The three major U.S. stock indexes closed up collectively on Wednesday (March 16) Eastern Time. Driven by the positive progress of Russia-Ukraine negotiations, U.S. stocks rose all the way after the opening bell, and China’s actions to support the market also boosted Chinese stocks. However, after the Fed raised interest rates as scheduled, the Dow and the S&P 500 turned down for a while, but in the end Powell “turned the tide”, and the stock indexes collectively refreshed their daily highs in late trading.
The Fed’s rate hike boots finally landed on Wednesday, with the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raising the federal benchmark as expectedinterest rateIt was raised 25 basis points from the 0%-0.25% range to the 0.25%-0.50% range, marking the bank’s first rate hike since December 2018.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference later that the inflation rate is still well above the long-term target of 2%, and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the surge in energy prices have put more upward pressure on inflation, but the economy and labor market are very strong, in this context It is appropriate to continue raising interest rates. Powell remained optimistic about the economy under austerity policies, which drove a rebound in U.S. stocks.
Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Leuthold Group, said the Fed’s move to tackle inflation may have given investors a sigh of relief. But other market analysts are also concerned that a move expected to raise interest rates sharply could lead to a downturn in the economy.
analystJASON PRIDE said the language in the Fed’s statement underscored the uncertainty arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, noting that “geopolitical conflicts and related events could put additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity.” Most likely to block the Fed’s tightening program, but as the impact of the conflict on the economy is better understood, it may prompt caution about the pace of rate hikes.
On Wednesday, Russia and Ukraine had prepared a ceasefire and withdrawal plan that would be implemented on the premise of Ukraine’s neutrality and disarmament. However, Peskov, the Russian presidential press secretary, said it was too early to announce the consensus reached in the negotiations.
According to RIA Novosti, Podoljak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Presidential Office and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Russian-Ukrainian negotiation, said in an interview with the media that “the only way to end the war” is direct talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two sides are studying documents related to a possible direct meeting between the two presidents.
However, the latest moves by NATO and the United States have cast a shadow over the prospects for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. In a public speech at the White House on Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden announced $800 million in additional military aid to Ukraine, bringing the total U.S. security aid pledges to Ukraine to $1 billion over the past week. U.S. aid to Ukraine has totaled $2 billion since the Biden administration was established. The military aid package also includes anti-tank missiles and more defensive weapons that the United States has begun to provide, according to a White House statement.
Stephanie Lang, chief investment officer at Homrich Berg, said: “The market is hoping that the Russia-Ukraine issue will be resolved as soon as possible, but the reality is that it’s just a negotiation, we actually need to see a ceasefire, and then see more progress, and finally the conflict can It’s over, so there’s still a lot of uncertainty.”
Market dynamics
As of the close, the Dow Jones index closed up 1.55% at 34063.10 points;NasdaqThe index rose 3.77% to 13,436.55 points; the S&P 500 rose 2.24% to 4,357.86 points.
The 11 sectors of the S&P 500 generally rose, the discretionary consumption and information technology sector rose more than 3.3%, the communications and financial sector rose about 2.9%, and the raw materials sector rose about 1.6%.UtilitiesThe sector closed down nearly 0.2 percent, with the energy sector down more than 0.4 percent.
US stock industryETFMost closed up on Wednesday, the global aviation industry ETF rose more than 5.0%, the Internet stock index ETF rose more than 4.7%, the biotechnology index ETF rose 4.0%, the global technology stock index ETF rose about 3.9%, the optional consumer ETF, technology industry ETF, areaBankETFs 、BankIndustry ETFs also rose at least about 3.1%.UtilitiesETFs fell about 0.2%, and energy ETFs fell more than 0.4%.
Top stock performance
Big tech stocks rose collectively,Nvidiarose more than 6%,Teslarose more than 4%,Amazon、Google-Arose more than 3%,Apple、Microsoftrose more than 2%.
China concept stocks soared collectively,NasdaqChina’s Golden Dragon Index closed up nearly 33%, and many Chinese concept stocks soared.Know almostrose nearly 80%,Jinshan Cloudrose more than 72%,Ding dong shopping、get togetherrose more than 66%,bettarose more than 60%,Pinduoduorose more than 56%,IQIYIrose nearly 50%,Bilibilirose more than 47%,JD.com、Baidu、Huyaup nearly 40%,Alibabarose more than 36%.
Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday that it will “coordinate epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, keep the economy operating within a reasonable range, and keep the capital market running smoothly”. Regarding China Concept Stocks, it is reported that at present, the regulators of China and the United States have maintained good communication and have made positive progress. They are working on forming specific cooperation plans. The Chinese government continues to support various companies to list overseas.
The new forces of car-making have risen sharply,ideal carrose more than 31%,Xiaopeng Motorsrose nearly 30%,NIOSoaring more than 25%.
Company news
【walmartAggressive expansion plans to hire more than 50,000 employees in the U.S.]
retail giantwalmartET on Wednesday announced plans to hire more than 50,000 U.S. employees by May to bolster its logistics centers and stores. The newly recruited staff will mainly take up roles in its stores, clubs and supply chain. last year,walmartAbout 5,500 pharmacists and pharmacy managers, more than 13,000 pharmacy technicians and about 4,500 truck drivers are employed. Walmart is already the largest private employer in the United States, with about 1.6 million employees and 2.3 million employees worldwide. The company is looking beyond big box stores as it beefs up its advertising business, expands its third-party marketplace and launches direct-to-home grocery delivery in more markets.
[EndoftheepidemicStarbucksCEO Announces Retirement
U.S. local time on Wednesday morning,StarbucksreleaseannouncementSays company CEO Kevin Johnson will retire in April after serving twice in historyStarbucksHoward Schultz will be “Three Entering Palace” as interim CEO. Affected by this news, Starbucks stock price rose sharply. Regarding the reason for his resignation, Johnson said that he had told the board of directors as early as a year ago that he hoped to retire when the global epidemic was coming to an end, which would also be the best ending for his 13 years of service for the company. To the excitement of investors, it is Howard Schultz, who led the company from 1986-2000 and 2008-2017.
【get togetherFor the first time, the group achieved a full-year profit and the stock price rose by more than 66%]
get togetherFourth-quarter and full-year financial results for fiscal 2021 were released on Wednesday. For the full year of 2021, the revenue of Huanju Group was US$2.619 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36.5%; the net loss was US$116 million, compared with a net loss of US$18.7 million in the same period last year; not in accordance with the US GAAP, in 2021, Huanju Group realized the adjusted full-year for the first time Net income of $109 million, netinterest rateup to 4.2%.
[Meta was fined nearly 17 million euros by the EU]
Meta was fined nearly 17 million euros by the EU for violating privacy regulations. Meta Platforms has been fined 17 million euros in 2018 for violating EU privacy rules by failing to stop a series of data leaks on Facebook’s platform, sources said. The EU’s privacy watchdog found Facebook had failed to take appropriate technical and organisational measures over the incident, according to Ireland’s Data Protection Commission.
The following is a summary of important information on the global market:
overnight news
Fed hikes rates by 25 basis points as expected
Fed Chairman Powell: U.S. economy is very strong, and it is appropriate to continue to raise interest rates
Russia and Ukraine have prepared a conditional ceasefire and withdrawal plan
The Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning after a series of strong earthquakes in Japan triggered large-scale power outages
London Metal Exchange (LME) lifts daily limit on nickel to 8%
Overview of the outer disk
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed up across the board, and popular Chinese concept stocks collectively soared
Major European stock indexes rose across the board, German stocks and French stocks rose more than 3%
Popular Chinese concept stocks soared again, nearly 160 stocks rose more than 10%
(Article source: Financial Associated Press)