Market Recap - Week of March 23 - 27, 2026

Gordon Achtermann
Mar 30
4 min read

The S&P 500 index posted a 2.1% loss this week, marking its fifth consecutive weekly loss and putting the market benchmark on track for its largest monthly loss in three and a half years.

The S&P 500 ended Friday's session at 6,368.85 and is now down 7% for the year.

The index has dropped 9.0% from the January high point.

Friday's closing level for the S&P 500 marks a 7.4% drop from where it ended February. The index hasn't lost that much in a month since September 2022, when it lost 9.3%. There are just two trading days remaining in the month.

The loss for March would also represent the S&P 500's biggest drop for the month since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic led to shutdowns across the country.

The declines have come amid the US-Israel war with Iran, which has contributed to market uncertainty and a surge in oil prices. This week, US President Donald Trump announced delays for strikes on Iran's energy sector, but the US has also been sending more troops to the Middle East.

Data released on Friday by the University of Michigan showed US consumer sentiment this month reached its lowest level since December, while year-ahead inflation expectations had the largest one-month gain since April amid concerns about the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Communication services had the largest weekly drop by sector, falling 7.2%, followed by a 3.5% decline in technology and a 2.1% slip in financials.

Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) weighed on communication services as both were found liable by a jury for a 20-year-old woman's addiction to their social media platforms. Meta's shares fell 11% on the week while Alphabet's shares slid 8.9%.

Last Week’s Economic Reports

Import prices rose 1.3% m/m vs. 0.6% expected. (That's would be a 16.8% annual rate if continued.)
Initial jobless claims edged higher to 210,000.

Up Next

The US stock market will be closed on Friday for the Good Friday holiday. The government's March employment report -- one of the most closely watched economic reports -- will still be released that morning.

S&P 500 Stylebox and Sector Returns

Once again, I'll note that so far this year, value is the only side of the stylebox in posative territory, with small-cap value companies leading.

How to read the stylebox: The horizontal axis represents investment style, which can be value, blend, or growth for stocks and mutual funds. The vertical axis represents market capitalization for stocks, categorized into large, medium, and small companies. The number in each box represents the percentage growth of the category at the intersection of the column and row. For example, large-cap value is in the top-left corner box of the 9 boxes, so the large-cap value category is up (or down) by the percentage shown in that box.

Thought of the Week

For markets, the first quarter has felt like déjà vu. Just like last year, the quarter was marked by sharp swings; only this time, it was the war in the Middle East, not tariffs, keeping investors on edge and volatility elevated. That said, both episodes fueled the same concern: upside risk to inflation, and that has weighed on returns.

Looking at performance across asset classes in 1Q26, all but commodities have shed gains since the war broke out in late February. Within equities, valuations corrected across the board, but U.S. large cap struggled in particular, dragged lower by the Mag 7 (-15%) as concerns grew over the payback from ever-increasing AI capex. Small cap fared better, as investors continue to expect a sharp acceleration in earnings growth. Internationally, emerging markets continued to outperform developed market peers, led by markets such as Korea and Taiwan that are benefiting from AI related capex. Turning to fixed income, yields rose roughly 35 bps since the start of the year, weighing on returns as near-term inflation concerns again came to the fore, driven largely by higher energy prices. Commodities, meanwhile, stood out as the best-performing asset class, though with wide dispersion—energy gained as oil prices surged nearly 75% year-to-date, while precious metals lost steam.

Last year’s rocky start faded quickly, with markets finishing strong—a reminder that in markets, winters are often short and summers long. Therefore, investors would be wise to consider using the recent dislocations in the market to position portfolios for structural growth themes that are likely to persist long after the conflict in the Middle East is resolved.

Source: JP Morgan (edited)

Thank you to all who attended this month's market Update webinar!

You can watch the replay here:

Iran War Spikes Oil Prices & Netflix Ditches HBO Merger – Monthly Market Update Webinar – March 2026

The episode is also available wherever you listen to podcasts!