U.S. stocks plummeted across the board, chip stocks mostly declined, Microsoft fell 34% from its high, international oil prices surged 7%, and Iran is considering withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Reporter | Liu Xueying

Editor | Jiang Peixia

On Friday (March 27), stock markets in Europe and the U.S. closed lower, with the Dow dropping nearly 800 points, and both the S&P 500 index falling over 1%. The Nasdaq fell over 2% for the second consecutive day. This week, the S&P 500 index started at 6600 points and consecutively fell below the 6500 and 6400 points; the Dow dropped by 0.9%, and the Nasdaq fell by 3.23%. As a result, all three major U.S. stock indices recorded five consecutive weekly declines.

Large tech stocks fell broadly, with the index of the seven major U.S. tech companies dropping over 1470 points. Facebook and Amazon fell nearly 4%, while Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla dropped over 2%. Microsoft has retraced nearly 34% from its historical high in October of last year.

Chip stocks generally declined, with ARM dropping nearly 7%, Lattice Semiconductor falling over 4%, Microchip Technology down more than 3%, and Broadcom, Marvell Technology, and ASML dropping over 2%.

Banking and airline stocks collectively fell, with Citigroup and American Airlines down about 4%, and JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Delta Air Lines down about 3%.

Energy and gold stocks rose, with the two major U.S. oil giants, ExxonMobil and Chevron, both hitting historical highs; Coeur Mining rose over 5%, while Pan American Silver and Kinross Gold rose over 3%.

Chinese concept stocks generally fell, with Burning Rock Medical down 11%, WeRide falling nearly 9%, Pony.ai down nearly 6%, Kingsoft Cloud and Hesai Technology down 5%, and NIO and Xpeng Motors down about 4%; XPeng Inc. rose 7%, and Yika Technology rose nearly 5%.

In commodities, gold and silver surged late at night, with gold briefly reclaiming the $4500 mark, closing up nearly 3%, and silver rising over 2%.

Crude oil surged. WTI crude oil futures for the current month rose by $6.70, closing at $101.18 per barrel, a gain of 7.09%.

In news, according to CCTV News, affected by rising fuel prices and fluctuations in financial markets, the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index fell significantly by 6% in March, reaching its lowest level since December 2025. Inflation expectations for the next year rose from 3.4% in February to 3.8% in March, marking the largest single-month increase since April 2025. Compared to February data, consumers’ expectations for fuel prices in the next year soared about fivefold, reaching the highest level since June 2022.

Additionally, according to CCTV News, on the evening of the 27th local time, Israel launched attacks on Iran’s two largest steel mills, a power plant, and civilian nuclear facilities. Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian emphasized that Israel would pay a heavy price for “its crimes.”

According to @CCTV International News, Iran is considering withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. A spokesperson for the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee posted on social media on March 27, stating that it has become “meaningless” for Iran to continue as a member of the Treaty, which has not provided Iran with any substantial benefits or protected it from attacks by nuclear powers. The spokesperson noted that if Iran chooses to withdraw from the Treaty, the West might express surprise and opposition, but “now is the time to leave.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, following airstrikes on two Iranian nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency stated on social media that its Director General, Grossi, “once again calls for military restraint to avoid the risk of nuclear accidents.”

Massive information and precise interpretation are available in the Sina Finance APP.

Editor: Wei Zirong