"The 'ZEC Maximalist Short' has closed out additional short positions of approximately $1 million, bringing the total position size to $4.78 million."

On March 18, Morgan Stanley’s Chief U.S. Equity Strategist Michael Wilson released a report taking a contrarian stance on the current market panic. He argued the recent sharp correction has matured in both timing and magnitude, signaling the market is near a bottom rather than the start of a new downturn. Data shows 50% of Russell 3000 stocks have fallen more than 20% from their 52-week highs, while a similar share in the S&P 500 has dropped over 40%. This means half of these stocks are already in bear market territory, underscoring the underappreciated breadth of internal damage. Wilson frames the sell-off as a “pullback within a bull market” that began with liquidity tightening last fall—well before the recent geopolitical tension escalation. He notes “surrender-type selling” often marks an end, not a start, of market downturns. Unlike past recessions (accompanied by deteriorating earnings), S&P 500 earnings are growing at 13% and accelerating. Wilson’s outlook hinges on two

March 18 — Bitget market data shows Hong Kong-listed large language model (LLM) stocks, the "Twin Champions," extended gains. MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) surged over 27%, while Smart Idea (02513.HK) climbed more than 20%.

Bitget market data shows that on Wednesday, March 18, the Nikkei 225 Index closed 1,539.01 points higher—a 2.87% gain—at 55,239.40 points. Meanwhile, South Korea’s KOSPI Index ended the day up 284.55 points (a 5.04% increase) at 5,925.03 points.

**March 18 –** Market expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady at this week’s meeting were already baked in before the Gulf situation escalated — and now it’s a certainty, says Daniel Lavni, Head of Fixed Income at Mediolanum International Fund Management. Recent economic data has shown ongoing inflation deceleration and a weakening labor market. The firm initially viewed this hold-steady stance as dovish — but that’s no longer the case. The Fed is expected to strike a cautious, observant tone. Its policy statement will likely reference war risks and adopt more balanced language on the future rate path, highlighting both upside inflation risks and downside risks to the labor market. (FX678)

March 18 — Per CoinGlass data, Bitcoin saw a slight pullback today, while funding rates across major centralized (CEXs) and decentralized (DEXs) exchanges signal mostly bearish market sentiment. Specific rates are shown in the attached chart. BlockBeats Note: Funding rates are fees set by crypto exchanges to align perpetual contract prices with their underlying assets. They facilitate fund transfers between long and short traders — the exchange itself does not collect this fee. The mechanism adjusts the cost or profit of traders holding positions to keep contract prices near the underlying asset’s price. Key Context: - Baseline rate: 0.01% - Rates above 0.01% = bullish sentiment - Rates below 0.005% = bearish sentiment

On March 18, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi announced plans for the country’s “toughest retaliatory strike” against its adversaries, vowing to make the enemies’ airspace “more spectacular,” according to CCTV News. The upgraded retaliatory action, per the statement, responds to demands from the Iranian people for the IRGC to launch heavier strikes against the enemy. Mousavi also emphasized, “Hostile forces will never be able to defeat Iran.”