Volatile Start to the Week as Oil Surges, Oracle Reports 09/03/2026

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• Stocks fell Friday after a sharper-than-expected deterioration in the labor market coincided with another jump in oil prices, pressuring equities. The selloff came as the conflict involving Iran approached the one-week mark, with disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz continuing to constrain energy flows. With traffic through the waterway still severely limited, analysts say crude could continue climbing, potentially beyond $100 a barrel if conditions fail to improve. Roughly 20% of the global oil supply moves through the Strait. Labor data added to the risk-off tone. The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department, far fewer than forecasts had called for. The report also showed that one in four job seekers has been unemployed for at least 27 weeks.
• Even so, a handful of individual stocks stood out. Marvell Technology outperformed despite weakness in the Nasdaq, helped by optimism around AI-driven chip revenue growth. Trump said Sunday evening that a rise in short-term oil prices was “a very small price to pay” for eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat. Stock futures fell sharply at the start of the new week as U.S. crude approached $120 a barrel, raising concern that higher energy costs could weigh heavily on the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is coming off its steepest weekly decline in nearly a year. Separately, the U.S. ordered staff to leave Saudi Arabia as the Iran conflict widened. There are no major economic releases scheduled for Monday, but investors will be watching a busy week of data on inflation, employment, and gross domestic product. On the earnings front, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is due after the close on Monday, followed later in the week by Kohl’s, Oracle, Dollar General, and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Oil Shock Becomes Market’s Main Risk

• Rising oil prices have become the market’s central concern as the Middle East conflict intensifies, pressuring stocks and raising the risk of broader economic fallout. West Texas Intermediate crude has climbed nearly 36% and Brent about 27% during the conflict, helping drag major U.S. indexes lower. For investors, the key question is whether higher energy prices begin to hit the real economy. “The No. 1 thing that we’re watching right now is the price of oil,” Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments, told MarketWatch. Higher crude prices can ripple through the economy in several ways. Consumers face higher gasoline costs, businesses absorb steeper energy bills, and inflation risks could complicate the Federal Reserve’s path on interest rates.
• Investors spent the week trying to price in those risks, though sharp daily swings showed how difficult that has been. The Cboe Volatility Index traded above 28 on Friday, signaling continued volatility. Some investors are looking to 2022 for comparison, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices surging. But today’s backdrop is different, with stock valuations still elevated and markets potentially more vulnerable to sharp swings if the conflict drags on. “A short-term dislocation in oil is OK, markets historically bounce back,” Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management, told MarketWatch. “But if it extended longer, then you have more supply constraints, higher oil prices, and it’s harder to get back to fundamentals.”

Stocks on the move:

• BlackRock (BLK): Shares fell more than 6% after the firm limited redemptions in a private credit fund amid a spike in outflows. BlackRock’s HPS Corporate Lending Fund received withdrawal requests equal to 9.3% of net asset value. 
• Gap (GAP): Shares dropped about 13% after the apparel retailer posted fourth-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share, missing LSEG estimates by a penny. Revenue was in line at $4.24 billion. 
• Marvell Technology (MRVL): Shares surged 21% after the chipmaker beat quarterly estimates on strong AI-driven demand. Marvell reported adjusted earnings of 80 cents a share on $2.22 billion in revenue, both ahead of LSEG forecasts.
• Samsara (IOT): Shares jumped 15% after the software company issued stronger-than-expected full-year guidance. Its earnings and revenue outlook both came in above LSEG consensus.

Watchlist: ORCL, XOM, COIN, NVDA, HPE, ZIM, TSLA, CVX

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

No major economic data


Earnings

BMO (Before Market Open): ZIM Integrated (ZIM), Korn Ferry (KFY), Nayax Ltd. (NYAX)

AMC (After Market Close): Hewlett-Packard (HPE), Casey's General (CASY),

 

The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!