Tonight, dive!

【Briefing】U.S. Stocks Keep Plunging as Oil Prices Stay Elevated

Hello everyone—let’s continue to look at how overseas markets performed tonight.

U.S. Stocks Swing Lower

On the evening of March 11, the three major U.S. stock indexes fluctuated and plunged. The Dow fell by nearly 500 points, the Nasdaq edged down slightly, and the S&P 500 fell by about 0.4%.

On the individual stock front, Oracle was one of the highlights. Shares of the software company surged 10% because its latest fiscal-quarter revenue and profit both beat analysts’ expectations. The company also raised its revenue outlook for fiscal year 2027.

Oracle currently expects revenue for fiscal year 2027 to reach $90 billion, above analysts’ expectation of $86.61 billion. The company reaffirmed its forecast for fiscal year 2026.

The company expects current fourth fiscal-quarter revenue to grow 18% to 20%, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.92 to $1.96. Wall Street expects adjusted EPS of $1.93.

On the macro data side, U.S. core inflation slowed in February compared with the prior month. Before the outbreak of the war with Iran, price pressures had eased to some extent. Overall, inflation had been on a downward trend. But recently, fears of a new round of inflation driven by rising energy prices may intensify pressure on the cost of living.

The data show that the U.S. February Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% year over year, in line with economists’ expectations; excluding food and energy, core CPI increased 0.2% month over month. On a year-over-year basis, core inflation held at 2.5%, the slowest growth in nearly five years.

One analyst said, “February’s inflation data was originally moving in the right direction. But then the conflict in the Middle East broke out, and now the whole path is changing.”

Oil Prices Stay Elevated

On the evening of March 11, international oil prices fluctuated sharply. Even after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said it would release 400 million barrels of oil reserves—this is the largest reserve release in history—to address supply disruptions caused by the war, oil prices still rose.

One analyst said the IEA’s decision “did not resolve the other problems that still affect the global economy.” “What the market is wrestling with now is whether there is a path for this conflict to end. Both sides have taken hard-line stances, and it will be difficult to see the situation conclude in a positive way in the near term.” If the conflict continues, oil prices could stay at elevated levels for the long run.

Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy at Barclays, said, “After oil prices experienced extreme volatility, Trump suggested the war may end soon—which may mean his ‘pain threshold’ has been reached. The longer oil prices keep rising, the greater the downside risks to corporate earnings and valuations.”

Ellen Zentner of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management noted that even though countries may release oil reserves, ongoing uncertainty still means oil prices have upside risks. That also implies the Federal Reserve will be more cautious on rate cuts.