Oil prices fall back, boosting the market; S&P and Nasdaq both rise over 1%. Jensen Huang unveils a trillion-dollar revenue "pie."

On Monday (March 16) in US Eastern Time, US stocks rose across the board, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up more than 1% each. After international oil prices fell, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped by more than 5%, easing market concerns about inflation. The International Energy Agency said that, based on the already announced record emergency stock release program, additional supply could be added if needed. In addition, disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz are expected to ease. The Trump administration is seeking allies to participate in escort operations, but relevant agreements have not yet been finalized.

【US Stock Indexes】

At the close, the S&P 500 rose 1.01% to 6699.38 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.83% to 46,946.41 points; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.22% to 22,374.18 points.

According to a report by CCTV News, on March 16, US President Trump said he hopes European countries and countries such as Japan and South Korea will help ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. However, multiple US allies said there are no plans to immediately send warships. Germany, Spain, and Italy ruled out the possibility of taking part in any operations in the Gulf region. The UK and Denmark said they would consider possible ways to provide assistance.

In response, Trump complained, saying, “Some countries are very proactive, and some are not so proactive. Some of these countries—we’ve been helping them for years and protecting them from terrible external threats, but their level of proactivity isn’t high.”

On Monday, both US and international oil prices fell together. WTI crude oil futures dropped by more than 5%, while Brent fell by nearly 3%.

Analysts noted that in the short term, oil prices may stay above $100, but they are not expected to hold that level for the long run. As tensions ease, oil supply will return to pre-crisis levels, and oil prices will likely fall as well. If the situation in the Middle East does not deteriorate noticeably, the market may see some relief. But if there are no clearer signs that oil prices will cool down, then all the stock market’s rallies could turn out to be short-lived.

US Treasury Secretary Bessent also publicly played down market anxiety, saying the current oil supply gap does not constitute a crisis, and predicting that oil prices will drop to well below $80 per barrel within a few months.

Overnight, NVIDIA held the 2026 GTC. In his keynote, Jensen Huang showcased the Vera Rubin AI factory platform, the LPU inference architecture, CPO switches, and the space data center modules, and launched the NemoClaw agent infrastructure, aiming to build a full-stack AI ecosystem spanning from the edge to data centers to orbital computing.

It is worth noting that NVIDIA expects that by the end of 2027, revenue from its AI chips will be at least $1 trillion. The news briefly boosted intraday sentiment, but gains later pared back.

【US Treasury Market】

US Treasury yields fell. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield closed at 4.23%, while the 2-year US Treasury yield—sensitive to Federal Reserve policy rates—closed at 3.686%.

【Popular US Stocks】

Among popular US stocks, NVIDIA rose 1.63%, Apple rose 1.08%, Google Class A rose 1.09%, Google Class C rose 0.98%, Microsoft rose 1.11%, Amazon rose 1.96%, TSMC rose 0.55%, Meta rose 2.33%, Tesla rose 1.12%, AMD rose 1.65%, and Intel fell 0.02%.

On the important news front, at the GTC conference Jensen Huang announced the launch of NemoClaw, a deployment toolchain specifically optimized for OpenClaw. Installation requires only two lines of commands. This is not accidental simplicity—it is intentional. NVIDIA wants every GPU server to connect seamlessly to the OpenClaw ecosystem, tying compute power and the agent framework together.

Apple announced the launch of AirPods MAX 2. The main upgrade in AirPods Max 2 is the switch to the same H2 chip used in AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4. This brings improved active noise cancellation (ANC) and a range of smart features.

Elon Musk’s xAI is recruiting at scale financial experts in areas including securities research, macroeconomics, quantitative trading, and the crypto market to provide data labeling and professional reasoning training for Grok.

【Global Indexes】

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 rose slightly by 0.55% to 10,318 points. France’s CAC 40 rose slightly by 0.31% to 7,936 points. Germany’s DAX rose slightly by 0.50% to 23,564 points.

In Asia, the Hang Seng Index rose 1.45% to 25,834 points. The China Enterprises Index rose 1.67% to 8,816 points. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.13% to 53,751 points.

【China Indexes】

On March 16, overnight Hang Seng Tech Index futures rose 2.56%, the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 0.95%, and the FTSE China A50 Index rose 0.76%.

【US-listed Chinese Stocks】

Among popular US-listed Chinese stocks, Tencent Holdings (HK) rose 2.01%, Alibaba rose 1.12%, PDD rose 1.16%, NetEase rose 2.74%, Baidu fell 1.83%, Trip.com rose 1.03%, Li Auto rose 5.25%, XPeng Motors rose 0.58%, and NIO rose 3.16%.

【FX Commodities】

On Monday, the US dollar index oscillated and fell, failing to hold above the 100 level. It ultimately closed down 0.71% at 99.81.

Spot gold fluctuated during the day around the $5,000 level. London gold ultimately closed up 0.19% at $5,006 per ounce; spot silver also fluctuated around the $80 level, and London silver ultimately closed up 0.82% at $80.74 per ounce.

As some vessels sailed through the key Strait of Hormuz and US Treasury Secretary Bessent stepped in to calm market sentiment, crude oil opened higher, fell lower, and accelerated its decline before US trading. WTI accelerated lower during the European session and fell below the $100 mark. At one point, it dropped to a daily low of $92.98, and ultimately closed down 5.13% at $94.20 per barrel. Brent crude ultimately closed down 3.26% at $97.61 per barrel.

【Key Highlights】

Trump hints at an attack on oil facilities in Harkal Island, calls on escorts in Europe and beyond

Trump said he hopes European and countries such as Japan and South Korea will help ensure safety in the Strait of Hormuz; the US side has struck more than 7,000 targets in Iran. The US confirmed that two mine-sweeping ships deployed in the Gulf have arrived in Malaysia. Germany said the conflict between the US and Iran and NATO are not related; the UK prime minister said restoring navigation in the strait “is not easy,” and that the UK is working with allies to develop workable solutions, and the UK will not be drawn into a broader Middle East war. Japan’s prime minister said there are currently no plans to send ships to escort in the Middle East, and Australia also said it will not do so. On the escort alliance matter, China once again called on all parties to immediately stop military operations. Iran said it struck US military bases in Qatar and the UAE on Monday; it promised that it will strike US industries in the Middle East within the next few hours; if the US attacks facilities on Harkal Island, it will respond decisively and forcefully.

Bessent: The US tacitly allows some ships to pass through Hormuz—After a few months, oil prices “well below” $80

Bessent said oil prices in the coming months will “very likely” fall to a level far below $80 per barrel, and pointed out that the global Gulf crude oil market has a daily supply gap of between 10 million and 14 million barrels. Bessent emphasized that Iranian tankers have been continuously exiting the Strait of Hormuz, and the US has taken a permissive stance to ensure global supply is not interrupted.

NVIDIA releases DLSS 5—Jensen Huang hails the GPT moment for graphics

This is NVIDIA’s most significant breakthrough in the field of computer graphics since 2018. DLSS 5 injects pixel-level “movie-grade” lighting and material detail through real-time neural rendering models, aiming to deliver interactive visuals in games that are close to Hollywood-like effects. It will be rolled out to mainstream games this fall, and has already received support from major studios including NetEase, Tencent, and Ubisoft.

Jensen Huang makes a bold claim: By 2027, Blackwell and Rubin chips will generate at least $1 trillion in revenue

After Huang released this forecast, NVIDIA’s stock price hit a new intraday high and rose nearly 5%. In late October last year, Huang said that from 2025 to 2026, the combined data center business tied to Blackwell and Rubin would generate $500 billion in revenue.

Apple releases AirPods Max 2 at $549 unchanged—noise cancellation improved by 1.5x

Apple introduced AirPods Max 2, with active noise cancellation capabilities improved by 1.5x over the first generation, and upgraded to the H2 chip. It supports features such as real-time translation, conversation awareness, and adaptive audio. At the same time, the earbuds have also been optimized in terms of microphone recording quality and gaming latency performance. The price remains $549, and preorders will begin on March 25.

OpenAI reportedly plans to partner with private equity firms to form a joint venture company

According to people familiar with the matter, OpenAI and TPG, Bain Capital, ADVENT, and BROOKFIELD have been in in-depth talks about forming a joint venture to distribute artificial intelligence products. OpenAI would provide preferred stock for the joint venture, and Anthropic has proposed common stock. The private equity firms may commit $4 billion in funding to purchase equity in an OpenAI joint venture valued at $10 billion.

Ahead of key market timing—London Metal Exchange trading was interrupted for two hours; metals such as aluminum and zinc were affected

On Monday, electronic trading for all contracts on the London Metal Exchange (LME) was paused for more than two hours at one point. After trading resumed, the LME said the interruption was due to an issue with the exchange’s main electronic order-matching engine. After trading resumed, market prices did not show any significant volatility. Copper rose 0.9%, while aluminum fell 1.2%; overall levels were broadly consistent with those before the halt. The fault occurred on the eve of the third Wednesday of each month—the key timing window for the metal market, when LME contract liquidity is at its most concentrated.

NVIDIA’s official support for minimalist shrimp farming

At GTC, Jensen Huang announced the launch of NemoClaw, a deployment toolchain specifically optimized for OpenClaw. Installation requires only two lines of commands. This is not accidental simplicity—it is intentional. NVIDIA wants every GPU server to seamlessly connect to the OpenClaw ecosystem, tying compute power and the agent framework together. He praised OpenClaw as the fastest-growing open-source software to date. The GitHub star curve backs up this claim—nearly a vertical rise by the end of 2025, surpassing facebook/react, surpassing torvalds/linux. It took the latter more than twenty years to accumulate to this scale.

The Trump administration asks a judge to reconsider the decision to quash subpoenas for Powell

On Monday, the Trump administration’s lawyers asked a US district court judge, James Boasberg, to reconsider his earlier ruling—the ruling quashed a grand jury subpoena directed at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. If the Trump administration files an appeal, it could prolong Trump’s efforts to get former Federal Reserve governor Kevin. W. Walsh to take the job. Previously, important Republican Senator Thom Tillis had mentioned this matter multiple times.