Double bearish resonance, all three major U.S. stock indices decline across the board

On February 23rd local time, the U.S. stock market experienced a “Black Monday,” with all three major indices plunging. The market’s risk sentiment sharply deteriorated amid a double blow from a sudden shift in tariff policies and concerns over disruptive artificial intelligence (AI), leading to a deep correction in the major indices. The Dow fell 1.66%, the S&P 500 declined 1.04%, and the Nasdaq dropped 1.13%.

Policy Shift Triggers Sell-Off

All Three Major U.S. Indices Close Lower

The immediate trigger for the market decline was the rapid reversal in trade policy. After the U.S. Supreme Court last Friday ruled to abolish former President Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs, the White House quickly responded with new 15% global tariffs, causing U.S. stocks to fall on Monday. Data shows that on Monday, February 23rd, all three major U.S. indices closed lower. At the close, the Dow was down 1.66% at 48,804.06 points, the S&P 500 fell 1.04% to 6,837.75, and the Nasdaq declined 1.13% to 22,627.27.

Concerns that AI technology could reshape industry structures and erode corporate profits were concentrated in the tech sector. Most large U.S. tech stocks declined, with the seven giants of U.S. technology down 0.99%. Microsoft fell over 3%, Tesla and Meta declined nearly 3%, Amazon dropped over 2%, and Google-C fell more than 1%. Nvidia rose 0.91%, and Apple increased 0.60%.

IBM’s stock plummeted over 13% on Monday. Previously, AI startup Anthropic announced that its Claude Code tool can assist in modernizing outdated COBOL programming language, which is primarily run on mainframes produced by IBM.

Most Chinese concept stocks declined, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index down 0.95%. Popular Chinese stocks included Kingsoft Cloud, which fell nearly 9%, BOSS Zhipin down over 6%, Century Internet and Xinyetec down over 5%, and Tiger Securities, GDS Holdings, and Vipshop down more than 4%.

The new U.S. tariff policy heightened concerns about inflation trends and global economic growth prospects. Gold prices rose on Monday, with spot gold surpassing $5,220 per ounce. As of 5:20 Beijing time on February 24, London gold was at $5,231.20/oz, up 2.35%, and COMEX gold was at $5,253.20/oz, up 3.39%.

According to Xinhua News Agency, international oil prices edged lower on February 23rd. At the close, NYMEX light crude for April delivery fell 17 cents to $66.31 per barrel, down 0.26%. April Brent crude in London declined 27 cents to $71.49 per barrel, down 0.38%.

Additionally, according to CCTV News, on February 23rd, European Parliament International Trade Committee Chair Bernd Lange stated that the European Parliament negotiating team has decided to suspend approval of the EU-U.S. trade agreement and postpone the scheduled vote on the agreement set for the 24th. Lange reiterated that clear regulations and legal certainty are needed before taking further steps.

Trump Denies U.S. Military Generals Oppose War with Iran

According to Xinhua News Agency, U.S. President Trump posted on social media on the 23rd denying reports from U.S. media that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Caine opposed military strikes against Iran.

Trump stated that the media reports claiming Caine “opposes war with Iran” have no sources.

U.S. Military Tanker and Transport Aircraft Arrive in Israel

According to Xinhua News Agency, Israeli media reported on the 23rd that amid tense tensions between the U.S. and Iran, a batch of U.S. tanker and transport aircraft arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.

The Times of Israel reported that as part of a large-scale U.S. troop deployment in the Middle East, these aircraft landed at Ben-Gurion Airport on the 22nd. Israeli officials did not comment on the military deployment at this major civilian airport, and it is unclear whether these aircraft are only temporarily stationed there.

Photos circulating on social media on the 23rd show two U.S. tankers parked on the tarmac at Ben-Gurion Airport.

Intelligence sources cited in reports said that since mid-February, as U.S. President Trump considers military action against Iran, over 85 U.S. tankers and more than 170 transport aircraft have flown to the Middle East.

Currently, the U.S. has deployed an aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East. Reports indicate that a second carrier strike group has entered the Mediterranean and is expected to arrive soon near Israeli waters. The U.S. also has over a dozen other warships, hundreds of fighter jets, and multiple air defense systems deployed in the region.

Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Badri confirmed on the 22nd that new negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are scheduled for the 26th in Geneva, Switzerland. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told U.S. media on the 22nd that reaching a “better agreement” than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is possible, emphasizing Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear energy use.