【US Stock Futures】Before Fed Rate Decision Announcement, Dow Futures Up 217 Points, Nasdaq Futures Up 0.6%, Micron MU Reports After Market Close (Continuously Updated)

U.S. stock futures rose on Wednesday during Asian trading hours, with Dow futures up 217 points at 47,565, S&P 500 futures up 31 points at 6,804, and Nasdaq futures up 151 points or 0.6% at 25,166. The Federal Reserve will release its interest rate decision. Additionally, the U.S. will announce MBA mortgage applications, MBA 30-year fixed mortgage rate, February PPI, and core PPI. Micron (MU) will report earnings after the market closes.

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Market Overview:

[14:03] Dow futures up 217 points, at 47,565; S&P 500 futures up 31 points, at 6,804; Nasdaq futures up 151 points or 0.6%, at 25,166.

[13:53] [Iran Crisis] S&P warns: If Iran conflict persists, Gulf banks may face over $2 trillion in deposit outflows.

[13:15] [AI + META] Reports say China is penalizing Meta for Manus acquisition-related personnel, possibly including restrictions on Manus executives leaving China.

[13:05] [Iran Crisis] Citibank expects Brent crude to rise to $110–120 in the short term. How can the ongoing oil rally be halted?

[12:34] [US IPO] Swarmer supported by AI drone and defense concepts, IPO surges 5.2 times on debut, then jumps another 44% after hours.

[12:26] [AI + MU] Micron’s earnings rose 4% before release, hitting new highs; this year’s market cap up over 60%, exceeding $500 billion. Analysis: momentum resembles Nvidia’s past, $1,000 target not out of reach.

[11:28] [AI + Risks] Howard Marks of Oak Tree Capital: AI is making the world less predictable; investors underestimate AI’s impact.

[11:09] [AMD] AMD’s Su Zifeng reportedly visiting Samsung Pyeongtaek chip plant today to discuss expanding wafer manufacturing cooperation, dining with Lee Jae-yong.

[10:42] [Iran Crisis] UAE central bank strengthens banking stability in five ways; foreign exchange reserves over $270 billion, ready with necessary policy tools.

[10:27] [AI + Amazon] Amazon CEO: Cloud computing revenue (AWS) could reach $600 billion in ten years, double previous estimates.

[10:26] [Xi-Trump Meeting] Trump: China visit postponed about 5–6 weeks; “Both sides are rescheduling the meeting.”

[10:16] [Gold Price Trend] Gold remains around $5,000, awaiting Fed rate decision; focus on Fed’s view on energy prices and labor market softness.

[09:50] [New IPO] OpenAI reportedly to go public as early as Q4.

[08:40] [AI + NVDA] Nvidia reportedly preparing to launch Groq AI chips in China; Huang Renxun: restarting H200 production.

[07:26] [TME Earnings] Tencent Music’s stock plunges 25% in US after earnings beat, despite increased dividends.

[07:17] [Iran Crisis] Iran’s second-in-command Larijani reportedly killed by Israel; highest-level death since Khamenei (updating).

[07:00] [Parent-Child Kingdom] Hong Kong’s Baby Kingdom parent company withdraws US IPO application; likely to trigger tech park rent subsidy swap agreement.

Below $1 for March 17 U.S. stock market overview====

Tuesday: Iran intensifies attacks on Middle East energy facilities; oil jumps 3%; Trump to visit China in 5 weeks

Iran retaliates, drone strikes hit multiple Middle East locations; Trump calls for escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz, with little international response. Oil prices rise 3%, Brent crude at $103.61, NYMEX crude at $96.01.

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Trump, in an interview at the White House, said he expects his China visit to be about five weeks away, “We are working with China, they have no problem with it. I look forward to meeting President Xi. We have good relations with China. China has become very beneficial to us economically, very different from the past.”

Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun said he has obtained sales approval for H200 AI accelerators targeting “many Chinese customers,” and is ramping up production of H200 chips in China, currently “restarting production.” Nvidia’s GTC conference continues through Thursday; stock down 0.7%, closing at $181.93.

UAE’s largest ultra-sour natural gas project was hit by a drone, causing a fire at Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, affecting oil loading operations. Additionally, the Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi, operated jointly with Western Oil and producing 1.28 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, was attacked by drones causing a fire, and operations remain suspended.

Iran has increased attacks on Saudi Arabia, launching nearly 100 drones in a single day, far exceeding the usual under 25. This is the largest single-day strike since the war began. As conflict continues, Iran relies more on drones than missiles—lower cost and capable of large-scale launches—posing ongoing challenges to air defenses.

Another oil tanker was attacked near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Market focus this week on Fed rate decision; the US dollar index fell 0.1% to 99.58; 10-year US Treasury yield at 4.2%.

US stocks rebounded weakly; Dow rose 46 points to close at 46,993, after reaching a high of 47,428; S&P 500 up 0.2% at 6,716; Nasdaq up 0.5% at 22,479.

President Trump previously asked European countries, Japan, South Korea, and others to help secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but some are reluctant. He criticized some allies for long-term protection by the US but not reciprocating when the US faces difficulties.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, “Most NATO allies have told us they don’t want to get involved in our Middle East actions against the Iranian regime. Despite nearly every country strongly agreeing with what we’re doing and recognizing that Iran must not have nuclear weapons in any way or form.”

He added, “But I’m not surprised. We spend billions annually protecting these countries, yet NATO is a ‘one-way street’—we protect them, but they don’t do anything for us, especially when we need help.”

He claimed, “We have eliminated Iran’s military—navy gone, air force gone, air defenses and radars gone—and perhaps most importantly, most of their leaders are gone, no longer able to threaten us or our Middle Eastern allies or the world!”

Thanks to this military success, “we no longer ‘need’ or desire NATO’s help—we never did! Same with Japan, Australia, South Korea.”

“As the strongest nation in the world, I want to say we don’t need anyone’s help!”

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Market Overview:

[21:31] Dow opens up 375 points at 47,321; Nasdaq up 0.6% at 22,507; S&P up 44 points at 6,743.

[19:37] Dow futures up 21 points; Nasdaq futures down 0.1%; S&P futures down 1 point.

[14:05] Oil rebounds, Brent crude up over 4%, at $104.8.

[13:48] Dow futures down 150 points at 47,139; S&P futures down 23 points at 6,732; Nasdaq futures down 97 points or 0.4% at 24,794.

[13:25] [AI + Software] Morgan Stanley: AI disrupting software industry; private credit default rate may rise to 8%.

[13:19] [Iran Crisis] South Korea’s Sinokor, a second-generation shipping company, profits $500,000 in a single day using ultra-large oil tankers—an insightful move.

[13:16] [Oil Price Trend] Asian trading sees oil prices rebound, Brent above $100; analysis suggests “pulsed” fluctuations amid expected supply recovery, unlikely to stay high long-term.

[12:52] [Iran Crisis] Reserve Bank of Australia raises interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.1%; warns sustained fuel price rises will push inflation higher.

[11:46] [Fed Chair] Court documents show if criminal investigations continue, Powell may remain beyond his term.

[11:23] [AI + Chips] AI demand surges! SK Group Chairman Choi Tae-yoon: Global chip shortage may persist until 2030.

[10:44] [Nvidia] Nvidia partners with BYD, Geely to develop L4 autonomous vehicles.

[10:22] [JPY Trend] JPY drops to 4.9 HKD; Japanese Finance Minister reaffirms export policies to support yen; analysis: Bank of Japan unlikely to hike rates, so weakness persists.

[09:42] [Gold Price] Gold remains near $5,000; USD weakens; market assesses emergency oil reserve releases.

[08:42] [US Rate Cuts] Morgan Stanley expects Fed to resume rate cuts in June and again in September, despite oil price surge.

[08:25] [Apple] Apple launches AirPods Max 2, pre-order at ¥4,599, available in 5 colors; upgraded H2 chip, noise cancellation 1.5 times better.

[08:01] [AI + Hiring] Elon Musk’s xAI recruiting bankers, credit experts to enhance Grok financial strategies.

[07:47] [Xi-Trump Meeting] Trump delays China visit by about a month, citing ongoing war and no tricks involved.

[07:28] [AI + NVDA] Huang Renxun announces Nvidia’s NemoClaw “lobster farming” sandbox with security features.

[07:03] [AI + NVDA] Huang predicts chip revenue could reach $1 trillion by 2027—“maybe even too conservative.”

[06:31] [Iran Crisis] Trump: I don’t know who’s in charge in Iran, no one says Mujehtaba is 100% healthy—very unusual (updating).

Below $1 for March 16 U.S. stock market overview====

Monday: Oil drops over 2%, Dow rises 387 points; Trump delays China visit by a month

US dollar index and oil prices decline; NYMEX crude down 5.3% at $93.5; Brent crude down 2.4% at $100.66; dollar index down 0.6% at 99.8; 10-year Treasury yield drops 0.06% to 4.216%.

Market close preview:

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As G7 nations begin releasing strategic oil reserves, short-term supply remains ample, but Iran crisis still troubles markets. Trump announced he has postponed his China trip about a month, citing the importance of directing the Iran war from Washington. The delay reflects Trump’s expectations on the duration of the Iran conflict.

Dow up 387 points, closing at 46,946; S&P up 1% at 6,699; Nasdaq up 1.2% at 22,374.

Foreign media PBS reports Trump says Iran is not ready for a deal, and mentions that once the war ends, oil prices will fall rapidly like a rolling stone, believing the war won’t last long. He also said Iran has extensive infrastructure in Tehran that could be destroyed in an hour, but doing so would require years of rebuilding and cause trauma, so he prefers to avoid it. He also mentioned not wanting to damage pipelines in the Hark island oil hub, as destruction would take years to reconnect.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen told CNBC that the U.S. doesn’t mind some Iranian, Indian, and Chinese ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, considering Iran’s release of ships as a natural opening, and hopes global oil supply remains sufficient. She said any measures to ease oil prices depend on how long the Iran war continues.

Key stocks: Nvidia (NVDA) rose 2.6%, closing at $184.93, with Huang Renxun speaking at GTC.

Data center company Nebius (NBIS) surged 15.4%, announcing that from early 2027, it will provide Meta with $12 billion in dedicated computing capacity. Meta also pledged to buy up to $15 billion more. Meta gained 1.9%.

This week’s focus: US February PPI to be released Tuesday; Fed interest rate decision on Thursday; major central banks including ECB, BoE, and BoJ also to hold meetings. Micron (MU) will report earnings after market close on Wednesday.

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Market Overview:

[22:55] Trump: Once the war ends, oil prices will fall sharply; Dow up 393 points, oil down 1%.

[21:30] Yellen: US doesn’t mind Chinese ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz; Dow up 369 points, oil down 1%.

[18:50] Middle East war enters third week; Dow futures up 152 points, Nasdaq futures up 0.7%; this week is a “super rate decision week.”

[13:47] Dow futures up 226 points at 47,112; S&P futures up 39 points at 6,724; Nasdaq futures up 147 points or 0.6% at 24,753.

[12:59] [AI + Chips] Tesla to develop its own chips? Elon Musk announces launch of “Terafab,” a giant AI chip factory.

[12:06] [AI + Gemini] Gemini now available in Hong Kong! Google to expand Gemini to all Hong Kong users, starting with web version, mobile app later.

[11:07] [Xi-Trump Meeting] Trump says “possible delay” of meeting with Xi Jinping.

[10:14] [Iran Crisis] IEA: Over 400 million barrels of emergency oil reserves soon to be released, prioritizing Asia; Europe and US wait until late March.

[19:28] [Gold Trend] Gold drops below $5,000 amid third week of Middle East war, oil prices continue rising.

[11:36] [Iran Crisis] US Energy Secretary: No guarantee oil prices will fall in a few weeks; focus on striking military facilities first, then seizing the strait (updating).

[07:30] [Global Outlook] “Super rate decision week” ahead; Fed likely to keep rates unchanged on Thursday.

[07:30] Tensions escalate in Middle East; US stocks fell last Friday; Dow briefly up 446 points, then fell 183 points; closed at 46,558, down 119; S&P down 0.61%; Nasdaq down 0.93%.

Market close preview: