Gold and silver plunge! The three major U.S. stock indices all decline across the board

On March 3rd local time, U.S. stocks opened sharply lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average initially dropping over 1,200 points. In the late trading session, the major indices narrowed their declines. By the close, all three major U.S. stock indices finished lower.

In commodities, gold and silver prices fell across the board, with spot gold briefly dropping below $5,000 per ounce.

U.S. Stock Market Indices All Close Lower

On March 3rd local time, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed lower. Data shows that by the end of the day, the Dow Jones fell 403.51 points, down 0.83%, to 48,501.27; the Nasdaq dropped 232.17 points, down 1.02%, to 22,516.69; and the S&P 500 declined 64.99 points, down 0.94%, to 6,816.63.

Large-cap tech stocks in the U.S. showed mixed performance, with the U.S. Tech Seven Index down 0.51%. Among individual stocks, Tesla fell over 2%, Nvidia declined over 1%, while Microsoft rose over 1%.

Chinese concept stocks mostly declined, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index down 3.34%. Notable declines included Hesai Technology, which fell nearly 9%, and Kingsoft Cloud, which dropped over 8%.

In commodities, international precious metal prices declined across the board. Spot gold briefly fell below $5,000 per ounce, and spot silver and platinum both fell over 10%. As of press time, London gold was quoted at $5,095.09 per ounce, down 4.25%.

After U.S. President Trump announced that the U.S. would provide insurance for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz, crude oil prices retreated. Data shows that as of press time, Brent crude futures rose 4.49%, to $81.23 per barrel; WTI crude futures for April delivery on NYMEX increased 4.17%, to $74.20 per barrel.

Trump Says He Will Cut Off Trade

Spain Responds: U.S. Must Respect Bilateral Agreements

According to CCTV News, on March 3rd local time, in response to U.S. President Trump’s announcement to cut off trade relations with Spain, the Spanish government stated that the U.S. must respect bilateral agreements with the European Union.

The Spanish government emphasized: “Spain is a NATO member and a major exporter within the EU. Spain maintains a long-standing, mutually beneficial trade relationship with the U.S. If the U.S. wishes to change this relationship, it must respect the autonomy of private enterprises, international law, and bilateral agreements between the EU and the U.S.”

During a meeting at the White House on March 3rd with German Chancellor Merkel, Trump criticized Spain for “lacking cooperation” in Iran sanctions enforcement and announced that all trade relations between the U.S. and Spain would be severed because Spain is “a poor ally.”