{"id":59340,"date":"2026-03-03T02:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/middle-east-conflict-escalates-as-us-orders-regional-evacuations-thales-and-softbank-face-market-pressure\/59340\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T02:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T06:38:28","slug":"middle-east-conflict-escalates-as-us-orders-regional-evacuations-thales-and-softbank-face-market-pressure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/middle-east-conflict-escalates-as-us-orders-regional-evacuations-thales-and-softbank-face-market-pressure\/59340\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle East Conflict Escalates as US Orders Regional Evacuations; Thales and SoftBank Face Market Pressure"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>US State Department<\/strong> orders non-emergency personnel to evacuate <strong>Iraq<\/strong>, <strong>Bahrain<\/strong>, and <strong>Jordan<\/strong> while suspending consular operations in <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong> following a drone attack on the Riyadh embassy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>WTI <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">Crude Oil<\/a><\/strong> surged <strong>$2<\/strong> to <strong>$73.23<\/strong> per barrel as the regional conflict with Iran intensifies, threatening global energy supply chains.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thales (<a href=\"\/stock\/HO\">HO<\/a>)<\/strong> reported a beat on <strong>FY 2026 EBIT<\/strong> at <strong>\u20ac2.74 billion<\/strong>, but shares faced pressure after the company issued 2026 guidance that fell short of analyst expectations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>S&amp;P Global<\/strong> revised the outlook for <strong>SoftBank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> to <strong>negative<\/strong>, citing liquidity concerns following a massive <strong>$30 billion<\/strong> additional investment in <strong>OpenAI<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shanghai tin futures<\/strong> plummeted more than <strong>10%<\/strong> amid intense market volatility, while <strong>China\u2019s coking coal<\/strong> futures advanced over <strong>3%<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Middle East entered a period of rapid escalation on Tuesday as the <strong>U.S. State Department<\/strong> ordered the departure of non-emergency staff and their families from <strong>Iraq<\/strong>, <strong>Bahrain<\/strong>, and <strong>Jordan<\/strong>. This directive follows a drone attack on the <strong>U.S. Embassy in Riyadh<\/strong>, which resulted in a fire and minor structural damage, prompting the immediate cancellation of all consular operations across <strong>Saudi Arabia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Regional tensions were further inflamed by a drone strike targeting a <strong>U.S. military installation<\/strong> near <strong>Erbil International Airport<\/strong> in Iraq. Simultaneously, <strong>Hezbollah<\/strong> confirmed it had targeted the <strong>Israeli Meron air traffic control base<\/strong>, triggering widespread air raid alerts across the <strong>Upper Galilee<\/strong> region of northern Israel.<\/p>\n<p>In Washington, <strong>Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer<\/strong> noted that Americans, regardless of political affiliation, are increasingly frustrated with the ongoing wars in the Middle East. Schumer called for the Senate to reassert its constitutional duty by considering a <strong>War Powers Act<\/strong> resolution to provide oversight on the expanding military operations.<\/p>\n<p>Energy markets reacted sharply to the instability, with <strong>U.S. crude (WTI)<\/strong> gaining <strong>$2<\/strong> to trade at <strong>$73.23<\/strong> a barrel. Conversely, safe-haven demand showed signs of reassessment as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">Gold<\/a><\/strong> prices retreated <strong>0.4%<\/strong> to <strong>$5,305.49<\/strong> per ounce and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/silver\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"silver price today\">Silver<\/a><\/strong> prices dropped <strong>3.00%<\/strong>, reflecting a complex shift in investor risk appetite.<\/p>\n<p>In corporate news, <strong>Thales (<a href=\"\/stock\/HO\">HO<\/a>)<\/strong> reported <strong>FY 2026 EBIT<\/strong> of <strong>\u20ac2.74 billion<\/strong>, slightly exceeding the estimated <strong>\u20ac2.72 billion<\/strong>. However, the defense giant\u2019s outlook for the coming year was more conservative than expected, with 2026 sales projected between <strong>\u20ac23.3 billion and \u20ac23.6 billion<\/strong>, trailing the consensus estimate of <strong>\u20ac23.64 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SoftBank (<a href=\"\/stock\/SFTBY\">SFTBY<\/a>)<\/strong> also faced credit scrutiny as <strong>S&amp;P Global<\/strong> revised the firm&#39;s outlook to negative while maintaining its <strong>BB+<\/strong> rating. The revision is a direct response to SoftBank&#39;s aggressive <strong>$30 billion<\/strong> investment in <strong>OpenAI<\/strong>, which S&amp;P warns will increase the concentration of unlisted, illiquid assets within the company&#39;s portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>Industrial metals experienced divergent trends, with <strong>Shanghai tin futures<\/strong> crashing over <strong>10%<\/strong> as volatility intensified across base metals. Meanwhile, <strong>China\u2019s benchmark coking coal<\/strong> futures rose more than <strong>3%<\/strong>, highlighting continued demand for steel-making ingredients despite the broader geopolitical uncertainty.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways US State Department orders non-emergency personnel to evacuate Iraq, Bahrain, and Jordan while suspending consular operations in Saudi 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