Late trading: U.S. stocks decline further, Nasdaq drops over 2%

In the early hours of March 27 Beijing time, U.S. stocks’ losses widened in late trading on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the decline and the Nasdaq falling by more than 2%. After both sides of Iran and the U.S. issued conflicting signals regarding peace negotiations, traders continued to watch the latest developments in the Middle East. Iran issued an official response to a 15-point ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States, saying it can be taken that the U.S. claims to seek negotiations are just the third deception plan.

The Dow fell 383.22 points, or 0.83%, to 46046.27; the Nasdaq fell 442.83 points, or 2.02%, to 21487.00; the S&P 500 fell 94.34 points, or 1.43%, to 6497.56.

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday, putting pressure on the stock market. Brent crude oil futures rose 3.8%, to $106.07 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 3.5%, to $93.45 per barrel.

On Thursday local time, U.S. President Trump warned Iran on his social media platform “Truth Social,” urging it to “take things seriously” as soon as possible on the issue of a peace agreement with Washington, or face severe consequences.

Trump posted on Truth Social that Iran “is best to get serious as soon as possible, while there’s still time, because once the timing is missed, there will be no turning back—things won’t look good.”

Trump also described Iran’s negotiating representatives as “very different” and “strange,” and claimed that they have been “begging” the United States to reach an agreement to end the war that has been going on for four weeks.

According to three Israeli cabinet officials familiar with the plan, Trump’s 15-point proposal, which he delivered to Iran via Pakistan on Wednesday, calls for removing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, halting uranium enrichment activities, limiting its ballistic missile program, and cutting off financial support to regional allies.

The conflict has nearly brought transport through the Strait of Hormuz to a standstill, a strait that typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply. The International Energy Agency said this is the worst oil-supply disruption event in history.

Iran issued an official response to the U.S. ceasefire proposal, saying that negotiations are nothing more than the third act of deception.

Iranian semi-official Tasnim News Agency, citing sources with knowledge of the matter, reported that the country’s government made an official response to the U.S. 15-point ceasefire proposal through intermediaries overnight.

The demands presented by Iran include: 1. Stop acts of aggression and assassination. 2. Request the creation of specific conditions to ensure the war will not be repeated. 3. Compensation and war payments must be guaranteed. 4. The war must be ended across all fronts and among all resistance groups throughout the region. 5. Exercising sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is and will always be Iran’s natural and legitimate right, and the international community must provide assurances and must recognize it.

Iran said it is reasonable to conclude that the U.S. claim of seeking negotiations is the third deception plan. Tehran is currently awaiting the U.S. response.

Meanwhile, Gulf states issued a joint statement on Thursday condemning Iran’s “criminal” attacks on their energy infrastructure. The statement also said they are prepared to defend themselves going forward.

“ We value our fraternal relationship with the Republic of Iraq, and at the same time we urge the Government of Iraq to take the necessary measures to immediately stop attacks on neighboring countries,” the joint statement said.

Despite the conflicting signals sent by both the U.S. and Iran regarding peace negotiations, U.S. stocks still posted gains on the previous trading day, with major indices on track to close higher for the week.

Tobin Marcus, head of U.S. policy and politics at Wolfe Research, said that recent market moves indicate investors are betting that Iran is the “liar” in this situation.

In a report, he wrote that the market “seems to be concluding that Iran’s negative public statements may be a smokescreen for a more cooperative posture behind the scenes. We are not sure about that, and under the five-day negotiation deadline set by Trump, this kind of ambiguity cannot last for too long.”

On Thursday, with economic data showing that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits changed little from the previous week, it indicated that although the economy faces new challenges, layoffs have remained low.

Data released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday showed that in the week ending March 21, initial claims for unemployment benefits increased by 5,000 to 210,000. A survey of economists showed that their median forecast for initial claims was 210,000. In the week ending March 14, continuing claims for unemployment benefits fell to 1.82 million, setting the lowest record in nearly two years.

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