A nationwide plunge in early morning trading! The US deploys a large number of troops, and Trump makes his latest statement!

U.S. stocks face another intense sell-off.

Last night, the U.S. stock market plummeted across the board, with the Nasdaq dropping over 2%, the S&P 500 falling 1.51%, and major tech stocks all closing lower. According to Xinhua News Agency, the U.S. military is deploying three additional warships and approximately 2,500 Marines to the Middle East.

Analysts point out that escalating tensions in the Middle East have heightened fears of prolonged conflict, causing the VIX fear index to surge over 11%. Additionally, inflation concerns triggered by energy shocks have reshaped global interest rate expectations, with markets no longer betting on a rate cut by the Federal Reserve this year.

Notably, after the U.S. stock market closed, CCTV News reported that on March 20, U.S. President Trump posted on his social media platform “Truth Social” that as they consider gradually de-escalating major military operations against the Iranian regime in the Middle East, they are very close to achieving their set goals.

Widespread Decline

On March 20, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices opened lower and continued to decline. By the close, the S&P 500 fell 1.51%, the Nasdaq dropped 2.01%, both hitting their lowest levels since September 2025; the Dow Jones declined 0.96%, its lowest close since October last year.

Major tech stocks also fell sharply, with Nvidia and Tesla down over 3%, Google and Meta down more than 2%, Microsoft and Amazon down over 1%, and Apple closing down 0.39%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 2.45%, with Coherent plunging nearly 8%, Intel down 5%, ASML down over 3%, and Broadcom down nearly 3%.

Storage sector stocks also declined across the board, with SanDisk down over 8%, Western Digital down more than 7%, Seagate Technology down over 5%, and Micron Technology down over 4%.

On the news front, according to Xinhua citing U.S. media reports, the U.S. military is deploying three additional warships and about 2,500 Marines to the Middle East.

Meanwhile, an Iraqi Oil Ministry source said the Iraqi government has decided to implement “force majeure” measures on all oil fields operated by foreign oil companies in Iraq.

As a result, international oil prices surged again, with Brent crude futures closing at $112.19 per barrel, up 3.26%.

Late in the U.S. trading session, CCTV News reported that U.S. Department of Defense officials have prepared detailed plans for deploying U.S. ground forces to Iran. Trump has been weighing whether to deploy ground troops in the region. It remains unclear under what circumstances he would authorize such action.

Baird investment strategist Ross Mayfield commented, “If this conflict escalates to the point of deploying ground troops, we could see oil and natural gas prices continue rising for at least a few more weeks. Keep a close eye on every headline related to energy infrastructure in the region.”

B. Riley chief market strategist Art Hogan said that in this highly uncertain environment, a 10% correction in any index is not unusual. The broader and more diversified S&P 500 has experienced smaller declines, but this also indicates that the U.S. stock market is in a very uncertain period.

As concerns about U.S. inflation return, markets are beginning to price in potential Fed tightening. The CME Group’s “FedWatch” tool shows a 12.4% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike at the April meeting.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries also faced heavy selling. On March 20, U.S. Treasuries were again heavily sold off. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped sharply, approaching 4.4%, and finally closed at 4.384%.

Gennadiy Goldberg, head of U.S. interest rate strategy at TD Securities, said, “As the Iran conflict escalates and prolongs, the bond market is clearly worried about further inflation pressures. The market is no longer pricing in rate cuts in 2026 but is beginning to factor in a significant probability of rate hikes, which is driving yields higher.”

Latest Remarks from Trump

After the market closed, CCTV News reported that on March 20, Trump posted on his social media platform “Truth Social” that as they consider gradually de-escalating major military operations against the Iranian regime in the Middle East, they are very close to achieving their set goals:

1. Completely weaken Iran’s missile capabilities, launch systems, and all related facilities.

2. Destroy Iran’s defense industrial base.

3. Eliminate Iran’s naval and air forces, including air defense systems.

4. Never allow Iran to even approach nuclear capability; at the same time, the U.S. must maintain a posture that allows for rapid and forceful retaliation if such a situation arises.

5. With maximum effort, protect U.S. allies in the Middle East, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and other countries.

Trump stated that the guard and patrol of the Strait of Hormuz should be undertaken by other countries using the strait when necessary, and the U.S. will no longer bear this responsibility. If invited, the U.S. is willing to support these countries’ actions in the Strait of Hormuz, but once the Iranian threat is fully eliminated, such assistance will no longer be necessary. Importantly, for these countries, this will be an easy military operation.

However, the situation appears to still be escalating in the Middle East. CCTV News reported that on March 20, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that its Navy and Air Force had coordinated operations, launching the “True Commitment-4” 68th wave offensive.

The announcement stated that they used “Khoramshahr-4” missiles, “Qader” missiles, and dozens of attack drones to strike 25 targets in Haifa and Tel Aviv, Israel, as well as multiple U.S. military bases in the Middle East.

The Revolutionary Guard said that using dozens of attack drones in a layered networked operation, they targeted multiple U.S. military bases in the Middle East. The Navy deployed attack drones and cruise missiles to strike six logistics facilities in Bahrain’s Hadr region, destroying some Patriot air defense systems stored there. Additionally, logistics support at the U.S. Sheik Isa Air Base in Bahrain was severely damaged.

The statement emphasized that, under the instructions of Iran’s Supreme Leader, the Strait of Hormuz is now “completely closed” to the U.S., Israel, and their allies.

(Article source: Securities Times)