Goldman Sachs’ positive financial report boosted risk sentiment. U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Tuesday. Intraday, U.S. bond yields turned higher, superimposed that Apple’s new mobile phone was listed less than two weeks ago and was rumored to cut production. However, in the end, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed up, the Dow rose 1.12% to a new four-week high, the S&P 500 rose 1.14%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.9%.
Investors had been bracing for a tough earnings season, with soaring inflation, rising interest rates and the threat of a recession weighing on consumer spending and corporate profits. But corporate earnings so far have mostly been better than expected, pushing U.S. stocks to continue their rally. A strong start to the earnings season could suggest that the economy is in better shape than feared.
Large tech stocks were mixed, with Twitter and Amazon up more than 2%, Apple up about 1%, and Netflix down more than 1%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.8% and then fell more than 1%, then rose 0.4% and stood above 2,200. Intel, Micron Technology and TSMC fell about 2%. Bank stocks rose collectively, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America rose more than 3%, and JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs rose more than 2%.
Popular Chinese concept stocks were mixed, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index up 0.34%. Pinduoduo rose more than 5%, Futu Holdings rose more than 2%; Zhihu fell more than 4%, Boss Zhipin fell more than 3%, and iQiyi fell more than 2%.
OPEC+ defends output cut decision, says global recession risk rising
Brent oil closed down 1.73% at $90.03 per barrel, the deepest drop of 3% in the session, and once fell below $89. Concerns about rising U.S. oil supplies, a stalling global economy and sluggish demand kept oil prices volatile. U.S. crude inventories are expected to rise for a second week in a row, with output from the biggest shale producer expected to rise to a record in October.
OPEC+ agreed on Oct. 5 to cut production quotas by 2 million barrels a day, sparking condemnation from oil-consuming nations including the United States. But UAE Oil Minister Suhail Al Mazrouei said the decision was driven purely by supply and demand factors, as rising risks of a global recession would weigh on the underlying demand outlook, and the drop in oil prices since the meeting showed it was the right decision. OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al-Ghais said the group had no choice but to take pre-emptive action. After Brent fell below $90 a barrel on Tuesday, reversing gains made after the OPEC meeting, Mazrouei reiterated that the fact showed that the decision to cut production was economically justified.
Japan’s big U.S. “creditor” dumped U.S. bonds, holding positions at a nearly three-year low
U.S. official data showed that in August, when the price of U.S. Treasury bonds fell sharply, Japan, the number one overseas “creditor” of the United States, accelerated its selling, and its holdings fell to the lowest point in nearly three years.
On Monday, October 17th, Eastern Time, the U.S. Treasury Department released the International Capital Flows Report (TIC), showing that the size of U.S. Treasury bonds held by Japan in August was $1.1998 trillion, the lowest level since December 2019. For the first time, U.S. Treasury holdings fell below $2 trillion.
Japan’s U.S. Treasury holdings in August fell by $34.5 billion from July, the second consecutive month of reductions. In April this year, Japan’s U.S. bond holdings fell below $1.22 trillion, a new low since January 2020. In June, it increased its holdings by $12.6 billion, and reduced its holdings by another $2 billion in July. The scale of the reduction in August was July. 17 times or more.
Macron’s government faces serious challenges after nationwide strike in France
Refining industry strikes continue for weeksNot yet subsided, France ushered in a new round of nationwide strikes.
On October 18, local time, French road traffic, train, education, medical and public sector employees held a nationwide strike.
Meanwhile, strikes at French nuclear power plants continued.Nuclear power giant EDF (EDF) was also affected, with routine maintenance work being postponed, which is crucial for a stable supply of electricity in Europe.France’s electricity comes mainly from nuclear energy, and the strike has affected one-third of the country’s nuclear power plants.
According to Agence France-Presse, the French left-wing party “Unyielding France” and the country’s General Trade Union called for a nationwide strike on the 18th, demanding higher wages and opposing the government’s initiation of a compulsory requisition order for strikers at some refineries or oil depots. Unions in other French industries and the public sector have also announced actions to protest soaring energy prices and the impact of inflation on life. This time the strike action will be nationwide, and the strike in Paris will start at 12:00 local time on the 18th.
The current risk for French President Emmanuel Macron is that dissatisfaction will continue to spread, and more people may join the strike, leading to a series of social shutdowns.French President Emmanuel Macron said at a meeting with French cabinet ministers on the 17th that “we will continue to do our best” and that he hoped that the crisis would be “solved as soon as possible”.
Reuters reported that the strike action will be one of the toughest challenges facing Macron since his re-election in May.
The iPhone 14 Plus is rumored to be cutting production in less than two weeks
On Tuesday, October 18th, Eastern Time, Apple released three new hardware devices, updating the entry-level tablet iPad, the high-end tablet iPad Pro, and the TV set-top box Apple TV 4k.
But at the same time, market sources said that two people involved in Apple’s supply chain said that less than two weeks after the debut of the iPhone 14 Plus, Apple was cutting production of the model, which caused Apple’s stock price to plunge nearly 3 in the short-term intraday. %.
Apple has asked at least one Chinese manufacturer to immediately halt production of components for the iPhone 14 Plus while its procurement team reassesses demand for the product, people familiar with the matter said. Apple is positioning the iPhone 14 Plus as a cheaper alternative to the iPhone Pro models, but with a larger screen.
The global smartphone market has been softening this year,According to estimates by market research firm Canalys, the global smartphone market shrank by 9% year-on-year in the third quarter of this year, and global smartphone demand is expected to be weak in the next six to nine months.Return to Sohu, see more
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