Overnight US Stocks | Major Indices Close Lower This Week, Tech Stocks Generally Down; Both WTI and Brent Crude Oil Prices Break Above $90 Mark

According to Zhitong Finance, due to the surge in oil prices, the February non-farm payroll data unexpectedly declined and the unemployment rate rose. The three major indexes closed lower on Friday, recording losses for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by approximately 3%, the S&P 500 Index dropped by about 2%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell by 1.24%.

[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 453.19 points, or 0.95%, to 47,501.55 points; the Nasdaq Composite fell by 361.31 points, or 1.59%, to 22,387.68 points; the S&P 500 Index fell by 90.69 points, or 1.33%, to 6,740.02 points. Technology stocks generally declined, with NVIDIA (NVDA.US) dropping more than 3%, Amazon (AMZN.US) falling by 2.62%, Apple (AAPL.US) declining by 1.09%, Tesla (TSLA.US) falling by 2.17%, Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) dropping by 0.87%, Microsoft (MSFT.US) falling by 0.42%, and Meta Platforms (META.US) declining by 2.38%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX 30 Index fell by 177.53 points, or 0.75%, to 23,596.56 points; the UK FTSE 100 Index fell by 127.53 points, or 1.22%, to 10,286.41 points; the French CAC 40 Index fell by 52.31 points, or 0.65%, to 7,993.49 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell by 57.44 points, or 0.99%, to 5,725.45 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 Index fell by 160.14 points, or 0.93%, to 17,085.06 points; the Italian FTSE MIB Index fell by 441.05 points, or 0.99%, to 44,167.50 points.

[Asian Stocks] The Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.62%, while the KOSPI Index of South Korea slightly increased. The Jakarta Composite Index of Indonesia fell by 1.62%.

[Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin fell by more than 3.6%, trading at $68,330.49; Ethereum fell by more than 4.2%, trading at $1,984.77.

[Crude Oil] WTI crude oil surged by 12% on Friday, closing below $91 per barrel, marking its largest one-day increase in nearly six years. Brent crude oil closed near $93 per barrel. Barclays stated on Friday that if conflicts in the Middle East persist for several more weeks, Brent crude oil prices could test $120 per barrel. Barclays added: “These figures may seem excessively high, especially considering the widespread pessimism about the oil outlook earlier this year. However, we reiterate that the current fundamentals are stronger, and the risks are greater than during the Russia-Ukraine conflict—when we witnessed oil prices reaching these levels.”

[US Dollar Index] The US dollar index fell on the 6th. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, dropped by 0.34%, closing at 98.982 in the forex market. By the close of the New York forex market, 1 euro was exchanged for 1.1606 US dollars, up from 1.1583 US dollars in the previous session; 1 pound was exchanged for 1.3400 US dollars, up from 1.3328 US dollars in the previous session. 1 US dollar was exchanged for 157.74 Japanese yen, down from 157.77 Japanese yen in the previous session; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 0.7770 Swiss francs, down from 0.7827 Swiss francs in the previous session; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 1.3596 Canadian dollars, down from 1.3697 Canadian dollars in the previous session; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 9.1855 Swedish kronor, down from 9.2657 Swedish kronor in the previous session.

[Metals] Spot gold rose by 1.8%, trading at $5,174.77; spot silver increased by 2.7%, trading at $84.509.

[Macroeconomic News]

The US February non-farm payroll report unexpectedly recorded a negative value, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. Due to healthcare worker strikes and harsh winter weather, the US unexpectedly saw a decline in job positions in February, accompanied by a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.4%. According to the non-farm payroll report released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-farm payrolls decreased by 92,000 last month, while January’s figure was revised down to 126,000. Market forecasts for employment data ranged from a loss of 9,000 jobs to an increase of 125,000 jobs. In addition to the strike involving 31,000 healthcare workers from Kaiser Permanente and adverse weather conditions, last month’s employment decline was also a correction following January’s robust growth. Economists stated that January’s job growth benefited from updates to the business birth-death model (used by BLS to estimate job gains or losses resulting from business openings or closures). Strikes in California and Hawaii have now ended. However, after hitting a low point in 2025, the labor market began stabilizing. Economists noted that such volatility was caused by uncertainty stemming from the large-scale tariff policies implemented by Trump.

Consumer markets also faced a cold spell as US retail sales unexpectedly contracted in January. Data showed that US retail sales declined in January, restrained by sluggish auto dealership performance, with winter weather-related disruptions weakening some economic activities. According to data released by the US Commerce Department on Friday, unadjusted retail sales fell by 0.2% in January compared to being flat in December. Excluding auto dealerships, sales remained largely unchanged. Among the 13 categories, seven recorded declines. Auto sales fell by 0.9%, while revenues from clothing retailers, gas stations, and health and personal care stores also decreased. A prolonged winter storm brought heavy snow and freezing conditions to central and eastern parts of the US, potentially hindering shoppers during the weather event. This Arctic blast triggered the most flight cancellations since the pandemic and caused power outages affecting over one million households and businesses.

Federal Reserve’s Hamaker: Interest rate policy is likely to remain on hold for a considerable period. Beth Hamaker, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, stated on Friday that there is no need to adjust the monetary policy stance given the still excessively high inflation environment. In her prepared remarks at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York City, Hamaker noted that considering the Fed’s need to balance elevated inflation with a weak labor market, these factors, combined with last year’s rate cuts, have positioned current monetary policy advantageously, with the central bank’s interest rate target having a neutral effect on the economy. Hamaker stated, “Based on my baseline scenario, I believe policy should remain on hold for a considerable period until we see evidence of declining inflation and further stabilization in the labor market.” She added, “However, it is also easy to envision other scenarios, so I believe there are two-way risks for interest rates.”

Federal Reserve’s Collins: No urgent necessity to change the monetary policy stance; clear evidence of inflation easing would be required for another rate cut. Federal Reserve’s Collins: The pace of job growth may accelerate but will likely remain moderate overall. There is no urgent necessity to change the monetary policy stance. Financial conditions support economic expansion. The latest tariff developments could bring greater inflationary pressures. The Fed’s policy is currently in a favorable position. Inflation is expected to slowly return to the 2% target. It is anticipated that the Fed’s interest rate target will remain stable “for some time.” The current economic outlook is fairly benign. The inflation outlook remains uncertain, with upside risks. Labor market conditions appear to have stabilized relatively. It is now time for the Fed to exercise patience and prudence regarding interest rate policy. Clear evidence of inflation easing would be required for another rate cut. Economic growth is projected to be “solid,” with inflation easing later this year. The Middle East conflict has heightened economic uncertainty.

Federal Reserve Governor Bowman: The labor market may require more support. Michelle Bowman, Federal Reserve Governor and Vice Chair for Supervision, hinted that the weaker-than-expected February employment report indicates she has again leaned toward supporting further rate cuts. Following the release of the nonfarm payroll report, Bowman stated, “I had no issue with standing pat at the January meeting, but now that we are seeing conditions in the labor market, perhaps that was an exception,” referring to the strong job growth seen in January as the “exception.” She said the new data “confirms continued softness in the labor market, requiring some support from our policy rate.” Federal Reserve officials will convene for their next policy meeting in Washington on March 17-18.

Saudi Arabia strengthens direct communication channels with Iran to ease tensions in the Middle East. According to reports citing several European officials, Saudi Arabia has intensified its direct engagement with Iran in an attempt to contain regional conflicts in the Middle East. These officials indicated that Saudi representatives have recently used covert diplomatic channels with Iran more urgently to ease tensions and prevent the escalation of conflict. Several European and Middle Eastern countries reportedly support these efforts. Officials added that the talks involved security agency officials and diplomats, though it is unclear if higher-level officials participated, and so far, Iran has shown little willingness to negotiate with the U.S. or Israel.

OpenAI releases AI agent security tool, potentially impacting traditional cybersecurity companies. OpenAI has launched an artificial intelligence agent designed to help security teams identify and fix vulnerabilities in large databases, a move that could reduce demand for traditional cybersecurity firms. In a statement released Friday, OpenAI said the agent, named Codex Security, can identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities and propose solutions before errors are fixed. The company stated that the tool is designed to operate “at scale” and provide “easy-to-implement patches,” allowing developers to focus on higher-level tasks. The company also revealed that the agent has been used to scan and identify security vulnerabilities in open-source code repositories. This product competes with Anthropic PBC’s Claude Code Security, which can also detect vulnerabilities and suggest fixes. Last month, the release of Claude’s new security tool caused cybersecurity stocks to drop, with CrowdStrike and Cloudflare both falling by 8%.

[Stock News]

Oracle (ORCL.US) and OpenAI terminate plans to expand flagship data center; Meta (META.US) considers taking over, with NVIDIA (NVDA.US) facilitating. Reports indicate that Oracle and OpenAI have terminated plans to expand their flagship data center. Financing negotiations stalled and changing demands from OpenAI led to the cancellation of the AI data center expansion project in Abilene, Texas. Following the breakdown of talks, Meta is considering leasing the expanded facility, with NVIDIA paying a $150 million deposit and assisting in brokering the deal to ensure its chips, rather than AMD’s, are used. The campus is part of the “Stargate” project announced during the Trump administration and is partially operational. Oracle and OpenAI previously planned to increase the campus capacity from 1.2 gigawatts to 2.0 gigawatts, while their 4.5-gigawatt partnership agreed upon last year is still proceeding. The site experienced outages due to winter weather, but both Oracle and developer Crusoe described the collaboration as solid. Negotiations between Meta and Crusoe are ongoing, with Meta simultaneously advancing multiple other AI data center projects.

Strategy (MSTR.US) discloses institutional holdings: Vanguard holds 8.12%, Morgan Stanley holds 2.08%. Bitcoin treasury company Strategy disclosed on the X platform the top ten institutional holding details, including: The Vanguard Group holds 8.12%, valued at $3.18 billion; Capital Research & Management holds 7.7%, valued at $3.019 billion; BlackRock Fund Advisors holds 3.64%, valued at $1.428 billion; Capital Research & Management holds 2.62%, valued at $1.026 billion; SSGA Funds Management holds 2.29%, valued at $897 million; Morgan Stanley holds 2.08%, valued at $815 million; UBS Securities holds 2.02%, valued at $793 million; Amundi Asset Management SASU holds 1.77%, valued at $693 million; Geode Capital Management holds 1.46%, valued at $573 million; Norges Bank Investment Management holds 1.32%, valued at $517 million.