"Midnight Plunge: US Stocks Start October with Losses, Chinese ADRs Soar"

Due to the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, the U.S. stock market experienced a "black start" in October.

As of the close, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.41%, at 42,156.97 points; the S&P 500 index down 0.93%, at 5,708.75 points; and the Nasdaq Composite index down 1.53%, at 17,910.36 points.

The S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX), known as the "fear index," closed at 19.26, the highest level since September 12th, with the intraday peak reaching 20.73. The level exceeding 20 highlights the increasing concern among traders.

During the trading session, it was reported that Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran stated that the targets of Iran's strikes were three Israeli military bases surrounding Tel Aviv. Shortly before the press release, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "Iran made a big mistake tonight and will pay the price."

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Affected by this news, oil prices surged by 4%. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil broke through $71 per barrel, rising 4% intraday; Brent crude oil rose 4% intraday, at $74 per barrel.

Spot gold broke through $2,670 per ounce, rising 1% intraday.

Kathleen Brooks, head of research at XTB, said, "The market is in a wait-and-see mode. The next 24 hours will be crucial as we will observe to what extent the situation will escalate and whether it is reasonable for investors to flock to safe-haven assets."

Large-cap technology stocks fell across the board, with NVIDIA down more than 3%, Apple down nearly 3%, Microsoft down more than 2%, Tesla down more than 1%, and Amazon slightly lower; oil and gas stocks strengthened, with U.S. Energy up more than 13%, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil, and Occidental Petroleum up more than 3%, and ExxonMobil up more than 2%.

As for Chinese assets, they continued to rise significantly! The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 5.48%, closing at its highest level since August last year.

Most popular Chinese concept stocks closed higher, with Ke Holdings up 17.43%, Bilibili up 14.33%, Futu Holdings up 12.43%, Li Auto up 11.50%, Pinduoduo up 8.03%, JD.com up 7.33%, Alibaba up 6.24%, Tencent Music up 5.81%, XPeng up 5.50%, NIO up 5.24%, Baidu up 4.74%, New Oriental up 2.45%, and TAL Education up 1.78%.