What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the morning session after rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East triggered a significant spike in crude oil prices.
The conflict escalated concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global energy shipments through which a fifth of the world's oil passes. In response to the heightened risk, crude oil prices jumped, with U.S. benchmarks approaching $120 a barrel. This surge in energy costs fueled broader inflation worries, prompting a flight from riskier assets. The uncertainty rippled through global equity markets, with major U.S. indexes like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 declining in early trading.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Investment Banking & Brokerage company Perella Weinberg (NASDAQ: PWP) fell 6.9%. Is now the time to buy Perella Weinberg? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Custody Bank company Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) fell 5.6%. Is now the time to buy Franklin Resources? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Investment Banking & Brokerage company Moelis (NYSE: MC) fell 6.7%. Is now the time to buy Moelis? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Investment Banking & Brokerage company Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) fell 8.1%. Is now the time to buy Lazard? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Specialty Finance company PROG (NYSE: PRG) fell 5.3%. Is now the time to buy PROG? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Lazard (LAZ)
Lazard’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 12 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 3 days ago when the stock dropped 3.8% on the news that the release of a surprisingly weak February jobs report showed an unexpected drop in employment.
The U.S. economy lost 92,000 jobs, a stark contrast to economists' forecasts of a 60,000 gain. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.4% from 4.3% in January. This unexpected downturn in the labor market signals potential economic strain, which tends to negatively impact the financial industry. A weakening economy can lead to reduced borrowing and investment activity by businesses and consumers, directly affecting banks' revenues. Moreover, it raises concerns about the ability of borrowers to repay existing loans, increasing credit risk for lenders. The report was described as a 'knock-down blow' to the view that the labor market was stabilizing, fueling investor uncertainty.
Lazard is down 16.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $41.50 per share, it is trading 28.1% below its 52-week high of $57.75 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Lazard’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,006.
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