U.S. Stocks Close: S&P Rises For Five Consecutive Days and Hits New Heights; High-Tech Stocks Soar; Nvidia’s Market Value Exceeds US$1.5 Trillion
Financial World 2024-01-25 05:48:31
According to news from the financial world on January 25, investors are paying attention to GDP and PCE data in the hope of finding more clues about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts. U.S. stocks fluctuated throughout the day and ended mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling nearly 100 points for the second consecutive day after breaking through the 38,000-point mark. The Nasdaq rose more than 50 points, and the S&P rose slightly by 0.08%. It rose for the fifth consecutive trading day, and the S&P hit another record high; most popular technology stocks rose, with Microsoft’s market value once exceeding US$3 trillion, and Nvidia’s market value rising by more than 2%. $1.5 trillion. AMD rose more than 5%, the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index strengthened for two consecutive days, Baozun E-commerce rose more than 17%, Douyu rose nearly 7%, Tencent Music rose 4%, and Alibaba and JD.com rose more than 1%.
As of the close, the Dow Jones Index fell 99.06 points, or 0.26%, to 37806.39 points; the S&P 500 Index rose 4.04 points, or 0.08%, to 4868.64 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 55.97 points, or 0.36%, to 15481.92 points.
U.S. spot gold fell 0.6% to $2,016.04 an ounce. The main gold futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.4% to $2,017.5 an ounce.Spot silver rose 1.7% to $22.81 an ounce, platinum rose 0.5% to $904.87 an ounce and palladium rose 1.9% to $966.18 an ounce.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures for March delivery rose 72 cents, or 1%, to settle at $75.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark Brent crude oil for March rose 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $80.04 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. Gasoline prices fell less than 0.1% in February to $2.21 per gallon; heating oil prices fell nearly 0.4% in February to $2.68 per gallon. Natural gas prices for February delivery rose 7.8% to settle at $2.64 per million British thermal units.
Most popular Chinese concept stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index rising 1.9%. Huaying Securities rose by more than 32%, Golden Sun Education rose by more than 27%, Wunong.com, Zhongjin Medical rose by more than 20%, Baozun E-commerce rose by more than 17%, Baijiayun rose by more than 16%, and Zhongyang Financial rose by more than 20%. 15%, Fang Duoduo, Origen Seeds rose by more than 13%, Kaixin Yuanda Pharmaceutical rose by more than 12%, Gulf Resources rose by more than 11%, Zhenkunxing, Suntech Institution, The Ninth City, etc. rose by more than 10%, Vipshop Huixin rose by more than 8%, Lexin rose by more than 7%, Douyu rose by more than 6%, New Oriental, Yiren Jinke, and Tiger Securities rose by more than 5%. Uxin, Dingdong Maicai, Tencent Music, Jianpu Technology rose by more than 4%, TAL, Shell, Baidu, Yunji, Yixian E-commerce rose by more than 3%, Huanju Group, 360 Digital, Pintech, Huya, Pintech Duoduo, Manbang, Tuniu, NetEase, Ctrip, Lizhi, Secoo, Monster Charge rose by more than 2%, Qudian, Xinye Technology, JD.com, Alibaba, Sohu, Gaotu, Zhihu, Dada Group, 36 Krypton, Best Group rose more than 1%, Youdao, Xunlei, Leju, Xiaoying Technology, and Weibo rose slightly.
Lichen China fell by more than 15%, Juhao Mall fell by more than 13%, Pupu Culture, Qilian International fell by more than 7%, Yankong Technology, Daqo New Energy, Fulang Group, Zhongbei Energy, Ucommune, and Yuhui Sunshine and others fell by more than 6%, Xpeng Motors and Youpin Auto fell by more than 5%, Boqi Pet, Jiayin Jinke, Bright Scholar and others fell by more than 4%, 1Yao.com, GDS, Yunmi Technology fell by more than 3% %, EHang, Kingsoft Cloud, SoYoung, NIO, Cheetah Mobile fell more than 2%, Tuanche, Li Auto, Bit Mining, Phoenix New Media, Zhiwen Group, Century Internet, Mavericks Electric fell more than 1%, 51Talk, Canaan Technology, iQiyi, Bilibili, and Autohome fell slightly.
Artificial intelligence boom drives market value to US$3 trillion, Microsoft consolidates its position among the “seven giants” of technology
Microsoft’s market value hit a historic $3 trillion on Wednesday, another example of how the artificial intelligence boom is adding to the software giant’s seemingly unstoppable momentum. The company’s shares rose 1.3% to $403.95, pushing the market value to $3 trillion. This benchmark solidifies Microsoft’s status as a very large public company. Its market value briefly surpassed Apple, which was the first to cross the US$3 trillion threshold last year, but then fell back below it and formed a situation where the two giants are chasing each other.
The Redmond, Washington-based company is one of the “Big Seven” driving U.S. stocks in 2023. Microsoft surged 7.4% this year on top of last year’s 57% surge, outperforming the Nasdaq 100’s 4.6% gain. Microsoft’s weight in the S&P 500 is 7.3%.
U.S. 30-year Treasury yields hit year-to-date highs after poor U.S. bond issuance results
The 30-year U.S. Treasury bond yield climbed to its highest level this year on Wednesday after 5-year Treasury bond issuance froze, and the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce a larger bond issuance plan from February to April a week later.
The yield on the longest-dated U.S. Treasury note rose more than 4 basis points to 4.407%, its highest level since December 5. Ahead of the issuance of $61 billion in 5-year Treasury notes at 1 pm New York time, U.S. Treasury yields of all maturities had moved higher during the day, boosted by stronger-than-expected economic activity indicators in January.
Eurozone blue-chip index hits 23-year high, SAP and ASML soar
The euro zone blue-chip index closed at its highest level since May 2001 on Wednesday, as ASML Holding NV’s quarterly orders surged and SAP’s earnings beat expectations, pushing its shares to a record high.
The two technology stocks account for nearly 15% of the Eurozone Stoxx 50 index, helping the index recover from January’s losses. The rise in ASML and SAP added about 48 billion euros ($52.3 billion) to the market value of Europe’s technology sector. The sector soared 4.9% as the two major technology companies signaled strong demand in their industries.
Former White House economic adviser Cohn: Economic data does not fully reflect the compound impact of U.S. inflation
Gary Cohn, who served as chief economic adviser to Donald Trump, said the compounding impact of inflation is often greater than the data suggest because it is difficult to extrapolate the direction of the economy at any given time from current economic data.
“Inflation numbers and inflation data are the most bizarre data in the United States,” Cohen, now vice chairman of International Business Machines Corp. (IBM), said in an interview on Wednesday. “We calculate the inflation rate either month-on-month or year-over-year – we The baseline will not be zeroed out under any circumstances.”
Bank of Canada keeps key interest rate unchanged, signaling rate hike is complete
The Bank of Canada kept its policy rate unchanged for the fourth consecutive time and made it clear for the first time that it would not need to raise interest rates if the economy develops in line with its expectations.
Policymakers including Governor Tiff Macklem kept the benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged at 5% on Wednesday, in line with the consensus expectations of the market and economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Officials said data showing economic growth has stalled and will remain slow in the short term will help inflation return to the bank’s 2% target next year.
U.S. business activity rises at fastest pace in seven months, outlook on demand more optimistic
U.S. business activity rose the most in seven months in January as rising orders made service providers and manufacturers more confident about the demand outlook.
The S&P Global Composite Index rose to an initial reading of 52.3, mainly driven by increased activity in the services sector. An index above 50 indicates expansion. Boosted by stronger domestic demand, a measure of output expectations for the coming year climbed to its highest level since May 2022.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said, “Hopes for lower inflation in 2024 have boosted market confidence, eased cost-of-living pressures and cleared more obstacles for interest rate cuts.”
Will the Fed cut interest rates in the first quarter?The survey predicts that the most likely window is June
Investors are awaiting key GDP and inflation data due later this week, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s decision on when to begin its rate-cutting cycle. According to a latest survey released by industry media on Tuesday, most economists surveyed said that the Federal Reserve will wait until the second quarter before cutting interest rates. An interest rate cut in June is more likely than in May. The overall rate cut this year is also expected to be smaller. lower than current market forecasts.
Trump wins again!New Hampshire primary results settled early
The high-profile New Hampshire primary in the United States has probably settled: Trump made another victory in the Iowa primary, and then continued to win in New Hampshire. A growing number of Republicans want Haley to withdraw from the race for the Republican presidential nomination and support Trump instead.
Has Bitcoin Hit Bottom Yet?Deutsche Bank survey: Most individual investors bet on falling below $20,000 in January next year
After the listing of spot ETFs, Bitcoin fell into a “continuous decline” trend. A Deutsche Bank survey shows that many individual investors believe Bitcoin will fall further by the end of the year. More than one-third of respondents believe Bitcoin will fall below $20,000 by January next year. Only about 15% said they expected Bitcoin to rise to between $40,000 and $75,000 by the end of the year.
Musk will launch a $25,000 entry-level car in 2025? Tesla responded!
According to media reports, four people familiar with the matter revealed that Tesla informed its suppliers that it plans to start mass production of an entry-level car code-named “Redwood” and priced at $25,000 in mid-2025. Tesla responded to the news, saying: “Never heard of it.”
Netflix’s four seasons report shines, and many institutions raise their target prices
Netflix’s number of new subscribers in the fourth quarter hit a record, and its revenue and first-quarter earnings per share forecasts were both better than market expectations, driving the stock price to surge by more than 9% before the market opened. Some analysts bluntly said that Netflix has won the streaming war. Benchmark raised its target price for Netflix from $425 to $440, Bank of Montreal raised its target price from $566 to $638, and Deutsche Bank raised its target price from $460 to $525.
The hottest AI “darling” in the stock market since 2023 is not NVIDIA
In the past two days, AMD and Nvidia, the two recently popular AI chip giants, have seen their prices subside. AMD, which launched its AI server, has maintained a record high momentum for several days this week and is firmly positioned as the big winner of the AI boom. The stock hit a record closing high for three consecutive trading days, with a cumulative increase of more than 46%.
Jack Ma replaces SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholder
Alibaba founder Jack Ma bought about $50 million in Alibaba shares in the fourth quarter of 2023, and his latest holding exceeded the 4.3% reported at the end of 2021. According to sources, SoftBank’s latest actual shareholding dropped to less than 0.5%, and Jack Ma has now replaced SoftBank as Alibaba’s largest shareholder.