US Stock Trends | Dow Closes Down Over 440 Points, Both Dow and Nasdaq Approaching Correction Territory

SighingCashier · 2026-03-21T02:30:51+00:00

Iran war pushes oil prices higher, putting pressure on US stocks, particularly with the Dow falling over 650 points. Markets anticipate a 50% probability of the Federal Reserve raising rates before the end of October, while the European Central Bank may raise rates three times. US stocks have declined for four consecutive weeks, with Tesla and Nvidia share prices falling. Global bond yields are rising, with markets concerned about the economic impact of rate hikes.

SighingCashier

2026-03-21 02:30:51

Abstract generation in progress

Iran war causes oil prices to stay high, sparking concerns over global central banks raising interest rates. U.S. stocks continued to be pressured on Friday, with the Dow Jones plunging over 650 points at one point. The currency market is now betting on a 50% chance that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end of October this year, and traders are fully betting that the European Central Bank will hike rates three times this year.

Oil prices surge again, Dow once dropped 652 points

Friday was quadruple witching day for U.S. stocks, meaning the expiration of futures and options contracts on indices and individual stocks, involving about $5.7 trillion in contracts. Historically, markets tend to be more volatile on this day.

The Dow opened 45 points lower on Friday, then fell as much as 652 points, reaching a low of 45,369. The S&P 500 once dropped 2.01%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.57% at one point.

50% chance of rate hike by the Fed before October

Israel announced it would no longer attack Iranian natural gas fields, causing international oil prices to fall more than 3% at one point. However, Brent crude futures closed up 3.26% in U.S. trading, at $112.19 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also rose 2.9%, closing at $98.32.

At the close, the Dow fell 443 points or 0.96%, to 45,577; the S&P 500 declined 1.51%, to 6,506; and the Nasdaq dropped 2.01%, to 21,647. Both the Nasdaq and Dow are technically in a correction zone, defined as a decline of 10% or more from recent highs. The Russell 2000, reflecting small-cap stocks, closed down 2.26%, more than 10% below its recent high, marking the first major U.S. stock index to enter a technical correction in 2026. The China concept stock index, the Golden Dragon Index, plunged 2.92% to 6,742 points.

This week, U.S. stocks fell for the fourth consecutive week, with the Dow losing 2.1%, the S&P 500 down 1.9%, and the Nasdaq retreating 2.1%. The Golden Dragon China Index dropped 5.7%.

Russell 2000 enters technical correction zone

European markets were also under pressure, with the UK, France, and Germany closing down 1.44%, 1.82%, and 2.01%, respectively. Spot gold prices repeatedly fell 3.32% in the late session, at $4,496.51 per ounce. Cryptocurrency leader Bitcoin once declined 2.73%, to $69,398.

Among individual stocks, Tesla and Nvidia both fell 3.2%, while Meta and Alphabet declined over 2%. FedEx raised its full-year profit forecast, briefly jumping 7.6%, but closed up only 0.9%. U.S. authorities accused server manufacturer Super Micro Computer (SMCI) of smuggling Nvidia chips into China, causing its stock to plunge 33.3%. Honeywell fell 3.3%, the worst performer among Dow components, while Boeing dropped 3%.

Spot gold fluctuates, once down over 3%

According to EPFR Global data cited by U.S. banks, as of March 18, global equity funds attracted $62.2 billion in the past week, with U.S. equity funds accounting for $47.1 billion, marking a second consecutive week of inflows. Gold funds saw a massive outflow of $4.5 billion, the largest since October last year. Cryptocurrency funds attracted $1 billion in new capital.

The Federal Reserve announced that U.S. household wealth increased by $2.2 trillion (HKD 17.16 trillion) in Q4 last year, reaching a record high of $184.1 trillion. Wealth from stocks increased by $1.6 trillion, while property values decreased by about $347 billion.

Rising rate hike expectations push global bond yields higher

Global bond yields surged notably. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose as much as 11.4 basis points to 4.397%, while the 2-year yield jumped 13.54 basis points to 3.9278%. The UK 10-year bond yield soared over 16 basis points to 5.005%, a new high since 2008. Australian 15-year bonds also rose 5.2 basis points to 5.068%, reaching a 15-year high.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, in an interview with Fox Business, said she still supports three rate cuts this year and expects the U.S. economy to grow strongly, but is watching the impact of the Iran war.

U.S. dollar rises, yen briefly falls 1.07%

After the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged on Thursday, German Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said that if inflation pressures increase further, the ECB may need to consider rate hikes in April.

The U.S. dollar index rose as much as 0.56% to 99.79, while the euro fell 0.54% to $1.1526. The yen weakened 1.07% to 159.39 per dollar. The Indian rupee first fell below 93 to the dollar, dropping 1.22% to a record low of 93.765.

【Note: The latest correction on U.S. stock market closing data: the initial source incorrectly indicated the Dow closed down 446 points; the correct figure is a decline of 443 points. Please take note.】

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