Global Markets: U.S. Major Indices Close Lower, Nasdaq and S&P Drop Over 1% International Oil Prices Rise Over 12%

U.S. Stock Market: The three major U.S. stock indices all declined on March 6. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 453.19 points to 47,501.55, down 0.95%; the S&P 500 dropped 90.69 points to 6,740.02, down 1.33%; the Nasdaq Composite declined 361.31 points to 22,387.68, down 1.59%.

Large tech stocks mostly fell, with Intel down over 5%, Nvidia down 3%, Amazon, Tesla, and Meta down over 2%, Apple down more than 1%, and Microsoft and Google slightly lower. U.S. crypto-related stocks also declined, with Riot Platforms down over 9%, IREN down over 8%, BMNR down over 7%, Robinhood, Strategy, and Coinbase down over 4%. Mawi Technology rose 18%, marking its best single-day performance since April 2025.

The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index increased 0.69%, GDS rose over 7%, JD.com up over 6%, Xpeng Motors up 6%, Ctrip and NetEase up over 3%, Kingsoft Cloud and KE Holdings up over 2%; Xiaoma Zhixing fell over 8%, TSMC and ASE Holdings declined over 4%, Bilibili and First Solar fell over 3%, BOSS Zhipin and Fawry Zhixing down over 2%.

European Stock Market: The three major European indices all declined on March 6. The FTSE 100 closed at 10,284.75, down 129.19 points or 1.24%; the CAC 40 closed at 7,993.49, down 52.31 points or 0.65%; the DAX closed at 23,591.03, down 224.72 points or 0.94%.

Commodity Markets: International oil prices rose on March 6. At the close, NYMEX WTI crude futures for the current month increased $10.26 to $91.27 per barrel, up 12.67%. COMEX gold futures for the current month rose $102.60 to $5,181.30 per ounce, up 2.02%. COMEX silver futures increased $2.51 to $84.695 per ounce, up 3.06%. Spot gold rose $90.61 to $5,171.72 per ounce, up 1.78%. Spot silver increased $2.18 to $84.44 per ounce, up 2.65%.

Overnight Headlines

Trump Administration Announces $20 Billion Offshore Reinsurance Plan to Address Iran Conflict

Amid escalating tensions with Iran, the Trump administration announced on Friday a $20 billion reinsurance plan to support oil tankers and other maritime transportation, aiming to facilitate ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz again. On the same day, U.S. WTI crude futures surged over 12%, breaking above $90 per barrel. Due to the Iran conflict, oil tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf has nearly halted, with some Gulf countries beginning to cut oil production as crude cannot be exported through the Strait of Hormuz.

Anthropic Plans to Launch AI Application Marketplace to Expand Software Ecosystem

U.S. AI company Anthropic is launching a new platform for its enterprise clients to purchase third-party software, potentially expanding its product portfolio. On Friday (March 6), the company announced that “Anthropic Marketplace” will enable clients to more easily buy a range of software applications built on Anthropic models, including services from Snowflake, Harvey, Replit, and others.

Kuwait Reportedly Cuts Oil Production as Iran Conflict Spillover Intensifies

As the spillover effects of Iran conflict continue to expand in the Middle East, casting a shadow over the global economy outlook, Kuwait has begun reducing oil output due to rapidly depleting crude storage capacity. Sources say Kuwait is discussing further production cuts in the coming days. Data provider Kpler reports that key storage facilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also filling rapidly, with both countries expected to reach storage limits within less than three weeks.

Brent Oil Reclaims $90 for the First Time in Nearly Two Years Amid Middle East Tensions

Amid escalating Middle East conflicts, international crude benchmarks surged again, with Brent crude briefly exceeding $91 per barrel, the highest since April 2024, and currently trading at around $91.38, up about $6 or 7% intraday.

“Fed Meme” Goes Viral: Powell Posts Video Congratulating Greenspan on 100th Birthday

Over a month after releasing a short video mocking the White House, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, in his seventies, seems quite pleased with the impact of new media. On Friday, he posted a short video wishing former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan a happy 100th birthday. Powell, nearing retirement, expressed good spirits and referenced several well-known anecdotes from Greenspan’s era.

Trump Declares “No Deal with Iran” Causing Market Turmoil

According to CCTV News, on Friday (March 6), President Trump tweeted that “there will be no deal with Iran unless they surrender unconditionally.” He also said the U.S. and its allies should “make Iran great again!” This stance has significantly escalated the ongoing week-long conflict involving Israel, and may make a quick resolution through negotiations more difficult.

Fed’s Waller: Iran Conflict Unlikely to Cause Persistent Inflation

On Friday (March 6), Fed Governor Waller stated he does not believe the Iran conflict will lead to sustained inflation. In an interview, he noted that while gasoline prices may cause consumers to feel a “price shock” at the pump, policymakers generally ignore such one-time increases.

U.S. February Non-Farm Payrolls Unexpectedly Show “Negative Growth,” Traders Increase Bets on Fed Rate Cuts

The latest non-farm payroll data from the U.S. Labor Department showed an unexpected decline, leading analysts to believe that slowing employment could force the Fed to restart rate cuts. Specifically, February saw a decrease of 92,000 non-farm jobs month-over-month, against expectations of a 59,000 increase, and January’s figure was revised down from 130,000 to 126,000. The last time non-farm payrolls fell this much was in October last year, with a drop of 140,000.

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