ii view monthly round-up: March 2026

A war in the Middle East and a soaring oil price. Equity analyst Keith Bowman looks at company events over the past month.

2nd April 2026 13:24

by Keith Bowman from interactive investor

Share on

ii view monthly round-up: March 2026

Having traded near historic lows for parts of 2025, Brent crude oil rocketed 42% during March, upping fears for runaway inflation and leaving the FTSE All-Share index down 7.2%.

In the US, the S&P 500 dropped 5.1% with the growth-oriented Nasdaq Composite falling 4.8%.

Specifically, and unsurprisingly, shares in BP (LSE:BP.) raced higher, gaining 27% over the month. News from the oil major added to upward momentum with BP announcing the sale of its German Gelsenkirchen refinery and related operations for an undisclosed sum.

The deal advanced BP’s strategy to simplify its portfolio, focus on core integrated businesses and reduce net debt. New chief executive Meg O’Neill joins the energy giant this month.

Learn with ii: ISA Investment Ideas | Top ISA Funds | Buy US Shares in UK ISA

Away from oil, record profit from insurer Admiral Group (LSE:ADM) helped its shares advance 6% during March. Improvements across European motoring, UK home insurance and Admiral money or lending services fuelled a 16% improvement in earnings to 247p per share.

The Welsh-headquartered insurer flagged its testing of insurance for autonomous vehicles via a partnership with vehicle technology company Wayve.

Of the many fallers, shares in cruise ship operator Carnival (LSE:CCL) sailed 20% lower. Management’s estimated $500 million (£379 million) extra in fuel costs for 2026 more than dampened news of robust forward bookings.

Carnival attempted to further offset the bad news with the launch of a new medium-term performance improvement programme and supporting potential shareholder returns of around $14 billion to 2029.

Silver miner Fresnillo (LSE:FRES) suffered a tough month. Having rocketed by close to 150% during 2025, the price of silver plummeted 20% during March.

Soaring oil prices stoked inflation fears and potentially higher interest rates reduced the attraction of the non-income generating precious metal. Fresnillo shares fell 22% during March despite the FTSE 100 miner reporting record annual profits during the early days of the month.

Premium tonic maker Fevertree Drinks (LSE:FEVR) flagged accelerating sales growth although with annual profits falling 16% to £42.4 million. The company took a £2.8 million provision against a possible UK government bottle recycling levy cost for the year just gone – a levy Fevertree is disputing in court.

Shares in the AIM-listed company fell 20% for the month, possibly also hindered by concerns for rising bottle production costs against the backdrop of soaring energy prices.

Media company Future (LSE:FUTR) suffered a plunging share price. The magazine owner and operator of Go Compare warned of a lower profit margin as changes in the Google search engine hindered advertising sales. Future’s stock price tanked 28% over the month.

Bus and rail operator FirstGroup (LSE:FGP) maintained hopes for modest growth in adjusted full-year earnings to late March. Both modes of transport had traded in line with management expectations.

The FTSE 250 company also announced further fuel hedging provisions. Previous bolt-on acquisition are now expected to see year-end adjusted net debt come in at between £135 to 145 million, up from a previous estimate of £125 to £135 million. FirstGroup shares lost 10% for the month.

Defence-exposed Serco Group (LSE:SRP) reported a contract pipeline of £12.1 billion, the group’s highest in a decade. Contract developments during 2025 included enhancements for recruit hiring across all three UK military services. Despite detailing a new £75 million share buyback programme, Serco shares retreated 5% during March.

Overseas, car giant Volkswagen AG (XETRA:VOW) offered a cautious 2026 outlook. A cocktail of factors including trade disputes and intense competition fed into the automaker’s caution. Annual 2025 demand fell marginally from 2024 to nine million vehicles.

Volkswagen brands include Skoda, Audi and Cupra. Shares in the German giant fell 13% for the month.

Shares in the US courier FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX) fell 8%. Second-quarter sales and profits beat Wall Street hopes, enabling the Memphis-headquartered company to up full-year estimates.

FedEx ships a daily average of around 17 million parcels across a network of more than 200 countries. Potentially hindered by concerns for rising fuel prices, shares for the S&P 500 company retreated 8%.

Finally, retailer Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) reported sales and profits topping hopes and boosted by membership revenues. The operator of 924 warehouse-size stores globally reported a 13.6% gain in membership fees to $1.36 billion, helping to push second-quarter adjusted earnings up by a similar amount to $4.58 per share. Costco shares lost just 1% for the month.

These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.

Get more news and expert articles direct to your inbox