Overnight US stocks | Three major indexes fell for a second consecutive day, with oil prices falling during the trading session. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) dropped by 3.78%.

On Thursday, the three major indexes recorded a consecutive second day of declines, driven by a downturn in oil prices, with the main stock indexes closing with narrower losses. Global central banks are on high alert to combat a resurgence in inflation. On Wednesday, both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada decided to keep interest rates unchanged; on Thursday, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, as well as the central banks of Switzerland and Sweden made the same decision. These central banks have made it clear that they will remain vigilant, fearing that rising energy prices could trigger inflation waves in a wider economic area. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones fell 203.20 points, or 0.44%, to 46,021.95 points; the Nasdaq fell 61.73 points, or 0.28%, to 22,090.69 points; the S&P 500 fell 18.21 points, or 0.27%, to 6606.49 points. Tesla, Inc.(TSLA.US) fell 3.18%, Micron Technology, Inc.(MU.US) fell 3.78%, Meta Platforms(META.US) fell 1.46%, NVIDIA Corporation(NVDA.US) fell 1.02%. [European Stocks] The German DAX30 index fell 699.13 points, or 2.97%, to 22,828.50 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 250.37 points, or 2.43%, to 10,054.92 points; the French CAC40 index fell 162.01 points, or 2.03%, to 7,807.87 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 127.60 points, or 2.22%, to 5,609.25 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index fell 411.13 points, or 2.38%, to 16,886.67 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 1,080.84 points, or 2.42%, to 43,660.50 points. [Asian Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell 3.38%, while the South Korean KOSPI index fell 2.73%. [Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin fell over 1% to $70,400.73, while Ethereum fell over 2% to $2,149.24. [Crude Oil] After showing signs of assisting in reopening the key Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, oil prices turned lower during the trading session. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures for May delivery fell by about 2% to $104.79 per barrel, after briefly climbing above $119 per barrel before turning lower earlier in the session. US West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose earlier in the day, before falling by over 3% to $93.33 per barrel. The International Energy Agency announced that Japan, Canada, and South Korea will be the main contributors to a large-scale emergency release of oil reserves in response to supply disruptions caused by the war in Iran. The IEA stated, "The emergency reserves being released will primarily consist of crude oil, while in Europe, contributions from countries will mainly take the form of refined oil products. In addition, additional production from American countries will also serve as a supplement. Member countries have contributed 426 million barrels of oil. As part of a previous agreement, a total of 426 million barrels of crude oil are being released to the market, with 172 million barrels coming from the US." [US Dollar Index] The US dollar index fell sharply on the 19th. The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.87% on the day and closed at 99.222 in the forex market at the end of the day. At the end of New York forex trading, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1560, higher than the previous trading day's $1.1516; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3404, higher than the previous trading day's $1.3341. 1 US dollar exchanged for 157.83 Japanese yen, lower than the previous trading day's 159.41 yen; 1 US dollar exchanged for 0.7905 Swiss francs, higher than the previous trading day's 0.7902 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar exchanged for 1.3727 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.3701 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar exchanged for 9.3180 Swedish kronor, lower than the previous trading day's 9.3346 Swedish kronor. [Metals] Precious metals continued their recent decline, with spot gold breaking through key levels of $4800/ounce and $4700/ounce, nearing $4500/ounce at one point. At the close, spot gold was trading at $4657.89/ounce, and spot silver broke below the $70 level, closing at $72.82/ounce. [Macro News] Fed probe at stall Wash succession path variables. According to sources, senior officials at the US Department of Justice are actively supporting a federal prosecutor investigating Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, with no opposition from the White House. This situation has intensified the high-stakes game between the two sides and has significant implications on the future leadership candidates of the Federal Reserve. Sources stated that before a judge rejected the subpoenas against the Fed last Friday, Trump was open to the proposal to end the investigation into Powell. However, due to anger at the ruling and a long-held belief that the court is biased against him, aides and allies believe Trump now supports appealing the decision. After the subpoenas were rejected last week, federal prosecutor Jenny Piros promptly announced that she would appeal the court's decision. While Trump has not publicly commented on Piros' move, some of his aides were surprised. According to another anonymous source familiar with the internal deliberations, the leadership of the Justice Department is currently supporting Piros. Some sources pointed out that the judge's ruling provided a potential "downhill path" for the Trump administration to end the Powell investigation and calm controversies surrounding the investigation. However, continuing legal action means that Trump may have to wait longer to have his chosen nominee for Fed Chairman, Lael Brainard, take over the Fed. Energy crisis escalates, European Central Bank keeps rates unchanged. The European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged but signaled readiness to raise rates to curb inflation caused by the conflict in the Middle East. Previously, the Bank of England, the Swiss National Bank, the Swedish National Bank, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Canada, and the Bank of Japan all kept interest rates unchanged. The escalating war in the Middle East is impacting the global economic outlook. Europe largely relies on imported energy, making it particularly vulnerable to disruptions in oil and natural gas production in the Middle East. Central bank officials emphasized that it is still unclear what impact rising energy prices will have on economic growth and inflation. However, investors have begun to prepare for long-term energy supply disruptions, which pose a greater threat to the economy. BofA strategist: Fed rate hike speculation is "nonsense," consumer stocks may see the best buying opportunity. Bank of America Corp's chief stock strategist Michael Hartnett believes that while soaring oil prices may exacerbate inflation and drag down the economy, consumer stocks may actually see the best buying opportunity at present. "Consumer stocks have fully digested stagflation expectations," Hartnett said in an event on Thursday. He warned that rising oil prices could delay Fed rate cuts, short-term pressure on the stock market. The S&P 500 falling to around 6600 points may be an ideal entry point. Hartnett refers to current investors as the "quantitative easing generation" accustomed to central banks readily bailing out the market. He believes this expectation needs to be broken for policymakers to take real action. Long-term, he is bullish on international markets and commodities, calling it the "real bull market of the inflation era," and refutes speculation that the Fed may raise interest rates in turbulent times as "nonsense." [Stock News] Jensen Huang: AI risks need to be highlighted but should not cause public panic. NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) CEO Jensen Huang, in response to how Anthropic could have handled negotiations with the Pentagon better, said that leaders in the tech industry need to be cautious when discussing artificial intelligence to avoid causing public panic. Huang stated, "We really want to remind people of the potential risks of this technology." "Reminding is good, but creating panic is not, because this technology is too important to us." Huang believes that the biggest national security risk the US faces in the field of artificial intelligence is falling behind competitors due to public anger, fear, or paranoia about using this technology. Anthropic is a significant customer of NVIDIA Corporation, and its CEO insisted on prohibiting the use of the company's products for monitoring Americans and fully autonomous weapons in their contract terms. The Trump administration therefore deemed Anthropic a supply chain risk and is moving to exclude it from government work. Spring Layoff Wave Approaching Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. gradually laying off redundant staff in various business lines. According to reports, multiple sources revealed that Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS.US) plans to start laying off staff next month. This reflects a shift in its strategy this spring, leaning towards multiple rounds of lay-offs rather than a one-time large-scale de-staffing of underperforming employees. The Wall Street bank has long been known for its annual layoffs in the spring and fall, historically cutting as much as 5% of its global workforce who performed the worst, with layoffs numbering in the thousands in one go. However, sources said this time they will instead adopt a series of small-scale, rolling layoffs. The first round of layoffs is expected to take place in April and continue throughout the summer. This round of layoffs will affect all business lines from its strong investment banking business to its expanding asset and wealth management business, but expected to be significantly fewer than last March. A target of up to 5% layoffs last year could mean as many as 2,300 job cuts.