U.S. and European stock markets closed lower collectively on Thursday. Major European indices and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all fell more than 1%, with the Dow plunging over 780 points during the session. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recorded modest declines. International crude oil prices surged sharply, with WTI crude rising over 5.6%.

Major U.S. technology stocks were mixed. Microsoft gained 1.35%, Amazon rose nearly 1%, and Nvidia edged up 0.16%. In contrast, Meta fell more than 1%, while Google and Apple each declined over 0.7%.

Chip stocks experienced a sharp downturn during trading, with most semiconductor-related companies finishing in negative territory. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 1.17%. SanDisk Corp. led the declines, falling over 5%. Lam Research, KLA Corporation, and Applied Materials each dropped more than 3%. Seagate Technology and ASML declined over 2%. Bucking the trend, Broadcom rose more than 4% after issuing a strong earnings forecast, projecting its artificial intelligence chip revenue will exceed $100 billion next year.

Banking and airline stocks were broadly lower. Southwest Airlines fell nearly 7%, United Airlines dropped over 5%, and Goldman Sachs declined more than 3%. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo each fell 2%.

Most U.S.-listed Chinese stocks closed lower, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index decreasing 1.43%. Bilibili fell over 7%, while Tencent Music and 21Vianet each dropped more than 4%. Kingsoft Cloud and Miniso declined over 3%, with NetEase and NIO each falling more than 2%. Autohome bucked the trend, gaining nearly 5%, and Atour Lifestyle Holdings rose over 2%.

In commodities, international crude oil prices rallied strongly. WTI crude oil briefly touched a 10% gain during the session, hitting a fresh high, and was last up over 5.6% at $78.87 per barrel. ICE Brent crude gained nearly 4%, reaching above $86 per barrel at its peak. For the week, WTI and Brent crude prices have accumulated gains of over 17% and 8.5% respectively, as market concerns over potential disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

International precious metals fell across the board. Spot gold dropped sharply during trading, breaking below $5,100 and falling over 1% for the day to $5,080.88 per ounce. Spot silver declined over 1.5% to $82.19 per ounce. The U.S. dollar index rose 0.56%, settling at 99.316 in late forex trading.

Regarding U.S.-Iran tensions, according to a CCTV news report, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that Iran is prepared for a potential ground invasion by U.S. forces. He also ruled out any negotiations with the United States and stated that Iran has not requested a ceasefire.

Separately, citing a report from U.S. publication Politico, Xinhua News Agency reported that the United States is currently allocating additional resources, including personnel, to support a war effort expected to last "at least 100 days, or even until September."

Amid the impact of U.S.-Iran tensions, oil and gas prices have surged, while expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts have been dampened.

There remains a risk of further increases in oil prices. Goldman Sachs cautioned that developments in the coming weeks could determine the direction of international oil prices for an extended period. A prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz lasting several weeks could potentially push international oil prices above the $100 per barrel threshold.

According to a Xinhua News Agency report, Iranian officials stated that Iran has not closed the Strait of Hormuz. However, Iran asserted its wartime right to control passage and navigation through the strait, prohibiting transit by vessels from the United States, Israel, and European countries.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari commented that the U.S.-Iran conflict has increased uncertainty regarding the U.S. economic outlook, making the path of central bank interest rate policy more difficult to predict. He had previously projected, at the beginning of 2026, that the Fed would have room for one interest rate cut as inflationary pressures gradually eased. However, facing this new shock, policymakers must now observe its duration and impact.

On March 5, the CME FedWatch Tool indicated a 13.7% probability that the Federal Reserve might not implement any interest rate cuts throughout the entire year.