Prime Minister\u00a0stated\u00a0Iranian uranium enrichment and missile\u00a0manufacturing\u00a0capabilities were now inoperable. However, little signs of de-escalation\u00a0on\u00a0Friday left prices higher and continued to widen the spread between the global benchmark Brent and North America\u2019s WTI\u00a0crude.\u00a0The overall commodities complex was dented by a\u00a0notable\u00a0slide in gold and silver prices, while grains also declined.\u00a0The dollar\u00a0weakened over the last five days.<\/p>\n

Economic Weekly Roundup<\/h2>\n

March FOMC Meeting:\u00a0For obvious reasons, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) struck the phrase \u201csigns of stabilization\u201d from Wednesday\u00a0afternoon\u2019s statement\u00a0as they\u00a0maintain\u00a0a holding pattern.<\/p>\n