Global Markets: U.S. Major Indices Close Lower, Dow Falls Below 48,000 Points, International Oil Prices Surge

U.S. Stock Market: The three major U.S. stock indices all declined on March 5th. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 784.67 points to below 48,000, closing at 47,954.74, down 1.61%; the S&P 500 dropped 38.79 points to 6,830.71, down 0.56%; the Nasdaq Composite decreased 58.49 points to 22,748.99, down 0.26%.

Large tech stocks were mixed; Microsoft rose over 1%, while Nvidia, Netflix, Amazon, and Intel saw slight gains; SanDisk dropped over 5%, Meta fell over 1%, Apple, Tesla, and Google declined slightly.

U.S. cybersecurity stocks strengthened; Okta rose 11%, CrowdStrike up over 4%, Datadog up over 3%.

Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell 1.43%; Bilibili dropped over 7%, Hesai down over 6%, Tencent Music and Century Internet declined over 4%, Kingsoft Cloud down over 3%, Miniso down over 2%; Autohome rose nearly 5%.

European Stock Markets: The three major European indices all declined on March 5th. The FTSE 100 in London closed at 10,413.94, down 153.71 points or 1.45%; France’s CAC 40 closed at 8,045.8, down 121.93 points or 1.49%; Germany’s DAX closed at 23,815.75, down 389.61 points or 1.61%.

Commodity Markets: International oil prices rose on March 5th. At the close, NYMEX WTI crude oil futures for the current month increased $4.21 to $78.87 per barrel, up 5.64%. COMEX gold futures for the current month fell $41.40 to $5,093.3 per ounce, down 0.81%. COMEX silver futures declined $0.66 to $82.52 per ounce, down 0.80%. Spot gold dropped $60.20 to $5,081.11 per ounce, down 1.17%. Spot silver fell $1.28 to $82.26 per ounce, down 1.53%.

Overnight Headlines

AI Expansion Strains Cash Flow; Oracle Plans to Lay Off Thousands to Ease Financial Pressure

Latest reports indicate that Oracle is planning to cut thousands of jobs to address funding challenges caused by its large-scale AI data center expansion. Sources say these layoffs will affect multiple business units and could begin as early as this month. Some sources note that layoffs will focus on roles deemed less needed due to AI development.

Federal Reserve’s Barkin: Short-term War Impacts Can Be Ignored; Long-term Effects Require Policy Response

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin recently stated that the Fed’s response to Middle East conflicts will depend on how long the war’s economic impact lasts. In an interview on March 5th, he said, “If oil prices rise, it will obviously create inflationary pressure. According to textbook monetary policy, if it’s a short-term shock, it can be ignored; but if it’s long-term, it cannot be.”

AI + Film Becomes Trend! Netflix Acquires Ben Affleck’s AI Film Technology Company

Streaming giant Netflix announced on Thursday that it has acquired InterPositive, a film technology company founded by Oscar-winning actor and director Ben Affleck. The company develops AI tools for filmmaking, though financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

OpenAI Releases GPT-5.4: A Major Step Toward Autonomous Intelligence

On Thursday, OpenAI officially launched GPT-5.4, its latest flagship AI model. The company states that the new model shows significant improvements in reasoning, programming, and handling professional tasks involving spreadsheets, documents, and presentations, requiring fewer user interactions to complete tasks.

24 U.S. States Sue to Block Trump’s Latest Global Tariff Policy

A coalition of 24 U.S. states announced on Thursday that they are filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its new 10% global tariff. State officials argue that the president cannot bypass the Supreme Court’s previous rulings by citing new legal grounds, as most of Trump’s earlier tariffs had been invalidated.

Berkshire Hathaway Announces Restart of Stock Buybacks; New CEO Promises All Future Compensation Will Be Reinvested

Berkshire Hathaway, holding $373.3 billion in cash, announced on Thursday that it has resumed its stock buyback program. Additionally, Greg Abel, who is set to succeed Buffett as CEO this year, announced he will personally buy back shares with all his annual compensation and commit to doing so every year. Historically, Berkshire’s stock hit a high last May before Buffett announced his retirement. Since then, the stock has fallen nearly 10%. This week, after quarterly earnings showed a nearly 30% decline in operating income in Q4, Berkshire’s stock dropped nearly 5% in a single day.

“World’s Largest Gold Buyer” Proposes Using Reserves to Fund Defense Expansion

Latest reports indicate that Poland’s central bank governor has proposed selling part of the country’s gold reserves to raise up to 48 billion zloty (about $13 billion) for defense spending. The plan reportedly has the support of the Polish president. Sources say that on March 4th, Bank of Poland Governor Adam Glapinski discussed this proposal with President Andrzej Duda.

Avoiding the Hormuz Blockade: Saudi Arabia Urgently Redirects Crude Oil Exports Through Red Sea

Amid Iran-related conflicts blocking the crucial Strait of Hormuz and saturating regional oil storage, Saudi Arabia is rerouting millions of barrels of crude oil to its Red Sea ports to maintain global supply. Tracking data shows that five supertankers have loaded oil at Yanbu port in western Saudi Arabia and set sail this month, with exports at three times February’s average levels.

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