ORLANDO, Florida, March 26 (Reuters) - The price of stocks, bonds and gold fell sharply on Thursday while oil surged, as fading hopes for de-escalation in the Middle East reignited inflation fears and left investors approaching the quarter end in a deeply gloomy mood.

In my column today I look at why, despite war, $100 oil and deep economic and policy uncertainty, the U.S. equity outlook may still be bullish. Barclays strategists just raised their S&P 500 forecast, and they're not lone wolves on the Street either.

If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.

1. Iran sees U.S. peace plan as "one-sided" as Trumppresses for deal 2. Iran oil shock sets U.S. Treasury seismograph twitching:Mike Dolan 3. ECB's Nagel says April rate hike "an option" 4. Japan shifts focus to oil in unorthodox scramble to talkup yen 5. Meta shares drop on fears U.S. verdicts open door todeluge of lawsuitsToday's Key Market Moves

* STOCKS: Asia lower, biggest decliner is KOSPI -3.5%.Europe's main indices -1% or more, Wall Street sees Dow -1%, andS&P 500 -1.7%. Nasdaq -2.4% and enters correction territory fromOctober high. * SECTORS/SHARES: Nine of 11 sectors in the S&P 500 fall,led by communications services -3.5%, tech -2.7%, industrials-2.3%. Energy +1.6%. Meta -8%, Nvidia -4%, Brown-Forman +9.5%,Valero +8%. * FX: Dollar up 0.4%, USD/JPY is less than 20 pips from160.00. THB and CLP among the biggest emerging FX decliners,SEK, AUD the biggest G10 decliners. Bitcoin -4% back below$70,000. * BONDS: U.S. yields surge, post highest U.S. sessioncloses since mid-2025. Curve bear flattens further. Another poorauction, this time 7-year. * COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil jumps 5%. Gold -3%, silver -5%.Today's Talking Points

* The land of fake believe

One day, markets rally after U.S. President Donald Trump says his administration has presented Iran with a peace plan and the two sides are communicating, even though Tehran denies it and says the plan is one-sided. The next day, markets tumble on pretty much the same headlines and newsflow.

Who to believe, and when to believe them? It's difficult to say, and there's no obvious rhyme or reason to how markets respond. Investors could do a lot worse than simply buying after a down day, and selling after an up day. If truth is the first casualty of war, no wonder investors are floundering.

* Bond auction blues

Thursday's $44 billion auction of 7-year U.S. notes was pretty terrible - weak demand, a big tail, and dealers left with a sizeable slice of the offer. It was a similar story in Wednesday's 5-year auction and Tuesday's 2-year sale.

Investors are clearly rattled by energy prices, war in the Middle East, and inflation. With the total of foreign central bank-owned Treasuries in custody at the Fed falling sharply too, these are nervy times for Treasury. And markets in general.

* Technically speaking

If the U.S. economic "fundamentals" aren't looking that great for stocks, the "technicals" are also starting to turn sour. Wall Street's three main indices have all broken below the 200-day moving average, a chart level that often provides long-term support or resistance, depending on the market's direction.

Technical analysis has its critics, but when big levels like 200-DMAs are breached, more investors take notice. "Nothing good ever happens below the 200-day moving average," investor Paul Tudor Jones allegedly said. Market bottoms and the start of rebounds happen, although it could be some time.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* Developments in the Middle East * Energy market moves * European Central Bank policymakers scheduled to speakinclude board members Anneli Tuominen, Patrick Montagner, andIsabel Schnabel * UK retail sales (March) * U.S. University of Michigan inflation expectations,consumer sentiment (March, final) * U.S. Federal Reserve officials scheduled to speak includeRichmond Fed President Thomas Barkin, San Francisco FedPresident Mary Daly and Philadelphia Fed President Anna PaulsonWant to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here.

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