Early morning full-scale counterattack! Trump announces: Delay by 10 days!

U.S. stock market is in turmoil.

Overnight, the U.S. stock market saw all three major indices fall sharply, with the Nasdaq dropping over 2%, marking its largest single-day decline since November 20, 2025. Major tech stocks suffered significant losses, and semiconductor stocks collectively plummeted. Major European indices also closed lower, with the Euro Stoxx 50 and Germany’s DAX 30 both down over 1.5%. International oil prices surged, with WTI crude futures rising over 4% and Brent crude futures up more than 5%.

However, in the Asia-Pacific early session on March 27, U.S. stock futures rose, with all three major futures rebounding over 0.3%. International precious metals increased, with spot gold rising 0.51% to $4,400.09 per ounce; spot silver climbed to $69 per ounce, up 1.56% on the day.

Additionally, international oil prices fell in early trading, with WTI crude down 1.00% at $93.531 per barrel.

In news, shortly after the U.S. stock market closed, President Trump announced: “At the request of the Iranian government, I hereby declare: I will delay the strikes on (Iran’s) energy facilities by another 10 days, until 8 PM Eastern Time on April 6, 2026.”

Overnight U.S. stocks plummet

On March 26, Eastern Time, all three major U.S. indices fell sharply, with the S&P 500 down 1.74%, the Nasdaq down 2.38%, recording the largest single-day drop since the outbreak of war between the U.S. and Iran on February 28; the Dow Jones fell 1.01%.

Large U.S. tech stocks collectively dropped, with Meta plummeting nearly 8%, TSMC ADR down over 6%, Nvidia down over 4%, Google A and Tesla both down over 3%, Broadcom down nearly 3%, and Microsoft and Amazon both down over 1%.

The semiconductor sector saw widespread declines, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index down over 4%, led by storage chip stocks. SanDisk plunged over 11%, Seagate dropped over 8%, Western Digital fell over 7%, and Micron Technology was down nearly 7%.

In news, according to CCTV News, Iran has responded to the U.S.'s “15-point ceasefire proposal” through intermediaries, clearly stating “four musts”: the aggression and terror acts by the enemy must be stopped; objective conditions must be created to ensure that war does not recur; there must be a clear commitment to compensate for war losses and implement it; all resistance organizations involved in the conflict must be encouraged to cease their actions.

Additionally, multiple U.S. officials and insiders have revealed that the U.S. Department of Defense is formulating a so-called “final strike” military option against Iran, which may include the use of ground troops and large-scale airstrikes.

Trump stated during a live cabinet meeting on Thursday that the extent of rising oil prices and falling stock markets was not as severe as he had anticipated.

Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist at LPL Financial, commented: “The war with Iran and the resulting surge in oil prices continue to suppress risk appetite; any sustainable market recovery will require substantive progress in reaching a peace agreement and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump announces delay in strikes on Iranian energy facilities

After the U.S. stock market closed, according to CCTV International News, Trump posted on his social media platform “Truth Social”: “At the request of the Iranian government, I hereby declare: I will delay the strikes on (Iran’s) energy facilities by another 10 days, until 8 PM Eastern Time on April 6, 2026.”

Trump also stated, “Negotiations with Iran are ongoing; despite the fake news media and others making false contrary statements, negotiations are progressing very smoothly.”

Earlier that day, Trump said during a cabinet meeting at the White House that he was unsure whether Iran would comply with his deadline of opening the Strait of Hormuz by the 27th or whether negotiations would go smoothly, but said, “We have plenty of time.”

According to Xinhua News Agency, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency reported on the 26th, citing military insiders, that if the U.S. intends to open the Strait of Hormuz with “suicidal actions,” Iran is prepared and will continue to blockade the Strait.

The report stated that Iran has mobilized over one million combat personnel, ready to engage in ground combat with the U.S. Additionally, many young Iranians are flocking to recruitment centers of the “Mobilization of the Poor” organization, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the military to apply for combat roles.

On the 26th, Axios reported, citing U.S. officials and insiders, that the U.S. Department of Defense is developing a “lethal strike” military plan against Iran, which includes invading or blockading Iran’s main oil export hub, Kharg Island, attacking the strategic location of Larak Island used by Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz, seizing Abu Musa Island and two other small islands located at the western entrance of the Strait, and blocking or seizing ships transporting Iranian oil on the eastern side of the Strait of Hormuz.

On the same day, according to a statement from the Iranian presidency, President Raisi stated during a phone call with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar that Iran is committed to ending the war comprehensively and emphasized that Iran has never sought to possess nuclear weapons.

The statement noted that Raisi and Anwar discussed the regional and international situation developments since the U.S. and Israel’s military actions against Iran began on February 28. Raisi pointed out that the allegations regarding Iran’s attempts to acquire nuclear weapons are excuses for the illegal aggression of the U.S. and Israel.

On the same day, the Israeli Defense Forces reported that their air force launched multiple rounds of airstrikes against Iran over the past day, targeting dozens of Iranian military production facilities.

The military stated that 60 Israeli fighter jets dropped over 150 bombs on military targets around Tehran and in central Iran. On the evening of the 25th, the Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes in Isfahan, destroying several weapons manufacturing bases, including a position of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and a production facility for air defense systems. In the eastern Tehran area of Parchin, the Israeli military bombed core research and production facilities for Iranian missiles and defense systems.

(Source: Securities Firm China)