Overnight US stocks | Three major indexes dropped, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling nearly 800 points. Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) rose 4.8%.

On Thursday, the three major indexes fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping nearly 800 points. Due to the ongoing conflict with Iran, US Treasury bond yields rose for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday, exacerbating concerns in the market about inflation and its impact on Federal Reserve policy. US stocksAt the close, the Dow Jones fell 784.67 points, or 1.61%, to 47954.74 points; the Nasdaq fell 58.50 points, or 0.26%, to 22748.99 points; the S&P 500 index fell 38.82 points, or 0.57%, to 6830.68 points. Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV.US) fell 6.8%, SanDisk (SNDK.US) fell 5.5%, and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) rose 4.8% after announcing its latest earnings. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index fell 1.4%. European stocksThe German DAX30 index fell 416.98 points, or 1.72%, to 23799.28 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 154.76 points, or 1.46%, to 10412.89 points; the French CAC40 index fell 121.93 points, or 1.49%, to 8045.80 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 89.42 points, or 1.52%, to 5781.50 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index fell 271.33 points, or 1.55%, to 17219.87 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 694.38 points, or 1.53%, to 44642.50 points. Asian stock marketsThe Nikkei 225 index rose 1.9%, the Korean KOSPI index rose 9.63%, and the Indonesian Jakarta Composite index rose 1.76%. CryptocurrencyBitcoin fell more than 1.9% to $71,258.1, while Ethereum fell over 2% to $2,082.44. Crude oilInternational oil prices surged on the 5th. At the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for delivery in April on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $6.35 to close at $81.01 per barrel, up 8.51%; the price of Brent crude oil futures for delivery in May rose by $4.01 to close at $85.41 per barrel, up 4.93%. US Dollar IndexThe US Dollar Index, measuring the US dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.56% on the day to close at 99.316 in the forex market. At the close of the New York forex market, 1 euro was exchanged for $1.1583, lower than the previous trading day's $1.1625; 1 pound was exchanged for $1.3328, lower than the previous trading day's $1.3351. 1 US dollar was exchanged for 157.77 Japanese yen, higher than the previous trading day's 157.15 Japanese yen; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 0.7827 Swiss francs, higher than the previous trading day's 0.7800 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 1.3697 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.3669 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 9.2657 Swedish kronor, higher than the previous trading day's 9.1761 Swedish kronor. MetalsSpot gold fell 1.09% to $5,083.37, and spot silver was at $82.323. Macro News Sharp Drop in Layoffs and Stable Initial Jobless Claims Suggests Stabilization of the US Labor Market. Initial jobless claims in the US last week remained virtually unchanged, while layoffs in February saw a significant decline, consistent with a steady trend in the labor market. Data indicates that the labor market is regaining its footing after setbacks last year. Economists believe that last year's fluctuations were due to the uncertainty caused by the widespread tariffs imposed by Trump under a law aimed at addressing a national emergency. The "Beige Book" report released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday also stated that employment levels have been "generally stable in recent weeks, with 7 of the 12 districts reporting no change in hiring activity." The report cited "rising non-labor input costs, weakening demand, or uncertainty about the overall economic situation" as reasons for stable or decreasing employment levels in multiple districts. Economists are optimistic that with stimulus from tax cuts, the labor market will regain momentum this year. Legal Challenge to Trump's New Tariffs Faces Another Hurdle; Multiple States Plan Joint Lawsuit. According to reports, President Trump's latest round of global import tariffs is facing significant legal challenges. Previously, the Supreme Court overturned most of the tariffs imposed by him under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last month. Attorneys general in New York and Oregon announced on Thursday that a group of states is planning to file a joint lawsuit against the 10% import tariffs that went into effect on February 24th. The new tariffs imposed by Trump are based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This law has never been used to impose tariffs before, but it allows the president to implement temporary tariffs to address significant "balance of payments" deficits. Attorneys general in various states argue that Trump's rationale for the new tariffs, namely the US trade deficit, is inappropriate. They believe that the US no longer faces balance of payments issues, as such problems could only occur under a fixed exchange rate system (such as the gold standard), which the US abandoned decades ago. The US Plans to Establish New Framework for Exporting AI Chips: Purchase of Chips Requires Investment in the US First. A document shows that US officials are discussing a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence chips and are considering requiring foreign countries to invest in US artificial intelligence data centers or provide security assurances in order to obtain large numbers of chip export permits. The US is considering establishing four levels for countries seeking US artificial intelligence chips, and acquiring more than 200,000 US artificial intelligence chips may require investment in US artificial intelligence data centers or enhanced security measures. These rules are not final and may change. This is the first attempt since the Trump administration revoked the previous government's "AI proliferation rules" to regulate the supply of artificial intelligence chips to US allies and partners. OpenAI Launches Flagship Model GPT-5.4 to Improve Financial Workflow Processes. OpenAI has introduced a new flagship artificial intelligence model, GPT-5.4, and a set of tools for financial services aimed at improving office workflow efficiency. OpenAI announced on Thursday that the new GPT-5.4 model excels in tasks like generating spreadsheets, documents, and presentations, with fewer interactions required from users. Additionally, the model has improved in obtaining answers to complex questions from web pages, such as gathering information from multiple sources, analyzing it, and generating responses. The company also announced the launch of a new tool to help professionals optimize financial analysis, investment memos, and other workflow processes. This product can connect with applications like ChatGPT from financial data and research companies like FactSet Research Systems Inc. and Third Bridge. OpenAI stated that users can also use ChatGPT directly in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to create and analyze financial models. World Gold Council: Global Gold ETFs Net Inflow Reaches $5.3 Billion in February. The World Gold Council reported that global gold ETFs saw a net inflow of $5.3 billion in February, marking the ninth consecutive month of inflows and the strongest year-to-date start ever. With the continued rise in gold prices boosting valuations, the total global gold assets under management (AUM) climbed to a historic high of $701 billion, with global holdings reaching 4,171 tons. North America and Asia were the main drivers of inflows, while Europe experienced outflows at the beginning of the month due to a sell-off at the end of January. The global daily trading volume dropped to $478 billion, but is still significantly higher than levels in 2025. Stock News Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US) Plans to Lay Off Thousands of Employees to Address Fund Shortage Caused by AI Development. According to reports, Oracle Corporation is planning to lay off thousands of employees to address the financial strain caused by the large-scale expansion of AI data centers. Sources revealed that the layoffs will affect various departments of the company and may be implemented as soon as this month. Two sources indicated that some of the layoffs will target job categories that are expected to have reduced demand due to the development of artificial intelligence. Wall Street institutions predict that the cash flow of Oracle Corporation will remain negative in the coming years due to the data center expenses of the company's cloud computing department, and it is expected to start generating returns only in 2030. Last month, Oracle Corporation stated its plan to raise up to $50 billion in funds this year through a combination of issuing bonds and stocks. US Plans to Expand Export Control of AI Chips Worldwide; NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), AMD (AMD.US), and other Companies Require Licenses for Exports. According to sources, US officials have drafted a regulation that aims to restrict the shipment of artificial intelligence chips worldwide without US approval, empowering Washington with broad powers to determine whether other countries can build facilities for training and running artificial intelligence models, and under what conditions. The proposed regulation will require companies to apply for licenses from the US to export almost all artificial intelligence accelerators produced by companies like NVIDIA Corporation and AMD. This will expand the restrictions currently covering about 40 countries to a global scale. President Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants the world to use American artificial intelligence, and the purpose of this proposed regulation is not to ban exports from NVIDIA Corporation. Instead, this regulation will designate the US government as the "gatekeeper" of the artificial intelligence industry: companies (in some cases, including their home country governments) must obtain approval from the US Department of Commerce to purchase accelerators.