Crude oil, soaring! NVIDIA, surging!

【Introduction】U.S. stocks fluctuate, gold and crude oil surge, energy stocks broadly rise

On Monday, March 2, Eastern Time, U.S. stocks showed mixed performance, with crude oil and gold soaring, and energy stocks generally up. Most airline stocks declined, and Maersk paused some bookings in the Middle East. NVIDIA announced a $4 billion investment in two photonics technology companies.

U.S. stocks fluctuate

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73.14 points, or 0.15%, to 48,904.78; the Nasdaq rose 80.65 points, or 0.36%, to 22,748.86; the S&P 500 increased by 2.74 points, or 0.04%, to 6,881.62.

U.S. President Trump stated that if Iran’s next leader acts pragmatically, he might lift sanctions on Iran. Trump said that actions against Iran are “well ahead of schedule.”

Trump also indicated that military actions against Iran could last about four weeks. The U.S. Central Command announced that large-scale strikes had destroyed the headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin denied the view that the Iran conflict would turn into an “endless war” that Trump vowed to avoid during his re-election campaign, stating, “Our generation is more aware of the stakes involved.”

Matt Maley, Chief Market Strategist at Miller Tabak + Co., pointed out that the market’s flat close suggests investors are underestimating the market risk posed by the Iran conflict, especially amid recent adverse factors weighing on stocks.

Crude oil and gold prices soar

Crude oil prices jumped over 6% on Monday amid concerns that a war between the U.S. and Iran could spiral out of control, causing significant supply disruptions. Iran is the fourth-largest oil producer in OPEC.

JPMorgan analysts said that if the Strait of Hormuz were to close completely due to Middle East conflict, oil-producing countries in the region might only be able to continue production for “up to 25 days.” “Beyond that, storage bottlenecks would force production halts,” the analysts wrote in a report.

JPMorgan also noted that, according to its commodities team, oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen to 4 million barrels per day, from a normal level of 16 million barrels per day.

Brent crude futures rose $4.87, or 6.68%, to close at $77.74 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for April delivery increased $4.21, or 6.28%, to $71.23 per barrel.

Energy stocks broadly rose, with ExxonMobil up over 1%, Chevron up more than 1%, ConocoPhillips up over 4%, Schlumberger down 0.15%, and Occidental Petroleum up over 2%.

In late trading, spot gold increased 0.97%, to $5,330.12 per ounce. COMEX gold futures rose 1.81%, to $5,342.80 per ounce.

Maersk pauses some bookings in the Middle East

Maersk announced on Monday that it is taking operational measures to ensure personnel safety, cargo security, and maintain stable services in the affected Middle East trade region.

“Effective immediately, we will suspend acceptance of refrigerated, hazardous, and special cargo to and from the UAE, Oman, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia until further notice.”

Most airline stocks declined as well, with Boeing up 0.87%, American Airlines down over 4%, Delta down over 2%, Southwest down over 2%, and United Airlines down nearly 3%.

NVIDIA to invest $4 billion in two photonics technology companies

Most major tech stocks rose, with the U.S. Tech Seven Giants Index up 0.56%. Among individual stocks, NVIDIA rose nearly 3%, Microsoft gained over 1%, Facebook increased 0.83%, Apple rose 0.2%, Tesla up 0.2%, Google fell over 1%, and Amazon declined 0.77%.

OpenAI founder Altman said that OpenAI has reached a potential agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense to use its AI models and tools, but no contract has been signed. OpenAI retains control over technical safeguards, deployment scope, and regional deployment, limited to cloud environments. The U.S. government has made concessions, agreeing to include OpenAI’s “red lines” in the contract, prohibiting AI use in autonomous weapons systems, domestic mass surveillance, and critical decision-making areas.

NVIDIA is investing a total of $4 billion in two companies developing photonics technology to strengthen R&D pipelines and supply chains, supporting large-scale AI infrastructure development.

SpaceX is considering submitting its initial public offering (IPO) documents as early as March in a secretive manner. According to sources, SpaceX may seek a valuation exceeding $1.75 trillion, with an IPO fundraising target of up to $50 billion.