Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore conceded on Thursday that volatile global markets would likely act as a drag on deal completion rates and hit confidence, as he tempered the company's outlook for its commodities unit.

Macquarie investors were caught up in bearish sentiment on global financial markets and a statement from Macquarie on lower 2016 earnings in its commodities and financial markets unit. That came despite Macquarie sticking to its overall group guidance that profit in the 12 months ended March 31would be up on last year's $1.6 billion.