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Investors bought the dip with some enthusiasm and a strong bid emerged for AI-focused shares.

Gains in energy, tech and defense stocks offset losses in other sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% to 48,904.78 points, while the S&P ‌500 gained 0.04% to ⁠6,881.60 points ⁠and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.36%, to 22,748.86 points.

Investor confidence in U.S. markets, and optimism about productivity gains tied to artificial intelligence, offset worries about surging oil prices and geopolitical turmoil, said Alex Morris, CEO of F/m Investments.

“The overall action in the Middle East does not have a tremendous impact on the average American stock the way we measure,” said Morris, noting the U.S. market’s heavy concentration in technology.

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“I just don’t think the average market participant is that moved by the conflict until the price of oil gets to $100 a barrel, which would be an emotional trigger.”
Coordinated U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend killed Tehran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and sent shockwaves through global markets. Oil prices jumped and most ⁠overseas stock ‌indexes closed lower. Bargain hunting emerged among U.S. investors after the early selloff, showing an expectation that the disruptions from the conflict will be limited.

“Market participants think this is all just temporary and that the problems in the oil patch will disappear,” ⁠said Bill Smead, founder and chairman of Smead Capital Management. The clash initially boosted defense shares and energy prices and pressured travel and interest-sensitive sectors. Later, investors ran to tech and weighed how long the Middle East conflict could run and what the conflict means for inflation and Federal Reserve policy.

Smead said investors were reverting to familiar, high-performing stocks like Nvidia, the Magnificent Seven technology stocks and defense sectors.

“When people get scared, they go back to what is comfortable,” he said.

Nvidia gained 3% and Microsoft climbed 1.5%, recovering from sharp declines last month. The gains helped the S&P 500 and Nasdaq cut losses after both briefly hit two-week lows earlier in the session.

In Europe and Asia, stock markets sank under the weight of surging oil prices and war-driven uncertainty.

The French and German ‌stock markets fell more than 1%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 1.73%, having plunged as much as 2% at the open. Energy companies, whose profits rise alongside oil prices, outperformed, while travel and airline stocks sank due to flight cancelations, higher jet-fuel costs and widespread Middle East airspace closures.

Delta and United Airlines fell ⁠more than 2% each, while crude-price-sensitive cruise stocks such as Carnival lost 7.6% and Norwegian Cruise fell over 10%. Several oil and gas facilities in the Middle East stopped production. U.S. crude prices settled up 6% at $71.23 a barrel after being up twice as much during the session. Brent settled at $77.74 per barrel, up 6.68%.

Defense stocks also got a boost, with the main U.S. defense equity benchmark, the Dow Jones U.S. Defense Index, trading up. President Donald Trump also told CNN the “big wave” is yet to come, although some Middle Eastern countries were lobbying U.S. allies to persuade a swift end to the war. AES Corp fell 17.8% after a consortium led by BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners and private equity firm EQT AB agreed to acquire the utilities company for $33.4 billion at a discount to its last close.

The optimism is driven by newly commissioned capacities, a strengthening specialty-chemicals pipeline and planned expansion of production facilities.

The management has guided for a strong operating margin before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA margin) outlook for the current financial year.

The company’s business related to Contract Development and Manufacturing Organisation (CDMO), which contributed 14% to revenue in the December 2025 quarter, has been growing faster than its other verticals.

The CDMO division is expected to stay on growth track given the capacity addition. The recent commissioning of its cGMP-4 (current Good Manufacturing Practice) facility provides CDMO revenue visibility for nearly three years.

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The other vertical of specialty chemicals, which accounted for 40% of the December quarter revenue, has also shown traction.
As part of its expansion in this segment, NFI is in the process of constructing a facility to produce immersion cooling fluids in partnership with the US based Chemours. The project remains on track for completion in the first quarter of FY27 and is expected to enhance the company’s position in the global fluorochemical value chain.

Capacity expansion projects across other sites are also underway. The company is debottlenecking its multipurpose plant, which manufactures a range of specialty and agrochemical intermediates, at Dahej in Gujarat to increase throughput. This project is scheduled for commissioning in December quarter of FY27.

NFI is also scaling up its R-32 (one of the widely used hydrofluorocarbons refrigerants) capacity by 15,000 MTPA under its broader hydro fluorocarbons expansion programme, with completion targeted for the December 2026 quarter.

These investments are designed to meet rising domestic and export demand by catering to new applications and emerging regulatory shifts in the refrigerants market.

The company expects EBITDA margin to hold around the 30% level, supported by operating leverage from new assets, better realisations from higher value products, and the gradual ramp up of recently commissioned facilities. JM Financial Institutional Securities has raised the FY26-28E EBITDA estimates by 18-21% and EPS estimates by 18-24%.

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently unveiled a bold strategic expansion to position Bangkok as a premier leader in the global exhibition economy.

By harmonising world-class infrastructure with exceptional service and sustainable governance, Thailand is evolving its portfolio to become a global hub for design and the creative economy. This shift signals the nation’s ambition to move beyond traditional trade, leading the next chapter of high-value, idea-driven international exhibitions.

Thailand already ranks among Asia’s leading exhibition destinations, hosting 509 domestic and international exhibitions in 2025, welcoming 23.6 million exhibition participants, and generating approximately USD 2.9 billion in exhibition-related revenue. With the largest exhibition venue capacity in ASEAN and the fourth largest in Asia, Thailand combines scale with service excellence, hospitality, and strong government support.

TCEB’s strategy builds on these strengths – combining physical infrastructure with robust market capabilities and expanding opportunities across both mature and emerging industries, supported by a network of dedicated government agencies, international buyer groups and private sectors to provide direct coordination and streamlined facilitation. By leveraging these multifaceted advantages and with soft capabilities e.g. talent, sustainability and hospitality, the bureau is executing a strategic expansion to attract “New Profiles” to attract higher-value events. This cohesive ecosystem ensures that Thailand not only captures current market demand but also cultivates potential high-growth sectors. By positioning Bangkok as a global design exhibition hub, TCEB aims this initiative to transition the country from a host destination into a global thought leader, spearheading a new era of high-impact, intellectual exhibitions.

Speaking in London at their January press event, TCEB outlined how design and creativity have emerged as Thailand’s next strategic growth engine, building on the country’s established leadership in international exhibitions across sectors such as advanced industrial innovation, energy transition and future food.

“Exhibitions have long been powerful economic drivers. What we are doing now is evolving their purpose,” said Dr. Supawan “Creativity gives products higher value added, allowing us to move beyond transactions toward value creation with exchange of ideas, talent, intellectual property, and new possibilities. This is where the future of the global exhibition economy is heading.”

Thailand’s creative economy is currently valued at over USD 44.5 billion, contributing more than 8% of national GDP, with design sitting at the heart of a fast-growing, globally connected value chain. TCEB sees exhibitions as a strategic tool to unlock this potential – connecting Thai designers and creative enterprises with international markets, investors, brands, and cities.

Bangkok’s inclusion in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network as a City of Design, combined with its cultural diversity, creative talent, and world-class infrastructure, positions the city as a natural meeting point for global design dialogue.

“Bangkok’s strength lies in its diversity,” Supawan added. “It is complex and simple at the same time. That tension creates unexpected creativity – and that is exactly what the global design community is searching for.”

At the centre of this vision is THE WORLD ENDS: Bangkok International Design Expo 2026, a landmark pilot initiative designed to reframe the role of exhibitions – from transactional trade platforms to engines of creativity, intellectual exchange, and long-term economic value creation.

Planned for November 2026, THE WORLD ENDS will act as a strategic testbed for a new type of international design exhibition – one that is experiential, transdisciplinary, and commercially meaningful.

Rather than focusing solely on showcasing work, the event is designed to spark global conversations around the future of design, cities, culture, and business. Designers, architects, brands, cultural institutions, and city representatives will come together to exchange ideas, present new thinking, and co-create future agendas.

The project is intended to lay the foundations for a full-scale flagship international design exhibition in Bangkok in the coming years – comparable in global influence to platforms such as Milan Design Week or Maison & Objet but rooted in Asia’s cultural and economic context.

The initiative supports long-term economic growth, strengthens Thailand’s global brand, and nurtures a connected ecosystem of designers, entrepreneurs, investors, and creative professionals – while also encouraging new travel profiles such as “bleisure” visitors who stay longer and engage more deeply with the city.

“This is not only about showcasing Thai design,” Dr. Supawan concluded. “It is about positioning Thailand as a platform where global design conversations begin – and where the future is created, not predicted.”