March 18 Overnight News: US Stocks Close Higher, Gold Trades Sideways, Iran's President Confirms Raisi's Death, Trump Says US Withdrawal from NATO Should Be Considered

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Markets

March 18 Close: U.S. stocks rise for the second consecutive day, S&P 500 up 0.25%

Top 20 U.S. stock trading volumes on March 18: Amazon forecasts $600 billion in AWS sales over the next 10 years

Popular Chinese concept stocks fluctuate: Tencent Music plunges 24.68%, Atour Group rises 5.98%

U.S. allies are reluctant to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, oil prices break above $103

Commodity overview: oil prices rebound, gold fluctuates narrowly, copper declines

European stock markets rise for the second day, energy sector leads gains

Macro

Trump suggests considering the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from NATO

Cold reception to inviting allies to escort through the Strait of Hormuz: Trump states: the U.S. no longer needs it

Trump criticizes NATO for refusing to help; senior counterterrorism official claims Israel misled Washington

U.S. top counterterrorism official resigns, blaming Israel for causing the U.S.-Iran conflict, questions “Who are we fighting for?”

U.S. State Department has ordered all U.S. embassies abroad to conduct security assessments “immediately”

U.S. intelligence agencies say Iran’s regime remains stable

If hostilities in Iran do not cease, Trump’s escort plan may become empty talk

Iranian President confirms Larry Giani has died and issues a condolence speech

Sources say Iran has designated multiple replacements for key government positions

Iranian Parliament Speaker: Strait of Hormuz will not return to pre-war status

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard confirms death of Basij militia leader

Iran intensifies attacks on oil-producing Saudi Arabia, launching nearly 100 drones on Monday

Israel threatens to “hunt down” Iran’s new Supreme Leader

Israeli Prime Minister posts a video for the third consecutive day “proving he is alive”

Israel claims to have “eliminated” Iran’s security chief Larry Giani

Iraq and Iran negotiate to reopen key oil transit routes

EU reportedly to restart approval process for US-EU trade agreement, easing transatlantic friction

Hormuz shockwave affects Asia, Thailand turns to Russian oil

US-Iran war raises economic costs; Germany plans to set fuel price hikes

Germany seeks to expand AI infrastructure, plans large-scale data center expansion

Zelensky: Ukrainian expert team has arrived in Gulf countries to counter Iran drones

Companies

Elon Musk and the SEC are in settlement talks over Twitter acquisition-related lawsuits

Due to proxy fight and tariffs, Lululemon issues weak earnings guidance

Jensen Huang interview: revenue exceeds $1 trillion, China market reopens, Chinese automakers are strong

OpenAI prepares for IPO by the end of the year, aims to turn ChatGPT into a “productivity tool”

Amazon executives forecast: AI will help AWS revenue reach $600 billion

Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan fully enters LNG business

Unilever considers spinning off its food division

Amazon launches one-hour and three-hour delivery options in the U.S., with additional fees

CoreWeave partners with BCE to build AI data centers in Canada

Apple acquires MotionVFX, with service revenue accounting for over 26%

Nvidia doubles down on copper cable strategy, spotlight on optical communication stocks

Uber partners with Nvidia to expand autonomous taxis globally

After becoming the main tenant of Boston’s latest skyscraper, JPMorgan plans to add hundreds of jobs locally

SK Group chairman: Memory chip shortage may last 4-5 years, wafer supply lagging by 20%

Commentary

Middle East conflict intensifies, policy fog thickens; Fed faces dual-mandate test again

Goldman Sachs partner: No capitulation sell-off in U.S. stocks; recommends simplifying portfolios and increasing cash holdings

Why did Nebius stock plummet on Tuesday? Top analysts advise investors on the next steps

U.S. bond market: Treasuries rise, 20-year Treasury issuance receives strong demand

Apollo chief economist predicts Fed will hold rates steady on Wednesday

Canadian energy regulator expects power generation to surge, wind energy to be the main new source

Bank of America raises forecast for large corporate debt by 25% to $175 billion

Deutsche Bank, UBS, and Crédit Agricole say private credit exposure is high quality and unlikely to pose systemic risk

Iran war causes naphtha shortages, forcing Japanese petrochemical companies to cut production, potentially impacting downstream industries

UBS CFO: No signs of systemic stress in private credit sector so far