Stocks

On March 18, 2026, Nvidia shares traded higher in premarket after regulators in China cleared the sale of its H200 artificial intelligence chips, enabling the company to restart production and resume shipments to the region. The company is also developing a Groq AI chip variant for Chinese customers, while its stock recently closed at $181.93 with a consensus Strong Buy rating and an average target price of $274.46 from Wall Street analysts.

Mastercard plans to acquire London-based stablecoin infrastructure provider BVNK in a transaction valued at up to about $1.8 billion, including $300 million in contingent payments. The deal, reported on a Tuesday by Bloomberg, deepens Mastercard's push into 24/7 crypto settlement rails, tokenized bank deposits, and stablecoin-based payments after an earlier $2 billion transaction between BVNK and Coinbase fell through. Mastercard's broader strategy and its March 11 industry initiative highlight how major payment networks are positioning stablecoins as core infrastructure for global value transfer.

Micron Technology (MU) closed the session on March 17, 2026, with a 4.50% gain, ending at $461.69. The rally propelled Micron into the Half-Trillion Club, marking a historic valuation milestone ahead of its fiscal Q2 earnings release. Despite a broad macro environment weighed down by energy-driven inflation and geopolitical tensions, investors are piling into MU as the AI Memory Supercycle enters its most aggressive phase yet.

On March 17, 2026, Qualcomm shares moved higher after the company unveiled a new $20 billion stock repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend from $0.89 to $0.92 per share. The stock traded around $131.99 in early Tuesday action, up about 2.01%, as investors reacted to the expanded capital return plan and ongoing efforts to diversify beyond smartphones.

On March 17, 2026, Morgan Stanley CIO and Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Mike Wilson said U.S. stocks may be approaching the final phase of their current correction after months of mounting economic and geopolitical risks. He noted that about 50% of Russell 3000 constituents are already down 20% from their 52‑week highs and argued the sell-off started well before recent headlines. Wilson expects the present downturn to be milder than last year's due to stronger growth, better earnings and more supportive fiscal and monetary policy, and he sees a final wave of selling as a potential buying opportunity.

On March 15, 2026, Michael Saylor's company Strategy reported purchasing 22,337 BTC for about $1.57 billion, lifting its total Bitcoin holdings to 761,068 BTC. Bitmine, associated with Tom Lee, recently acquired 5,000 ETH from the Ethereum Foundation and now holds 3,040,515 ETH in staked positions, valued near $6.6 billion. Bitmine says its broader crypto treasury reaches roughly $11.5 billion in assets, including ETH, cash and other digital holdings.

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) closed the session on March 16, 2026, with a massive 9.06% gain, ending at $125.83. The rally marks a stunning recovery for the stablecoin issuer, which has surged more than 100% since its early February lows. Investors flooded back into the stock following a series of bullish analyst upgrades and a quarterly report that solidified Circle as a boring but reliable powerhouse in the crypto-financial infrastructure space.

Strategy (MSTR) closed the session on March 16, 2026, with a strong 5.62% gain, ending at $147.52. The rally marks a critical reversal for the "Bitcoin proxy" stock, which had faced a brutal correction earlier in the year, bottoming near $104. Investors returned in force following the company’s announcement of its largest Bitcoin acquisition of 2026, signaling that Executive Chairman Michael Saylor’s "accumulation flywheel" remains in high gear.

A recent QCP Capital report indicates that stablecoin liquidity is expanding even as global markets react to the ongoing Middle East crisis. Bitcoin and ether remain in positive territory while USDC supply has reached $81.1 billion and spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen several days of inflows. This divergence from equities and gold highlights crypto's role in cross-border liquidity amid heightened geopolitical risk.

Digital asset wealth manager Abra has signed a definitive agreement for a reverse merger with New Providence Acquisition Corp. III, valuing the company at a pre-money equity figure of $750 million. After the transaction closes, the combined entity is expected to list on Nasdaq under the ticker ABRX, with existing backers rolling their stakes into the new public company.