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Daily Update — March 31, 2026

Cement Decarbonization; Putting Agents to Work; and Q2 US Economic Outlook

Today is Tuesday, March 31, 2026, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.

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Energy Transition & Sustainability

EU, cement industry set roadmap to accelerate clean transition, cut CO2

 

The European Commission met with cement producers and stakeholders to accelerate the sector's clean transition amid rising energy costs and direct process emissions, which account for over 60% of the industry's CO2 footprint, the EC said March 25. Europe's cement industry faces significant decarbonization challenges as it seeks to maintain competitiveness and meet net-zero targets, the EC said.

 

The sector is a cornerstone of European construction but is also among its largest industrial emitters. The EC said it aims to establish leading markets for low-carbon cement and concrete by leveraging public procurement and introducing a new low-carbon concrete label while revising product standards to mandate lifecycle climate impact disclosure. The proposed Industrial Decarbonisation Bank would provide €100 billion in public funding to support initiatives including carbon capture, utilization and storage, and clinker substitution, according to the EC.

Artificial Intelligence

Listen: Putting Agents To Work

 

The integration of AI agents into enterprise workflows is underway, but there are many questions about where and how they can be used effectively. S&P Global Market Intelligence experts Emily Jasper and Sheryl Kingstone return to the “Next in Tech” podcast to discuss their recent research and upcoming webinar with host Eric Hanselman. Claims that agents are going to replace software-as-a-service applications such as customer relationship management, have been widely discussed, but that is based on a misunderstanding of their value. Customer relationship management systems contain crucial enterprise data and agents can help to deliver on their unfulfilled promises. 

Economy

Economic Outlook U.S. Q2 2026: Curb Your Enthusiasm

 

The enthusiasm around US growth momentum that prevailed as recently as February has been tempered by the escalation of the war in the Middle East. The war is a negative supply shock and its key transmission mechanism to the global economy is through the energy market. For the US, while net exports of petroleum and refined products somewhat cushion the hit to real GDP, they do not offset inflationary consequences.

 

The key unknown remains the duration and escalation path of the war, which limits visibility on timing and scale of impact. S&P Global Ratings’ baseline forecast assumes a temporary, supply-driven oil shock where crude oil prices return to average levels inside the year. History suggests that temporary geopolitical disruptions rarely derail US expansions on their own and that economic damage tends to mount only when a shock persists and is amplified by financial conditions, policy responses or confidence effects, as in S&P Global Ratings’ downside scenario. The near-term macro impulse is unambiguously inflationary and growth-negative for the US economy,  and S&P Global Ratings cannot dismiss the possibility of being in the initial phase of a more significant global crisis, with the window for a moderate, transitory outcome closing.

In case you missed it

  • South African equity funds faced a relatively difficult year in 2025, underperforming compared to the S&P South Africa 50 and S&P South Africa Composite Capped. 
  • Engineering and construction costs continued to increase in March, according to the Engineering and Construction Cost Indicator from PEG and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
  • The US must expand domestic mining to reduce its dependence on China for critical minerals, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. While decoupling the two world's largest economies would be difficult, the US can de-risk critical minerals supply chains, said Burgum, speaking at the CERAWeek by S&P Global energy conference in Houston on March 24.

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