GuShiio.com ① Most popular Chinese stocks closed down, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index down 2.98%;
② Large-scale technology stocks generally fell, with Nvidia falling more than 8%, Broadcom falling more than 6%, and Amazon falling more than 3%;
③ TSMC announced plans to invest an additional US$100 billion to expand U.S. chip production;
④OpenAI competitor Anthropic raised US$3.5 billion.
Financial Union, March 4 (Editor Niu Zhanlin)On Monday, U.S. President Trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian goods on Tuesday. This triggered concerns about a trade war in North America and caused turmoil in financial markets. Major U.S. stock indexes closed sharply lower.
Trump said at a press conference on the same day that the United States will impose a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico on March 4, and said that there is no room for negotiation with these two U.S. allies, and that reciprocal tariffs will be levied on April 2.
Canadian Foreign Minister Jolly later responded that Canada is ready for a series of retaliatory measures that can be retaliated immediately. Jolly said that Canada had previously announced that it was ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods worth 155 billion Canadian dollars. The first retaliatory tariffs will involve $30 billion worth of U.S. products. She said U.S. tariffs are an existential threat to Canada.
Wall Street has been hoping that Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods is a bluff rather than a real execution. However, Trump has intensified his stance on the tariff issue.
U.S. stocks fell sharply late in the session after Trump announced tariffs on major trading partners, with the S & P 500 down nearly 5% from its all-time high since February 19.
In addition, weak manufacturing data also hit stocks. Data released by the American Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed that the manufacturing PMI fell from 50.9 in January to 50.3 last month, still above the 50-point line, indicating that the manufacturing industry is growing. The decline in the index reflects declines in other indicators of confidence as the Trump administration raised tariffs on imported goods.
James St. Aubin, chief investment officer of Ocean Park Asset Management, said: “Trump has brought a lot of policy uncertainty. Of course, layoffs are part of this, and so is trade policy. I think these factors are weakening positivity, turning the market from optimism to pessimism, and investors and consumers are becoming more cautious.”
Wall Street’s so-called panic index VIX broke through 22 points, reaching its highest level since December last year. Rithol analyst Callie Cox said: “It’s time to feel nervous. Not bearish, but nervous. While there is not enough evidence that we are on the verge of a deep pullback, the economic situation is changing rapidly. The headlines are so stormy that people don’t know what to do, so it’s best to wait for a better signal.”
market dynamics
At the close, the Dow fell 649.67 points, or 1.48% to 43,191.24 points; the Nasdaq fell 497.09 points, or 2.64% to 18,350.19 points; the S & P 500 Index fell 104.78 points, or 1.76%, to 5,849.72 points.
Most of the 11 S & P sectors fell, with the information technology/technology sector down 3.52%, the energy sector down 3.51%, the optional consumption sector down 2.31%, the raw materials sector down 2.09%, the industrial and telecommunications sector down at least 1.35%, the financial sector down 0.86%, and the real estate sector up 0.77%.
U.S. stock industry ETFs generally fell, semiconductor ETFs closed down 4.19%, energy industry ETFs fell 3.49%, global technology index ETFs and technology industry ETFs fell more than 3%, and daily consumer goods ETFs rose 0.53%.
Performance of hot stocks
Large technology stocks generally fell, with Nvidia falling more than 8%, Broadcom falling more than 6%, Amazon falling more than 3%, and Tesla, Google, and Microsoft falling more than 2%.
The BAE system surged 15%, after French President Macron told the media that the EU should invest 200 billion euros to enhance its defense capabilities.
Most popular Chinese stocks closed down, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index down 2.98%. Wenyuan Zhixing fell more than 11%, Ideal Cars fell more than 10%, Weilai and Jinshan Cloud fell more than 8%, Jikrypton fell more than 6%, Xiaopeng Automobile fell more than 5%, and Jingdong fell nearly 4%.
company news
[Microchip Technology plans to lay off 2000 people, and its Arizona factory will close early]
On Monday local time, Microchip Technology announced additional restructuring measures to reduce costs and adjust the size of its manufacturing business. The company previously announced on December 2, 2024 that it would close its manufacturing operations at its wafer manufacturing facility in Tempe, Arizona (referred to as Fab2). Regarding the closure of Fab 2, the company currently expects to stop manufacturing operations at the plant in May 2025, several months earlier than previously expected.
[OpenAI competitor Anthropic raises US$3.5 billion, valuation rises to US$61.5 billion]
On Monday local time, OpenAI competitor Anthropic said it had officially completed a deal to raise $3.5 billion at a valuation of $61.5 billion, consolidating its position as one of the world’s largest start-ups. It is reported that this round of US$3.5 billion in financing was led by venture capital firm Lightspeed venture Partners, with a contribution of US$1 billion. Krishna Rao, chief financial officer of Anthropic, said the latest investment “will drive us to develop smarter and more capable artificial intelligence systems that expand the range of human capabilities” and that “continued progress in all aspects of model training drives a breakthrough in intelligence and expertise.”
[Is there a chance for Intel’s counterattack? It is said that Nvidia and Broadcom have begun testing the 18A process]
Two people familiar with the matter revealed that Nvidia and Broadcom are conducting manufacturing tests with Intel. In addition, AMD is also evaluating whether Intel’s 18A manufacturing process is suitable for its needs, but it is unclear whether testing has been carried out. Media analysts said that if this news is true, it means that chip giants are determining whether to hand over the manufacturing contract to Intel, which is expected to bring unexpected income and technical endorsement to Intel and its 18A process, and re-compete with TSMC, the dominant player in this field. Reports say testing is ongoing and may have lasted for months. The report also mentioned that these tests were not conducted for complete chip designs, but to determine the performance and capabilities of Intel’s 18A process. Therefore, there is no guarantee that Intel will eventually win new business.
[TSMC announced plans to invest an additional US$100 billion to expand U.S. chip production]
Chip foundry giant TSMC plans to invest an additional US$100 billion in U.S. factories to increase its chip production capacity in the United States and support President Trump’s goal of strengthening domestic manufacturing. TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia announced with Trump at the White House on Monday the company’s vision to expand its U.S. business footprint, which began in 2020, during Trump’s first term. Trump said the move meant that “the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence chips will be manufactured in the United States.”
