Financial markets experienced a sharp V-shaped recovery. On the afternoon of March 24, Beijing time, U.S. stock futures initially plunged but then reversed course and climbed higher. As of the latest update, Dow Jones futures were up 0.22%, after having fallen as much as 0.80% earlier. Nasdaq futures rose 0.28%, following a decline of nearly 0.90%, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.20%, recovering from an earlier drop of 0.75%. Gold and silver prices also rebounded in a V-shaped pattern. During the session, spot gold fell nearly 2% at one point, and silver dropped over 4%. By the time of reporting, both metals had fully recovered their losses, with gold up 0.15% at $4,414 per ounce and silver rising 0.86% to $69.70 per ounce.

According to foreign media reports, Iran has received a message from the United States through intermediaries. Citing a U.S. media outlet on March 23, a senior Iranian official stated that Iran had obtained the U.S. position via mediators, which could signal potential negotiations between the two nations. The official mentioned that Iran is reviewing the information. Earlier on March 23, the U.S. President suggested that productive talks had taken place in recent days to resolve hostilities, noting around 15 points of agreement and predicting a likely deal. However, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson later denied any direct talks in the past 24 days, clarifying that while friendly countries relayed U.S. requests for discussions, Iran had not yet responded.

In related developments, the Israeli military announced on March 24 that rescue teams were heading to multiple attack sites in southern Israel, urging civilians to avoid the areas. Details on casualties remain unclear. Earlier, Iranian media reported new missile strikes against Israel, claiming breakthroughs in missile defense systems. The Israeli Prime Minister, in a video address, vowed to defend Israel's fundamental interests, destroy Iran's missile and nuclear programs, and strike Hezbollah, while revealing that two Iranian nuclear scientists had been eliminated. Iranian media also released satellite images showing precise strikes on U.S. bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, damaging facilities including radar systems, aircraft hangars, and communication equipment.

Separately, Amazon.com indicated that its AWS region in Bahrain experienced an outage due to conflict-related drone activity in the Middle East. The company is assisting customers in migrating to other AWS regions but provided no further details on the extent of damage or duration. This marks the second such incident since the outbreak of hostilities, with AWS being a critical cloud service provider and a major profit source for Amazon.

Gold and silver prices continued to exhibit high volatility on Tuesday, March 24. Spot gold fell nearly 2% intraday, while silver dropped over 4%, breaching $66 per ounce, before rebounding to positive territory by the close. This follows a significant decline the previous day, where gold slid nearly 9% and silver plummeted over 10%, though both pared losses by the end of the session. Since hitting a record high of $5,594.82 per ounce in late January, gold has declined more than 20%. Concurrently, the U.S. dollar index has risen approximately 3% since the conflict began. Market observers attribute the gold pullback to a mix of macroeconomic factors and position adjustments. Analysts note that while gold initially rose on safe-haven demand, recent strength in the dollar and reassessments of U.S. monetary policy have pressured prices. Higher Treasury yields, with the 10-year yield up around 5 basis points to 4.384%, have also reduced the appeal of non-yielding gold. Some experts view the sell-off as a natural correction after substantial gains driven by geopolitical uncertainty and structural demand, with gold having surged over 64% last year. They highlight that leveraged funds and institutional investors often reduce exposure during market turbulence.