Global Markets: US Stock Market's Three Major Indices Collectively Rise, Nasdaq and S&P 500 Surge Over 1% International Oil Prices Drop Over 4%

U.S. Stock Market: The three major U.S. stock indices all closed higher on March 16. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 387.94 points to 46,946.41, up 0.83%; the S&P 500 increased 67.19 points to 6,699.38, up 1.01%; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 268.82 points to 22,374.18, up 1.22%.

Large-cap tech stocks mostly rose, with Nebius up nearly 15%, Meta up over 2%, and both companies reaching a $27 billion AI computing power supply agreement. Amazon, AMD, Tesla, Microsoft, and Apple all gained over 1%. Nvidia rose 1.65%. Early Tuesday morning Beijing time, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang outlined the company’s development plans for the next year during a more than two-hour “Full Stack AI” speech. Huang provided a more aggressive revenue forecast for AI chips, predicting they could reach $1 trillion by 2027.

Storage chip stocks rose, with SanDisk up over 6%, Western Digital up over 5%, and Micron Technology up over 3%. Major bank stocks also increased, with Wells Fargo up over 2%, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup up over 1%.

Most popular Chinese concept stocks rose, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index up 0.95%. Tencent Music gained over 6%, Futu Holdings over 5%, Li Auto over 5%, and NIO over 2%.

European Markets: The three major European stock indices all closed higher on March 16. The FTSE 100 in London closed at 10,317.69, up 56.54 points or 0.55%. France’s CAC 40 closed at 7,935.97, up 24.44 points or 0.31%. Germany’s DAX closed at 23,564.01, up 116.72 points or 0.5%.

Commodities Market: International oil prices declined on March 16. At the close, NYMEX WTI crude oil futures for the current month fell $4.49 to $94.22 per barrel, down 4.55%. COMEX gold futures for the current month dropped $50.40 to $5,011.3 per ounce, down 1.00%. COMEX silver futures fell $0.34 to $81.0 per ounce, down 0.42%. Spot gold decreased $13.46 to $5,006.55 per ounce, down 0.27%. Spot silver rose $0.14 to $80.75 per ounce, up 0.17%.

Overnight Highlights

China-U.S. Trade Talks in Paris

On March 15-16, Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, leading the Chinese side, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, leading the U.S. side, held trade talks in Paris. Guided by the important consensus between the two heads of state, they discussed tariffs, promoting bilateral trade and investment, maintaining existing consensus, and other economic and trade issues. The talks were frank, in-depth, and constructive, resulting in some new understandings, with ongoing negotiations.

Li Chenggang: China and U.S. Reach Preliminary Consensus on Some Issues

During the March 15-16 trade negotiations in Paris, China’s Ministry of Commerce International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister Li Chenggang stated that the teams had conducted frank, in-depth, and constructive discussions on several issues and reached preliminary consensus. Both sides will continue to maintain the negotiation process.

Full Review of Jensen Huang’s “Full Stack AI” Speech: Launch of a Trillion-Dollar New Blueprint

Early Tuesday Beijing time, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang outlined the company’s development blueprint for the next year during a more than two-hour “Full Stack AI” speech. Huang provided a more aggressive revenue forecast for AI chips, predicting they could reach $1 trillion by 2027.

China and U.S. Consider Establishing a Working Mechanism to Promote Bilateral Trade and Investment Cooperation

On March 16, Li Chenggang, China’s Ministry of Commerce International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister, said that discussions between China and the U.S. included issues such as the new situation of bilateral tariffs, potential further delays in tariff and non-tariff measures, and promoting bilateral trade and investment cooperation. The U.S. side shared updates on recent tariff adjustments and future considerations, while China expressed concerns over the resulting uncertainties. Both sides agreed to work together to maintain stable economic and trade relations. They also discussed establishing a mechanism to promote bilateral trade and investment cooperation, and delved into each other’s economic and trade concerns.

Meta Rumored to Cut Staff, Stock Rises on the News of at Least 2,000 Job Cuts

Latest reports indicate Meta Platforms plans to cut 20% or more of its workforce to offset massive AI-related expenses and to bet on AI technology boosting productivity. The news caused Meta’s stock to jump over 3% at one point. When asked about the accuracy of the report, a Meta spokesperson said, “This is a speculative report about a theoretical plan.”

BIS Warns Central Banks: Don’t Overreact to Middle East Conflict; Energy Price Surge Likely Short-Term Shock

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) urged policymakers not to overreact to the Middle East conflict, calling it a “textbook case”: in the face of potentially temporary shocks, central banks should consider “ignoring their impact.” Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, BIS is known as the “central bank for central banks,” primarily promoting international monetary and financial cooperation.

Elon Musk’s “AI Analyst”: xAI Hiring Financial Experts to Train Grok

In its rebuilding phase, xAI appears to be focusing on developing AI agents for the financial sector, aiming to compete with Anthropic, OpenAI, and others. As of now, xAI has posted at least 20 job openings for financial experts on its website, covering securities research, macroeconomics, corporate finance, quantitative trading, and cryptocurrencies. These experts are expected to provide data to “teach” Grok how to perform financial modeling and handle various financial subfields.

Capturing the Enterprise AI Market: OpenAI Rumored to Partner with Private Equity Firms to Form a Joint Venture

According to sources, OpenAI is in advanced negotiations with several private equity firms, including TPG, Advent International, Bain Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management.

After 5 Years, Apple Unexpectedly Releases AirPods Max 2

Following the launch of MacBook Neo and iPhone 17e earlier this month, Apple unexpectedly announced the second-generation AirPods Max on Monday.

Nvidia DLSS 5 Uses Generative AI to Enhance Gaming Realism; Huang: A Moment Like GPT in Graphics Tech

At Monday’s GTC keynote, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced NVIDIA DLSS 5, a new version of their AI graphics technology designed to make games more realistic while reducing computational load. DLSS 5 combines traditional 3D graphics data with generative AI models that predict and fill in missing parts of images, allowing Nvidia’s GPUs to generate detailed scenes and highly realistic characters without rendering every element from scratch. Nvidia claims DLSS 5 is the most significant breakthrough in computer graphics since real-time ray tracing was introduced in 2018.

Goldman Sachs: Iran War Sparks Oil Price Shock but Won’t Cause Widespread Supply Chain Crisis

Goldman Sachs recently stated that the US and Israel’s war against Iran is triggering a surge in oil prices but is unlikely to evolve into a global supply chain crisis like during COVID-19. Since late February, when the US and Israel launched attacks, international oil prices have soared, raising concerns that the conflict could push inflation higher and disrupt global trade.

World’s Largest Bauxite Exporter Considers Export Controls

Following Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe, another African country is preparing to impose restrictions on key mineral exports. Reports late Monday Beijing time indicate that Guinea, the world’s largest bauxite producer, is negotiating with miners to control the amount of ore released into the market to curb falling raw material prices. Bauxite, used to produce alumina, has nearly halved in price since early 2025. Last year, Guinea’s bauxite exports increased over 25%, reaching 183 million tons.

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