Overnight US stocks | Dow fell more than 760 points to hit a new low for the year, spot gold plummeted 3.69%, and Bitcoin dropped more than 4%.

On Wednesday, the three major indices fell sharply, with the Dow dropping over 760 points to hit a new low for the year. Investors continue to monitor the situation of the U.S.-Iran war, with Iran striking the Aramco refinery in Riyadh in the U.S. exclusive zone, as well as U.S. military bases and Kurdish armed forces in Iraq. The Federal Reserve announced today that it will maintain interest rates, with Chairman Powell stating that raising rates is not the basic expectation of current policy, although officials have discussed this possibility. At the same time, he emphasized that no options are ruled out, and future policies will still depend on economic data. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow fell by 768.11 points, or 1.63%, to 46225.15 points; the Nasdaq fell 327.11 points, or 1.46%, to 22152.42 points; the S&P 500 Index fell by 91.39 points, or 1.36%, to 6624.70 points. SanDisk (SNDK.US) rose by over 4%, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) fell by 2.4%, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) and Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) fell by over 1.5%. The Nasdaq China Dragon Index fell by 2%, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) fell by over 1%, and KINGOFT CLOUD(KC.US) rose by 12%. [European Stocks] The German DAX30 index fell by 215.94 points, or 0.91%, to 23504.82 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell by 102.45 points, or 0.98%, to 10301.15 points; the French CAC40 index fell by 4.61 points, or 0.06%, to 7969.88 points; the European Stoxx 50 index fell by 32.30 points, or 0.56%, to 5736.95 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose by 34.91 points, or 0.20%, to 17282.01 points; and the Italian FTSE MIB index fell by 167.04 points, or 0.37%, to 44720.50 points. [Asian Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell by 2.87%, while the South Korean KOSPI index rose by over 5%. [Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin fell by over 4%, to $71,322.74, while Ethereum fell by over 5%, to $2,202.33. [Oil] Light crude oil futures for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by 11 cents to close at $96.32 per barrel, a 0.11% increase; while Brent crude oil futures for May delivery on the rise by $3.96 to close at $107.38 per barrel, a 3.83% increase. [US Dollar Index] The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose by 0.52% to close at 100.092 in the forex market. At the close of the New York forex market, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1516, lower than the previous day's $1.1542; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3341, lower than the previous day's $1.3360. 1 dollar traded for 159.41 yen, higher than the previous day's 159.00 yen; 1 dollar traded for 0.7902 Swiss Francs, higher than the previous day's 0.7847 Swiss Francs; 1 dollar traded for 1.3701 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous day's 1.3697 Canadian dollars; and 1 dollar traded for 9.3346 Swedish Krona, higher than the previous day's 9.2737 Swedish Krona. [Metals] Precious metals fell significantly, with spot gold closing down by 3.69% at $4,818.71, and spot silver closing at $75.338. [Macro News] The Federal Reserve stays put, still maintains the expectation of a rate cut in 2026. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept interest rates unchanged and predicted that inflation would rise while the unemployment rate remains stable, with only one rate cut expected this year. Officials made these predictions while evaluating the risks the U.S.-Israel-Iran war poses to the economy. The new forecast shows that by the end of this year, the Federal Reserve will only cut rates by 0.25 percentage points, without specifying the timing of this move. This view is consistent with previous forecasts and contradicts President Trump's demand for a significant rate cut. The Fed's statement said, "The impact of changes in the Middle East on the U.S. economy remains uncertain." The statement also noted that the unemployment rate is currently stable. The new interest rate and economic forecast indicate that the Fed has largely ignored the impact of the oil crisis, and policymakers still expect to lower rates this year, with inflation expected to reach 2.2% by the end of 2027, close to the central bank's target of 2%. It is noteworthy that no policymaker believes that interest rates need to be raised further by the end of this year, but one official expects a rate hike by 2027. Powell: Service sector inflation "disappointing," the Federal Reserve is in a difficult position. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said in a press conference that service sector inflation rates excluding housing remain high, which is "disappointing." He said, "We haven't seen any progress in this area." At the same time, tariffs have raised goods inflation. Powell said, "The inflation rate for services has been negative for many years and is now around 2%. High inflation above the target level combined with a weak job market forces the Federal Reserve to seek a delicate balance between the two. We are currently in a difficult position." "The Federal Reserve megaphone:" Powell confines Trump's ability to "make moves" at the Fed. The "Federal Reserve megaphone" Nick Timiraos stated that Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has announced that if his successor is not confirmed before his term ends on May 15, he will continue to serve as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. This is the most direct statement Powell has made so far regarding the impending leadership change at the Federal Reserve. Powell further stated that as long as the Department of Justice's investigation into him is not concluded, he will not leave the Fed board. Powell also said he has not decided whether he will continue to serve as a Fed board member if the investigation results are released and a successor takes over as Chairman. It has been confirmed that after Powell's term as chairman ends, he can serve as a Fed board member until 2028. Powell's decision has a significant impact on Trump's ability to reshape the Fed's structure. If Powell remains on the board, Trump will lose the opportunity to appoint someone of his choosing. Currently, three of the seven members of the Federal Reserve Board were appointed by Trump. Economists: Markets may be misjudging the Fed's rate cut prospects. Michael Pearce, Chief U.S. Economist at the Oxford Economics Institute, stated that the market is gradually ruling out the possibility of a rate cut in the near term, but this may be a misjudgment. "My biggest conclusion is that a rate cut is still firmly on the agenda." Pearce pointed out that the broader forecast released by the Federal Reserve shows that although economic growth is stronger, it has not significantly tightened labor market conditions. This also explains why most officials still see a rate cut path this year. He also said, "From the perspective of market pricing, if there is any difference, the market believes this situation will have a slightly deflationary effect on long-term inflation rather than exacerbating inflation." Samsung Electronics strike risk may impact semiconductor production supply chain. According to reports, a vote by over 66,000 members of the Samsung Electronics union showed that 93.1% of union members supported a strike. If there are no major changes, Samsung Electronics union members will go on a full strike from May 21 to June 7. Analysts believe that the impending large-scale strike may affect half of the production capacity at the semiconductor factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do. If the strike continues for two to three weeks, Samsung Electronics may incur losses of $3.4 billion to $6.8 billion. Additionally, Samsung Electronics had the first mass production and shipment of the 6th generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4), which was used by the U.S. chip manufacturer NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) for the new AI platform. If mass strikes occur during the critical production phase, it will directly affect the delivery of products to downstream AI manufacturers. Industry insiders analyze that if Samsung Electronics' output is restricted, it will further raise prices of related products and trigger market fluctuations. [Stock News] Media: Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) CEO Musk plans to settle disclosure issues on Twitter holdings with the SEC, paving the way for SpaceX IPO. According to reports, according to court documents from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Musk is in negotiations with the SEC to settle for not disclosing the purchase of Twitter shares before sending a tender offer in April 2022. It is reported that banks working with SpaceX hope to resolve this issue before launching what could be the largest IPO in history. According to regulations, investors who purchase 5% or more of a listed company's shares must disclose their ownership within 10 days of the purchase. However, Musk did not disclose his ownership until 21 days after reaching that threshold. He also submitted a "13G" form applicable to passive investors, instead of using the "13D" form intended for aggressive investors (including those intending to make a tender offer). Musk's lawyer told the court earlier this month that these settlement negotiations were conducted without the involvement of the SEC enforcement lawyers responsible for the case. AI Companies vying for the Pentagon, Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) may emerge as the biggest winner. According to reports, last month, AI company Anthropic had a disagreement with the U.S. Department of Defense over military AI applications, while Alphabet Inc. class C cloud CEO Thomas Kurian quietly met with Pentagon officials, actively promoting Alphabet Inc. class C as an ideal defense partner for the Department of Defense, maintaining a low profile without controversy throughout. On February 26, Kurian met with officials at the Pentagon responsible for selecting AI tools, and insiders revealed that Alphabet Inc. class C had an existing collaboration with the Department of Defense, with Kurian promising stable expansion of supplies of cutting-edge AI tools, without causing public backlash like competitors. After the storm subsided, the Department of Defense terminated its cooperation with Anthropic directly and signed a contract with OpenAI, but OpenAI faced strong opposition from internal employees and the public over this agreement, and just a few days later, the terms were revised. Meanwhile, Alphabet Inc. class C has successfully expanded its cooperation with the Department of Defense, with its AI intelligence body autonomous system officially accessing the Department of Defense's non-classified network, and the partnership was announced last week. On the other hand, OpenAI and Anthropic have faced political controversies in their collaboration with the Department of Defense, with Alphabet Inc. class C steadily maintaining an advantage, avoiding all controversies.