<ul>
<li>All three U.S. stock indexes pare steep losses, now modestly red</li>
<li>Real Estate up most among S&amp;P sector gainers; Cons Disc weakest group</li>
<li>Euro STOXX 600 index down ~0.3%</li>
<li>Dollar up ~0.4%; US crude surging ~12%; gold, bitcoin both off &gt;2%</li>
<li>US 10-Year Treasury yield edges down to ~4.31%      Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at</li>
</ul>
<h3>MARCH DROP HAS CREATED SOME VALUATION OPPORTUNITIES - EMPOWER’S NORTON</h3>
<p>The fallout from the Iran war put significant pressure on stocks in March and sent the S&amp;P 500  (.SPX)  to its biggest monthly percentage drop in a year, which has created some buying opportunities, according to Marta Norton, chief investment strategist at retirement and wealth services provider Empower.</p>
<p>While the March drop led to the biggest quarterly percentage drop since the third quarter of 2022 for the benchmark S&amp;P index as crude prices surged, Norton said in an interview with Reuters that there is a certain measure of resilience in the economy and “when you think about where we were when we entered this latest crisis, there was a lot to be excited about in the economy, not just from a monetary policy standpoint, and of course that might be at best delayed, but from an earnings perspective, from a CapEx perspective, from a fiscal policy perspective.” However, Empower notes in its second-quarter outlook that it does not consider U.S. large caps attractive as an asset class, and Norton said she doesn’t believe “this is necessarily a buying opportunity across the board at this point in the game.”</p>
<p>But that still doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities, and Norton said the selloff has pushed “Magnificent Seven”   (MAGS.Z)  stocks such as Nvidia  (NVDA.O) , Alphabet  (GOOGL.O)  and Microsoft (MSFT.O)  into some of Empower’s cheapest valuations relative to the past 10 years, which is “akin to where they were post-Liberation Day so there is some pretty meaningful value so if you want to be patient, it’s not a bad place to go at this point in the game.”</p>
<p>And while fears of AI disruption have taken a toll on software companies   (.SPLRCIS)  in recent months, Norton said, “People may have focused more on the worst of those outcomes for those particular names than the more benign possibility,” and while there is now value, “you better be ready to wait one year to five years to see it play out.”</p>
<p>And overall, while the selloff has taken Mag Seven and software stocks down from levels seen before the war started, “you have to see monetization for people to feel comfortable with what the AI opportunity is doing to those names.”</p>
<p>(Chuck Mikolajczak)</p>
<h3>EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: THURSDAY DATA: JOBLESS CLAIMS, LAYOFFS, TRADE BALANCE CLICK HERE BIG PHARMA GOES ON A SHOPPING SPREE CLICK HERE WALL STREET RETREATS AS TRUMP SNUFFS OUT IRAN DE-ESCALATION HOPES CLICK HERE NASDAQ BREADTH MEASURE POSTS RARE UP DAY, BUT TRUMP ADDRESS RATTLES FUTURES CLICK HERE ASYMMETRIC FX REPRICING WHEN THE WAR ENDS CLICK HERE MORGAN STANLEY FLAGS BUYING CASE FOR EU DEFENCE CLICK HERE UBS WARNS OF FURTHER UPSIDE RISKS FOR ENERGY CLICK HERE  SOFTWARE EARNINGS: NO ‘TURNING POINT’ IN SIGHT CLICK HERE DE-DE-ESCALATION CLICK HERE EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: HEADING FOR AN UGLY OPEN CLICK HERE PRIME-TIME DISAPPOINTMENT CLICK HERE</h3>

MSFX

MSFL

- U.S. stock indexes have reduced prior losses, with the real estate sector performing best while consumer discretionary remains weak.  
- March saw significant stock declines due to the Iran war, but Empower’s Marta Norton suggests opportunities exist in select "Magnificent Seven" stocks, now undervalued.  
- Despite a resilient economy, Norton cautions against broad buying, indicating a wait of one to five years may be necessary to realize gains from these investments.

Reuters

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LIVE MARKETS-March drop has created some valuation opportunities - Empower's Norton