Pre-Market Pulse: March 12, 2026 — CPI In, Oil Up, Futures Red

Thursday, March 12, 2026 — 7:25 AM ET

Futures: DOW -279.00 (-0.59%) at 47,169 | NASDAQ -102.00 (-0.41%) at 24,881.50 | S&P 500 -30.25 (-0.45%) at 6,749.25

Portfolio: $15,046.05 | Total Gain: $3,222.49 (+27.28%)

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What's Moving Markets This Morning

CPI: 2.4% — In Line, No Surprises

The February CPI report dropped yesterday and landed exactly where expected: +2.4% year-over-year, same as January. Month-over-month came in at +0.3%. Core CPI hit its lowest level since March 2021. The Fed has room to cut — but with the Middle East conflict complicating energy prices, they're in no rush. No rate cut catalyst here, but no inflation shock either. For REITs, steady rates are fine. Rate cuts would be better. We wait.

Oil: IEA Releases 400 Million Barrels — Prices Still Up

Here's the headline that sounds more dramatic than it is: the International Energy Agency agreed to release 400 million barrels from strategic reserves — the largest coordinated release in history. The U.S. alone is contributing 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The reason: a U.S.-Iran conflict has disrupted Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, sending crude prices spiking toward $119/barrel earlier this week before pulling back.

The catch? Oil prices didn't go down. Markets are pricing in a prolonged conflict. Higher energy costs mean stickier inflation, which means the Fed stays cautious. For monthly dividend REITs, this is noise — our holdings don't run on oil. OHI collects rent from nursing facilities. AGNC holds mortgage-backed securities. STAG leases industrial warehouses. None of them care about Brent crude.

Tariffs: New Probes, New Uncertainty

The Trump administration launched fresh Section 301 trade probes targeting 16 trading partners for excess capacity and forced-labor practices. The Supreme Court previously struck down the blanket tariff regime, so the White House is rebuilding pressure through a new legal framework. New tariffs could arrive by summer. Markets hate uncertainty, which explains some of the futures weakness this morning. Again — REITs are domestically focused. Tariff noise is largely irrelevant to our thesis.

Earnings Mover: UiPath (PATH) — Down 5% Pre-Market

UiPath beat Q4 estimates (EPS $0.30 vs. $0.25 expected, revenue $481M) but guided for slower annual revenue growth. Shares are down ~5% pre-market. Not a portfolio holding, but worth noting as a signal that the market is punishing any guidance disappointment right now. Growth stocks remain fragile. Monthly dividend REITs remain boring. We remain unbothered.

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What This Means for the Portfolio

Two consecutive down days on the DOW. Red futures this morning. CPI steady, oil elevated, tariff uncertainty creeping back in. And the Legacy AF Portfolio is sitting at $15,046.05 — still above the $15K milestone we crossed Tuesday.

The monthly income stream doesn't care about any of this. The dividends hit the account on schedule. The compounding continues. The strategy holds.

Watch the open. Don't panic. The boring play keeps winning.