The latest Market Talks covering the Auto and Transport sector. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0912 GMT - Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz are threatening the middle distillates market, especially jet fuel supply, analysts at Kpler say. "There has been a drastic decrease in product tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz in both westbound and eastbound directions," Loick Buisson says. "This situation is expected to persist, as recent strikes on tankers are heightening security concerns and discouraging transit through the chokepoint." Europe relies on the Middle East for 45% of its jet fuel, compared to 25% for gasoil and diesel, according to the data provider. Jet fuel can also be more challenging to replace, for example due to differences in regional standards, Buisson says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0828 GMT - Europe's blue-chip indexes fall sharply at the open as conflict in the Middle East rocks markets. Airlines, banks and consumer-sensitive stocks fall sharply. Spanish and Italian indexes--which are weighted toward banks--are down most steeply, with the IBEX 35 down 3% in Madrid while the FTSE MIB falls 2.4%. Santander falls 4.15% in Spain, while International Consolidated Airlines Group falls 7.3%. The CAC 40 falls 2% as luxuries bellwether LVMH drops 4%. Banks and industrial stocks drag the German DAX down 2.4%. The Dutch AEX falls 1.2%, as ASML drops 3.4%. Energy and defense stocks gain significantly, however. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 drops 0.9%, though BAE Systems climbs 7.6% and oil supermajor Shell jumps 5%.(josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0828 GMT - Oil prices have room to rise further but the magnitude remains to be seen, according to UOB in a research note. The escalating conflict in the Middle East has pushed oil higher toward $80 a barrel. "We think it is premature to expect $100/bbl as an important red line has yet to be crossed," it says. Iran has neither openly targeted energy facilities across the Middle East nor have they openly targeted oil tankers plying the region, they say. UOB raises its Brent crude oil forecast to $80/bbl for 2Q and 3Q, followed by $70/bbl in 4Q. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are 8.6% higher at $72.77/bbl; front-month Brent crude futures are 9.3% higher at $79.62/bbl. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)

0819 GMT - European defense stocks rise, on the third day of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and the latter's retaliation. Companies involved in missile and air-defense technology are gaining the most. BAE Systems is up 7.9%, Saab rises 6.7%, Thales gains 5.1%, Leonardo advances 4.4%, Rheinmetall goes up 3.5%, and Dassault Aviation increases 3.2%. Meanwhile, aerospace company Airbus falls 2.6%, while engine makers Rolls-Royce and Safran lose 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)

0801 GMT - Oil prices could hit $100 a barrel if transit flows through the Strait of Hormuz don't resume quickly, according to energy consultant Wood Mackenzie. "The key question is when do vessels re-establish export flows," said Alan Gelder, senior VP of refining, chemicals and oil markets. "No doubt, tanker rates and insurance will increase dramatically, but these costs would only be a small part of the oil price impact associated with a curtailment of oil flows if they last for more than a few days." Even in an optimistic scenario where Iran cooperates with the U.S., it could take weeks for exports to normalize. During that period, oil prices would face strong upward pressure--similar to the early days of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, when fears of supply losses pushed prices above $125 a barrel, Gelder says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0757 GMT - Companies and multinational projects making air defense systems will likely attract interest from investors, following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and Iranian retaliation, Citi analyst Charles Armitage says. This includes the European Sky Shield Initiative, he notes. The project involves 22 countries led by Germany, and European and U.S. defense contractors such as Diehl Defence, Rheinmetall, Hensoldt and RTX. Other projects that could come into focus include SAMP/T, a joint venture between MBDA and Thales, and Leonardo's proposed Michelangelo Dome network system, Armitage says. (cristina.gallardo@wsj.com)

0746 GMT - Any disruption to LNG flows through the Strait of Hormuz could have a major impact on Asian buyers, says Kpler's Camille Klass. The strait--which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman--accounts for around 20% of global LNG trade, including exports from Qatar, the world's second-largest LNG exporter. Currently, LNG exports from Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Oman are facing delays as ships remain idle on both sides of the strait, according to Kpler. "China, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Pakistan accounted for roughly 73% of LNG exports from Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Oman in 2025," Klass says. "Pakistan is particularly exposed to any disruption risk, with 99% of its LNG imports from Qatar." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0726 GMT - OPEC+ raised output slightly above expectations but avoided a more aggressive increase, balancing geopolitical risk with the need to avoid oversupply later in the year, says Rystad Energy's Jorge Leon. "OPEC+ is showing it is prepared to use spare capacity if needed, but it is not willing to open the taps aggressively at this stage," the head of geopolitical analysis says. "This also underlines that OPEC+ needs to manage spare capacity carefully." However, the real concern for markets is the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about 20% of global oil supply. If exports through the Gulf are disrupted, additional production from OPEC+ won't offer much relief as access to export routes is far more critical, Leon says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

0726 GMT - BYD's shares rose sharply in Hong Kong and mainland markets as investors look to the company's tech event on March 5. The company said that it would have an event launching "disruptive technology" on Thursday, boosting investors' expectations for new technology that could drive growth. BYD has faced subdued sales over the past few months with its deliveries falling 41% on year to 190,190 units in February. Its A-shares closed 8.4% higher, their largest percentage gain since February 2025. Its H-shares rose 4.1% to 98.85 Hong Kong dollars in afternoon trading. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0643 GMT - The key question for the global economy is obvious: Will the Strait of Hormuz be effectively closed for oil and gas exports for more than a few weeks?, Berenberg's Holger Schmieding says in a note. "If so, it would hurt global growth and raise global inflation noticeably," the chief economist says. A sustained rise in the oil price by $15 a barrel could raise the level of eurozone consumer prices by almost 0.5% and curtail the gain in disposable incomes accordingly, he says. Schmieding, however, expects President Trump "to go to great lengths" to prevent a lasting surge in energy prices that could hurt him at home ahead of the U.S. midterm elections in November. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)

0630 GMT - Disruption to marine traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is the greatest threat to the Japanese economy, as the country relies on shipments through the strait for about 90% of its crude-oil imports, says SMBC Nikko Securities economist Junichi Makino. He estimates that if crude oil prices rise to $100 a barrel, Japan's nominal GDP would decrease by approximately 5.1 trillion yen due to rising import costs. A crude oil price of around $175 a barrel would likely push the Japanese economy into recession, he adds.(megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com)

0433 GMT - Sentiment on airlines' logistics business could improve following the U.S. and Israel attacks on Iran over the weekend, says Andrew Jackson of Ortus Advisors. "War is never good for civilian air travel, and the higher oil costs will also dampen demand," he writes on Smartkarma. "However...the disruption to shipping is likely to cause increased demand for air-freight alternatives, which will push prices higher." For Japanese airlines, there is an argument for being long ANA Holdings versus short Japan Airlines, the head of Japanese equity strategy says. ANA's cargo revenue is about 70% larger than JAL's, he notes. And the latter's heavier dependence on commercial travel revenues is likely to take the bigger hit, for now. ANA is down 5.6%; JAL falls 5.7%. (farah.elias@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 02, 2026 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.