U.S. semiconductor and tech giants plunge late at night, Chinese concept stocks tumble, Micron Technology drops over 5%, market bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates this year

Reporter | Jin Shan Wu Bin

Editor | Jiang Peixia

On March 19, the three major U.S. stock indexes opened lower collectively. As of 22:13, the Nasdaq fell 0.54%, the Dow Jones dropped 0.45%, and the S&P 500 index decreased by 0.39%.

Among them, tech giants and chip stocks fell collectively, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index opening down over 3%, currently narrowing the decline to 1.2%. In terms of individual stocks, Micron Technology fell over 5%, Tesla dropped over 2.5%, and NVIDIA declined over 1.7%.

Chinese concept stocks broadly declined, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index dropping more than 3% at one point, now down 1.45%. Among popular stocks, Alibaba fell over 8%, Huya dropped nearly 8%, and Bawang Chaji, Pony.ai, and Baidu Group fell over 3%.

Precious metal stocks fell sharply across the board, with New Pacific Metals and Endeavour Silver down over 13%, First Majestic Silver down over 11%, Pan American Silver and Coeur Mining down over 10%, Eldorado Gold, Kinross Gold, and Newmont Mining down over 9%, and Harmony Gold down over 8%. In terms of news, tonight the plunge in gold and silver prices is widening, with spot gold down over 5%, reported at $4539 per ounce. Spot silver has a daily decline of over 10%, reported at $67.2 per ounce. (See details)

International crude oil gains have retreated somewhat, after Brent crude once rose nearly 9%, breaking the $110 mark, the latest increase has narrowed to 3%, reported at $106 per barrel. According to CCTV news, on March 19 local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that the U.S. has not attacked Iran’s energy infrastructure and has allowed Iranian oil to continue being transported via the Gulf region. The U.S. may lift sanctions on Iranian oil at sea in the coming days. Additionally, the U.S. may release strategic oil reserves again to curb oil prices.

Major cryptocurrencies declined, with Bitcoin falling over 3%, dropping below the $70,000 mark. In the past 24 hours, over 140,000 people in the market faced liquidation.

According to Xinhua Finance, on the evening of March 19, the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 14 was 205,000, compared to a previous figure of 213,000. Following the data release, traders no longer bet on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates in 2026. Traders also increased bets on interest rate hikes by the European Central Bank, believing there is a 75% probability of a third rate hike this year. The CME FedWatch Tool shows that the most likely scenario this year is that the Federal Reserve will not cut rates, with a probability of 56.1%, and there is even a 3.6% probability of raising rates once this year.

Although the current U.S. economic growth is clearly cooling, the labor market is weakening rapidly, and inflation levels remain stable, Chief Economist Cheng Shi of ICBC International warns that rising global geopolitical risks still pose greater economic uncertainty for the Federal Reserve. In this month’s meeting, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, which helps to continue consolidating the trend of falling inflation and remains vigilant against inflation recurrence. On the other hand, it also reserves space for the Federal Reserve to observe economic trends and assess the pace of future policy adjustments, allowing monetary policy to maintain a relative balance between controlling inflation and stabilizing the economy.

If the conflict in the Middle East drags on, even Kevin Warsh, nominated by Trump as the Federal Reserve Chairman, would need to raise rates upon taking office. Looking ahead, Mike Medeiros, a macro strategist at Wellington Management, analyzes that many factors depend on the duration of the Middle Eastern situation. If the conflict ends quickly, the market may re-anticipate rate cuts; but if supply shocks last for months rather than weeks, the Federal Reserve’s policy support space will be limited and may even force Kevin Warsh’s first action after taking office to become a rate hike rather than a cut. (See details)

Yue Sheng Investment Research: Extended reading on popular thematic companies

(Statement: The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors operate at their own risk.)

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