Stocks Slide But Recover From Session Lows

0:00Welcome to Risk Reversals Market Matrix, your AI-generated podcast curated by Guy Adami and Dan Nathan, breaking down the day's most impactful stock market and business headlines. I'm your host Brunson, and all of today's market data is provided by FACSAT. It's Thursday, March 19th, and these are your top stories. Stocks fell for a second day, although closed well off the lows of the session, as investors closely track developments in the Iran conflict, with the Dow recovering from a nearly 500-point drop. Oil prices pulled back after comments, suggesting progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz, though crude remains elevated, following recent attacks on key energy infrastructure. Investors are increasingly coming to terms with a longer-lasting conflict, raising concerns that energy prices may not return to pre-war levels anytime soon. Since that backdrop, markets remain volatile, with geopolitical uncertainty, fading rate-cut expectations, and profit-taking, in tech, all weighing on sentiment.

1:05Wall Street is bracing for a massive triple-witching event, with about $5.7 trillion in options set to expire, marking the largest March expiration on record according to Bloomberg. These events can trigger sharp market swings as traders rush to close or roll positions, and large derivatives exposure disappears. This one comes at a particularly fragile time, with markets already on edge from rising oil prices, fading rate-cut expectations, and geopolitical tensions tied to the Iran conflict. With elevated volatility and heavy positioning in index and ETF options, the risk of outsized moves in certain stocks and the broader market is heightened. After weeks of volatility, energy markets are now being driven by something new and far more unpredictable, real damage on the ground. Strikes on key infrastructure have sent oil and gas prices sharply higher, as traders scramble to assess what's been hit, and how long it'll stay offline. And here's the shift. This isn't just about rerouting supply or waiting out delays anymore.

2:08When major facilities take a direct hit, that supply can be offline for months, not days. The Wall Street Journal writes that analysts say trying to track it all in real time is a nightmare, and it raises the risk of more sustained shortages, greater volatility, and higher inflation. The energy story is starting to impact the consumer. Rising gas prices are forcing Americans to change their spending habits, with many waiting in long lines for cheaper fuel, using apps to find deals, and cutting back on discretionary purchases like dining out and travel. Oil prices have surged sharply, pushing gas close to $4 per gallon. And according to the Wall Street Journal, economists warn this psychological threshold is prompting consumers to become more cautious, especially lower and middle income households. As a result, higher fuel costs are beginning to weigh on broader consumer spending, the main driver of the U.S., economy, with ripple effects already showing up in grocery bills and reduce side income activities like delivery driving. While the overall economic impact will depend on how long prices stay elevated, pro-longed

3:10increases could fuel inflation, dampen growth, and carry political consequences as public frustration over the cost of living rises. Let's get to a few other headlines catching our eye. Micron shares fell more than 3% today, even after posting blowout earnings. The company says the AI-driven memory chip shortage is still extremely tight, with supply meeting only about 50% to 2 thirds of demand. That surge, driven by AI systems like those tied to NVIDIA, helped fuel a quarter where revenue nearly tripled. According to CNBC, after a more than 350% run, investors are taking profits and starting to question how long that momentum can last, especially as more supply comes online. According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is on track to generate more than $1 billion in AI-related revenue this year, but not from its own AI products. Instead, it's cashing in as the gatekeeper, taking a cut of subscriptions from apps like ChatGPT, which alone accounts for the majority of that revenue on the App Store.

4:12While Apple's own AI, especially Siri, still lags behind competitors, its control of the iPhone gives it a powerful advantage as the main distribution channel for AI tools. That's allowed Apple to benefit from the AI boom without spending heavily on chips and data centers like its peers. Now, the company is betting on a different approach, using on-device AI powered by its own chips and user data. With that strategy works, Apple could turn its ecosystem into a long-term edge in the next phase of AI. The information reports that tensions are emerging between Microsoft and OpenAI over cloud exclusivity. OpenAI is working with Amazon Web Services on a new product that would let customers build AI tools using its models on AWS. Microsoft holds exclusive rights to sell OpenAI's models directly to cloud customers through Azure. The new AWS offering is designed to use versions of the models that run on AWS rather than Microsoft hosted systems. Microsoft has said it expects OpenAI to adhere to its contractual obligations. The Wall Street Journal reports that Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise a massive $100

5:17billion fund aimed at buying manufacturing companies and using AI to automate and modernize them. The strategy centers on applying advanced physical world AI through his new venture project Prometheus to improve efficiency in industries like chip making, defense, and aerospace. It's part of a broader shift as big tech leaders move beyond chatbots and into AI-driven robotics and real-world industrial applications. If successful, the fund could rival SoftBank's vision fund and reshape how traditional manufacturing businesses operate. Uber is doubling down on its shift to autonomy, agreeing to invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian and purchase as many as 50,000 autonomous vehicles. The deal includes an initial 10,000 Robotaxi versions of Rivian's new R2 SUV with plans to begin driverless service in cities like San Francisco and Miami by 2028. Uber, which no longer develops its own self-driving tech, is betting on partnerships to power its platform while it manages fleets and customer demand.

6:20The Financial Times notes that the move comes as competition heats up with players like Waymo, Zooks, and Tesla, all racing to scale Robotaxi networks. While Uber positions itself as the central marketplace, rather than the technology owner, that's your risk reversal market matrix. Be sure to follow us to get alerts on new episodes every day. All of the articles mentioned on today's podcast can be found in the show description. To get Guy Adami and Dan Nathan's market analysis on these topics and more, listen to market call on risk reversals YouTube page Monday through Thursday. Recuration by Risk Reversal, Scripts by Perplexity Proud, Voice by 11 Labs. I'm Brunson. Thanks for listening.