Overnight US stocks | Three major indexes fell this week, technology stocks generally fell, and both WTI and Brent crude oil prices rose above $90.

Due to the surge in oil prices, the unexpected decrease in February non-farm employment data, and the rise in unemployment rate, the three major indices fell on Friday, all recording losses for the week. The Dow fell by about 3%, the S&P 500 fell by about 2%, and the Nasdaq fell by 1.24%. [US Stock Market] At the close, the Dow fell by 453.19 points, a decrease of 0.95%, to 47501.55 points; the Nasdaq fell by 361.31 points, a decrease of 1.59%, to 22387.68 points; and the S&P 500 index fell by 90.69 points, a decrease of 1.33%, to 6740.02 points. Technology stocks fell across the board, with NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) falling by over 3%, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) by 2.62%, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) by 1.09%, Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) by 2.17%, Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) by 0.87%, Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) by 0.42%, and Meta Platforms (META.US) by 2.38%. [European Stock Market] The Germany DAX30 index fell by 177.53 points, a decrease of 0.75%, to 23596.56 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell by 127.53 points, a decrease of 1.22%, to 10286.41 points; the France CAC40 index fell by 52.31 points, a decrease of 0.65%, to 7993.49 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell by 57.44 points, a decrease of 0.99%, to 5725.45 points; the Spain IBEX35 index fell by 160.14 points, a decrease of 0.93%, to 17085.06 points; and the Italy FTSE MIB index fell by 441.05 points, a decrease of 0.99%, to 44167.50 points. [Asian Stock Market] The Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.62%, the Korea KOSPI index slightly rose, and the Indonesia Jakarta Composite index fell by 1.62%. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell by over 3.6%, to $68,330.49, and Ethereum fell by over 4.2%, to $1,984.77. [Oil] WTI rose by 12% on Friday, closing below $91 per barrel, marking the largest single-day gain in nearly six years. Brent crude closed near $93 per barrel. Barclays PLC Sponsored ADR stated on Friday that if the Middle East conflict continues for several weeks, Brent crude prices could test $120 per barrel. Barclays added, "These numbers may seem high, especially considering the general pessimism in the oil market at the beginning of this year, but we reiterate that the current fundamentals are stronger, and the risks are greater than during the Russia-Ukraine conflictwe saw oil prices reach these levels during that conflict." [US Dollar Index] The US dollar index fell on the 6th. The US dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell by 0.34% on the day to close at 98.982 in the currency market. At the close of the New York currency market, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1606, higher than the previous trading day's $1.1583; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3400, higher than the previous trading day's $1.3328. 1 dollar exchanged for 157.74 yen, lower than the previous trading day's 157.77 yen; 1 dollar exchanged for 0.7770 Swiss francs, lower than the previous trading day's 0.7827 Swiss francs; 1 dollar exchanged for 1.3596 Canadian dollars, lower than the previous trading day's 1.3697 Canadian dollars; and 1 dollar exchanged for 9.1855 Swedish krona, lower than the previous trading day's 9.2657 Swedish krona. [Metals] Spot gold rose by 1.8%, to $5174.77, and spot silver rose by 2.7%, to $84.509. [Macro News] US February non-farm payrolls unexpectedly recorded negative growth, with the unemployment rate rising to 4.4%. Due to strikes by healthcare workers and severe winter weather, the US saw a decrease in employment positions in February, while the unemployment rate also rose to 4.4%. The non-farm employment report released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that non-farm employment decreased by 92,000 last month, with the data for January revised downwards to a decrease of 126,000. The forecast range for employment data varied from a decrease of 9,000 positions to an increase of 125,000 positions. Apart from the strike affecting 31,000 healthcare workers at Kaiser Permanente and the adverse weather conditions, the decline in employment last month also represented a pullback from the strong growth in January. Economists stated that the growth in employment positions in January was due to the update of the Birth-Death Model (used by the BLS to estimate the increase or decrease in employment positions due to business openings or closures that month). The strikes in California and Hawaii have now ended. Despite hitting a low point in 2025, the labor market has started to stabilize, with economists noting that this fluctuation is due to the uncertainty caused by the large-scale tariff policies implemented by President Trump. Consumer markets also faced a downturn as US retail sales unexpectedly contracted in January. Data showed that retail sales in the US decreased in January, restrained by soft business at car dealers and disruptions related to winter weather impacting some economic activities. The data released by the US Commerce Department on Friday showed that unadjusted retail sales decreased by 0.2% in January, after remaining flat in December. Excluding auto dealers, sales remained largely unchanged. Out of the 13 categories, 7 recorded declines. Auto sales decreased by 0.9%, while revenues at clothing stores, gas stations, and health and personal care stores also declined. A long winter storm brought heavy snow and freezing conditions to the Midwest and Northeast of the US, potentially hampering shoppers during the weather event. The Arctic cold snap led to the largest number of flight cancellations since the pandemic began and caused over a million households and businesses to lose power. Fed's Harker: Interest rates likely to remain on hold for a considerable period. Loretta J. Mester, President and CEO of Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, said on Friday that in an environment where inflation remains high, she believes there is no need to adjust the monetary policy stance. In a speech she delivered at the US Monetary Policy Forum in New York City, Mester stated that considering the need for the Fed to balance between high inflation and a weak labor market, the factors, along with the rate cuts implemented last year, have put the current monetary policy in a favorable position, with the central bank's rate target having a neutral impact on the economy. Mester stated, "Given my baseline outlook, I think it makes sense to hold policy steady for quite some time, letting the evidence of the inflation coming down and the labor market firming up further play out." She added, "But it is also easy to imagine other outcomes, and so I think there are risks in both directions." Fed's Collins: No urgent need to change monetary policy stance; a clear evidence of declining inflation needed for further rate cuts. Federal Reserve's Lael Brainard said: job growth pace might pick up speed, but will likely remain overall modest. She sees no urgent need to change monetary policy stance. Financial conditions support economic expansion. Latest trade dynamics could bring more inflation pressure. The Fed's policy is currently in a favorable position. She expects inflation to slowly decline to the 2% target. She expects the Fed's rate target to remain stable "for some time." The current economic outlook is quite benign. There is uncertainty in the inflation outlook, with upward risks. The labor market situation seems relatively stable now. Currently is the time for the Fed to remain patient and cautious on rate policy. A clear evidence of declining inflation is needed for further rate cuts. She expects the economy to achieve "solid" growth and inflation to ease later this year. The Middle East conflict has heightened economic uncertainty. Fed Governor Bowman: Labor market may need more support. Federal Reserve governor and vice chair for supervision, Michelle Bowman, hinted that the weaker-than-expected February jobs report indicates she is once again leaning towards supporting further rate cuts. Following the release of the non-farm employment report, Bowman stated, "I had no issue with staying put in January, but now that we're seeing what's happening on the job front, maybe that was just a blip," referring to the strong job growth in January. She said the new data "confirm that the labor market remains soft and that our policy rate needs to provide some support." Fed officials are set to convene for their next policy meeting in Washington on March 17-18. Saudi Arabia strengthens direct channels with Iran to ease Middle East tension. According to reports citing several European officials, Saudi Arabia has intensified direct contact with Iran in an effort to contain the conflict in the Middle East. These officials stated that Saudi officials have more urgently used their diplomatic secret channels with Iran to ease tensions and prevent the worsening of the conflict. Several European and Middle Eastern countries are said to support these actions. The talks involve security and diplomatic officials, but it is unclear if higher-ranking officials are involved, and so far Iran has shown little willingness to negotiate with the US or Israel. OpenAI releases AI agent security tool that may impact traditional cybersecurity companies. OpenAI launched an AI agent called Codex Security designed to help security teams discover and fix large-scale database vulnerabilities, a move that could weaken the demand for traditional cybersecurity companies. In a statement on Friday, OpenAI stated that the agent can identify network security vulnerabilities and propose solutions before fixing errors. The tool is intended to run on a large scale and provide "easily digestible patches" to allow developers to focus on higher-level tasks. The company 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 also discovers vulnerabilities and suggests fixes. The release of Claude's new security tool last month led to a decline in cybersecurity stocks. At that time, both Crowdstrike and Cloudflar fell by 8%. [Stock News] Oracle Corporation (ORCL.US) and OpenAI have terminated plans to expand their flagship data center, with Meta (META.US) considering taking over, and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) mediating. Oracle Corporation and OpenAI have terminated plans to expand their flagship data center. Due to stalled financing negotiations and changing demands from OpenAI, the expansion plan for the AI data center in Abilene, Texas has been canceled. After the negotiations broke down, Meta is now considering leasing the expanded space, with NVIDIA Corporation paying a $150 million deposit and mediating to ensure that its chips, rather than AMD chips, are used. The park is part of the "Gateway to the Stars" project announced during the Trump era and is currently partially operational. Oracle Corporation and OpenAI had previously planned to increase the park's capacity from 1.2 gigawatts to 2.0 gigawatts, and the 4.5 gigawatt collaboration agreed upon last year is still in progress. The park had experienced shutdown failures during the winter weather, but both Oracle Corporation and developer Crusoe stated that the cooperation remains stable. Negotiations between Meta and Crusoe are still ongoing, with Meta also advancing multiple other AI data center projects. Strategy (MSTR.US) reveals asset management company ownership details: Vanguard holds 8.12%, Morgan Stanley holds 2.08%. Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy released the top ten ownership details of global asset management companies on the X platform, including: The Vanguard Group holds 8.12%, with a market value of $3.183 billion; Capital Research & Management holds 7.7%, with a market value of $3.019 billion; BlackRock Fund Advisors holds 3.64%, with a market value of $1.428 billion; Capital Research & Management holds 2.62%, with a market value of $1.026 billion; SSGA Funds Management holds 2.29%, with a market value of $8.97 billion; Morgan Stanley holds 2.08%, with a market value of $8.15 billion; UBS Securities holds 2.02%, with a market value of $7.93 billion; Amundi Asset Management SASU holds 1.77%, with a market value of $6.93 billion; Geode Capital Management holds 1.46%, with a market value of $5.73 billion; and Norges Bank Investment Management holds 1.32%, with a market value of $5.17 billion.