Global assets plummet late at night, US semiconductor stocks decline, silver falls below $72,000, Bitcoin drops below $67,000

On February 17th Beijing time, the three major U.S. stock indices all declined, with the Nasdaq dropping by 1%.

The Chicago Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX), known as the “fear index,” briefly reached 22.50, up from around 17 at the start of last week’s trading.

Technology stocks generally fell, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index leading the decline. As of the report, Semtech dropped over 5%, Inphi and Micron Technology fell nearly 4%, and GlobalFoundries and TSMC declined close to 3%. As of the last trading day, the seven major tech giants have all decreased this year, with the Tech Giants Index down 7.2% year-to-date.

Gold concept stocks declined, with Harmony Gold down 6%, Jintian down 4.6%, and Pan American Silver down 4.4%.

Chinese concept stocks moved against the trend, with Lufax up over 14%, Agora up nearly 10%, and Hesai Technology once up over 7%. During the Year of the Horse Spring Festival Gala, two humanoid robots from Yushu were equipped with Hesai JT128 laser radar.

International gold and silver prices saw a short-term decline, with spot gold briefly falling below $4,850, and spot silver also dipped below $72, reaching a new low since February 6. Intraday, gold fell over 5%, but the decline has since narrowed.

International oil and gas prices plummeted, with WTI crude and ICE Brent crude dropping nearly 2%, and U.S. natural gas futures falling 6% intraday.

In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin fell below $67,000, down 2.9% for the day. As of 22:33, nearly 77,000 traders worldwide were liquidated.

According to CCTV News, on the 17th local time, Iranian Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian stated that Iran and the U.S. have reached an agreement on negotiation guiding principles. Abdollahian said that the current negotiations are progressing well and the situation is optimistic. The specific timing of the next round of talks has not yet been determined.

Additionally, CCTV News reported that the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that the U.S.-Iran negotiations held that day achieved “substantial progress,” laying the foundation for continued negotiations in the near future.

Before the start of the indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on that day, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Badri held talks in Geneva with U.S. Special Envoy Witterkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The Federal Reserve’s rate cut expectations have also changed. According to Cailian News, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said that service sector inflation has not yet been contained. If inflation continues to decline, there will be more rate cuts in the future. He views a 3% rate as a neutral, accommodative target.