Title: US Stocks Rise Slightly, Tech Giants Mixed; Vietnam’s VinFast and Chinese Concept Stocks Decline
Date: September 8, 2022
The US stock market saw minor gains on Thursday, with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P all showing slight increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.22%, closing at 34,576.59 points, while the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 0.09%, closing at 13,761.53 points. The S&P 500 stock index also rose by 0.14%, closing at 4,457.49 points. However, for the week, all three major indexes experienced losses, with the Dow falling 0.75%, the Nasdaq falling 1.93%, and the S&P 500 falling 1.29%.
The performance of large technology stocks was mixed. Microsoft recorded a gain of over 1%, while Google, Amazon, and Apple saw slight increases. On the other hand, Tesla and Nvidia both fell by more than 1%, while Netflix and Meta experienced slight declines. Vietnamese automaker VinFast, sometimes referred to as “Vietnam Tesla,” faced a significant drop of nearly 5%. This marked the company’s eighth consecutive day of decline, with its market value falling over 80% from last week’s high to less than $40 billion.
In the Chinese concept stocks category, the majority of stocks experienced declines. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 0.52%, with a cumulative decline exceeding 7% for the week. Notable declines included Luckin Coffee Powder falling by more than 6%, Bilibili falling by over 5%, and iQiyi and Pinduoduo falling by more than 2% and 1% respectively. However, Alibaba, JD.com, and NetEase managed to record slight gains.
Over in Europe, major stock indexes also observed slight gains. The Financial Times 100-stock average price index of the London stock market increased by 0.49%, closing at 7,478.19 points. The CAC40 index of the Paris stock market in France rose by 0.62%, closing at 7,240.77 points. Likewise, the DAX index of the Frankfurt stock market in Germany saw a 0.14% increase, closing at 15,740.30 points.
In the commodity market, international oil prices witnessed a slight rise. WTI October crude oil futures increased by 0.74%, closing at $87.51 per barrel, while Brent November crude oil futures rose by 0.81%, closing at $90.65 per barrel. Moreover, both U.S. oil and Brent oil saw two consecutive weeks of gains. Additionally, the price of December gold futures experienced a marginal increase of 0.01%, closing at $1,942.7 per ounce.
Important overnight news included Fed Vice Chairman Michael Barr stating that the central bank has yet to decide on issuing a digital currency. A forecast by BofA interest rate analysts predicted that the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note may rise to 4.75%. The Federal Reserve’s Q2 Financial Account Report revealed that American households’ net worth reached a record high. Next week, Capitol Hill is expected to hold multiple meetings focusing on artificial intelligence, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization expressed concerns about the food supply crisis. Stellantis aimed to develop electric vehicle batteries that are 50% lighter, and the United Nations emphasized the need for stronger actions to combat climate change.
Overall, the performance of the US and European stock markets remained relatively stable, with slight gains observed. However, challenges persisted for Vietnamese and Chinese concept stocks, while some tech giants experienced mixed results.