U.S. tech stocks lead the decline, storage stocks and Chinese concept stocks fall across the board! Pony.ai drops 15%, SanDisk falls 6%, Micron drops over 4%, crude oil rises over 4% | U.S. stock market opens

Every reporter | Du Bo Every editor | Cheng Peng

Reporter | Du Bo

Editor | Cheng Peng Du Hengfeng proofread | Duan Lian

On the evening of March 26, Beijing time, the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower collectively, with the Nasdaq down 1.08%, the Dow down 0.18%, and the S&P 500 index down 0.55%.

As of the time of writing, the Dow turned positive, rising 0.11%, the Nasdaq was down 0.56%, and the S&P 500 index was down 0.32%. 3,002 stocks rose, while 2,089 stocks fell.

The U.S. stock chip storage sector fell across the board, with SanDisk down 6.6%, and Western Digital, Micron Technology, and Seagate Technology all down more than 4%.

MARA Holdings rose over 11% after the company announced a $1 billion repurchase of convertible preferred notes and the sale of 15,133 bitcoins.

Star tech stocks were mixed. Meta Platforms fell 3.97%, Intel fell 3.08%, Nvidia was down 1.93%, Google-A fell 1.49%, and Tesla was down 0.93%; Microsoft rose 0.29%, Amazon rose 0.32%, and Netflix rose 0.94%. Apple rose 1.39%.

The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index dropped as much as 2%, and as of the time of writing, it was down 1.51%.

Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell. Pony.ai was down over 15%, Xpeng Motors fell 5.41%, as the company’s Huitian Land Aircraft carrier’s power battery cell production line went offline. Li Auto fell 2.05%.

Baidu fell 2.79%, Alibaba fell 2.66%, Meituan (ADR) fell 2.36%, Tencent Holdings (ADR) fell 1.65%, and JD.com fell 0.99%.

Gold and silver both fell, with spot gold experiencing a short-term plunge during the day, down more than 1.23%, retreating to $4,449 per ounce. Spot silver’s decline widened to 6%, but as of the time of writing, it had narrowed to 2.99%, last reported at $69 per ounce.

International oil prices continued to rise, with WTI crude oil up 3.96% and Brent crude oil up over 4%, surpassing $100 per barrel.

In news, the CEO of Russian gas company Gazprom stated that gasoline exports need to be banned for 2 to 3 months.

Last week, when asked about the current stagflation environment and whether it posed a threat to the U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell denied it. However, Wall Street was unconvinced. With ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, rising inflation risks, and persistent uncertainties in the outlook, coupled with a continuously weak U.S. labor market over the past year, numerous Wall Street institutions have unanimously raised the risk of a U.S. economic recession.

Moody’s Analytics has raised its forecast for the likelihood of a U.S. recession in the next 12 months to 48.6%. Goldman Sachs has raised this expectation to 30%. Wilmington Trust’s predicted recession probability is 45%, while EY forecasts it at 40%, emphasizing that “if the Middle East conflict lasts longer or escalates in severity, the probability could rise rapidly.” Polymarket’s bets on the U.S. economy entering a recession by the end of this year have also increased from 23% at the outbreak of the Middle East conflict to 35% on Wednesday (25th).

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its latest economic outlook report on the 26th, predicting a global economic growth rate of 2.9% in 2026, which will slightly rebound to 3.0% in 2027. The report pointed out that the uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East poses a test to global economic resilience. If energy prices remain high for an extended period, they will significantly increase corporate costs, elevate inflation levels, and drag down global economic growth prospects.

The report stated that prior to the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, the global economy had generally remained resilient, with strong investment and production activities related to artificial intelligence technology, coupled with fiscal policy support, keeping economic activities active. After the conflict escalated, rising energy prices and increasing uncertainty raised costs and suppressed demand, to some extent offsetting the support brought by the previous economic momentum.

The report predicts that the U.S. economic growth rate will slow from 2.0% in 2026 to 1.7% in 2027. Affected by high energy prices, the Eurozone’s economic growth rate is expected to drop to 0.8% in 2026, before rebounding to 1.2% in 2027, driven by increased defense spending.

Regarding inflation, mid-term inflation expectations have risen due to soaring energy prices and supply chain disruptions. The inflation rate of G20 countries is expected to be 1.2 percentage points higher than previously forecasted, reaching 4.0% in 2026, and then dropping to 2.7% in 2027 as energy price pressures ease. The core inflation rate of developed G20 economies is expected to fall from 2.6% in 2026 to 2.3% in 2027.

The report states that the current global economic outlook faces significant uncertainty. The forecasts are based on the assumption that global energy supply disruptions gradually ease after mid-2026. If exports from the Middle East continue to be hindered, it could further push up energy prices, exacerbate shortages of key commodities, thus raising inflation and suppressing growth.

The report emphasizes that against the backdrop of energy price shocks, central banks must remain vigilant to ensure stable inflation expectations and flexibly adjust monetary policies when necessary. Fiscal measures should provide precise relief while maintaining debt sustainability and improving spending efficiency and revenue capacity; strengthen financial regulation to prevent inflated valuations and risk transmission; and enhance growth certainty by easing trade tensions, avoiding exacerbating inflation through export restrictions. In the medium to long term, improving energy efficiency and reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports should become priorities to enhance economic resilience and alleviate cost pressures.

(Disclaimer: The content and data in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Please verify before use. Any actions taken based on this are at your own risk.)

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