U.S. stock indices closed higher on March 17, with the Dow Jones up 0.83%, the Nasdaq rising 1.22%, and the S&P 500 gaining 1.01%. Major European stock indices also ended the day broadly higher, with Germany's DAX 30 index up 0.5% and the UK's FTSE 100 index climbing 0.55%.
Large-cap technology stocks saw collective advances. Meta Platforms, Inc. rose 2.33%, Amazon.com gained nearly 2%, and NVIDIA increased by 1.63%, after having surged as much as 4.31% during the session. Microsoft, Tesla Motors, and Apple all climbed more than 1%. In related news, NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang raised the company's revenue forecast to $1 trillion by 2027 during his keynote address at the GTC conference, where he also unveiled a new chip architecture and introduced a simplified shrimp farming solution.
Memory chip stocks generally advanced, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising 1.96%. SanDisk surged over 6%, Western Digital gained more than 5%, and Micron Technology increased by 3.68%. ASML and NOVA both rose over 2%. Reports indicated that Micron Technology is producing HBM4 related to NVIDIA's Vera Rubin platform.
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed 0.95% higher, after having surged more than 2% during late trading on the 16th. Among popular U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, BYD closed up 8.2%, Xiaomi gained 5.4%, Li Auto rose 5.3%, and NIO increased 3.1%. Meituan, NetEase, Yum China, Tencent, Pinduoduo, and Alibaba advanced by up to approximately 2.9%.
Gold and silver prices declined, with spot gold fluctuating around $5,000 and spot silver hovering near $80 per ounce.
International oil prices fell sharply on the 16th. WTI crude futures settled at $93.50 per barrel, down 5.28%, while Brent crude futures closed at $100.21 per barrel, declining 2.84%.
Cryptocurrencies strengthened, with Bitcoin surpassing $74,000, marking a daily increase of 3.63%. Ethereum surged over 9% to $2,361 per coin, while SOL and Dogecoin both gained more than 6%.
Reports indicated that the U.S. President plans to announce the formation of a so-called "Hormuz Alliance" aimed at controlling the Strait of Hormuz and pressuring European, Asian, and Gulf nations to contribute naval vessels. However, many countries have responded cautiously or explicitly refused, with no nation publicly endorsing the U.S. proposal thus far.
The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy stated regarding Middle East conflicts that "this is not Europe's war" and indicated that EU member states have no intention of expanding the existing maritime escort mission to include the Strait of Hormuz.
On the afternoon of March 16, the U.S. President suggested that "something will eventually happen to the pipeline on Iran's Kharg Island," hinting that U.S. forces might attack oil infrastructure on this crucial Iranian oil export hub. An Iranian armed forces spokesperson had earlier warned that any U.S. aggression against Kharg Island or its oil facilities would be met with a decisive and forceful response, stating that oil and gas facilities of all countries involved in such an attack would become targets for Iran's retaliation.