Us stock index futures rose slightly as major indices approached record highs again as investors looked forward to signs of progress in trade negotiations.
As of 20:50, the performance of the three major index futures is as follows:
Source: British Financial Information investing
[hot news]
Initial jobless claims in the US fell unexpectedly last week, near a 49-year low, indicating that the job market remains strong. The number of initial applications fell 3000 last week to 201000, the lowest since November 1969. The four-week average of jobless claims, which are less volatile, fell 2250 to 205750, the lowest since December 1969. Although some companies are preparing to lay off workers due to trade reasons, this impact is offset by increased hiring in the steel industry.
The United States has become the largest supplier of soybeans to the European Union, according to the latest EU data. In the past 12 weeks from July to mid-September, the EU imported 1473749 tonnes of US soyabeans, an increase of more than 130 per cent over the same period last year.
Xi Jinping presided over the fourth meeting of the Central Committee for comprehensively deepening Reform and stressed that we should strengthen leadership, make scientific overall planning, pay close attention to implementation, and focus reform on solving practical problems.
[summary of Asian and European stock markets]
Ishiba Shigeru, Abe's rival in Japanese politics, did better than expected in the LDP presidential election, but Abe was re-elected president of the ruling LDP, a result that briefly fell in the middle of the afternoon. However, the Nikkei index eventually rose for the fifth day in a row, closing up 2.41 points at 23674.93.
Only four of the 50 constituent stocks in Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index contributed to all of today's index gains. The index rose in early trading, gave up its gains after midday, but rebounded before the close and closed up 0.3 per cent to 27477.67, while the H-share index climbed 0.5 per cent.
The Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets rose first and then suppressed, with the Shanghai Composite Index falling 0.06% to 2729.24 points and the gem Index down 0.34% to 1387.62 points. Military industry, gas supply and chip stocks led the decline, followed by software, 5G and insurance stocks. Rare earth permanent magnets and hotel catering stocks led gains, while water conservancy construction, banking and tourism stocks performed.
As of 19:48 Beijing time, European stock markets were up. Germany's DAX index rose 69.30 points, or about 0.57%, France's CAC 40 index rose 43.12 points, or about 0.8%, and London's FTSE 100 index rose 15.63 points, or about 0.21%. The pan-European Stoxx 50 index rose 24.82 points, or about 0.74%.
[important news of Chinese stocks]
$Lightinthebox Holding Co. Ltd (LITB.US) $Unaudited second-quarter results were released on Wednesday. Net revenue was $55.4 million, down 29.4% from a year earlier, while net loss was $9.5 million, less than the $1.8 million net loss in the same period last year.
$JD.com (JD.US) $On the 19th, JD.com 7FRESH signed contracts with 16 well-known real estate developers such as Poly and Vanke, and simultaneously started the process of opening stores in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. Wang Xiaosong, senior vice president of JD.com and president of JD.com 7FRESH, said that 7FRESH will enter a stage of rapid expansion and plans to open 1000 stores nationwide in the next 3-5 years.
$BABA (BABA.US) $ At the 2018 Hangzhou Yunqi Conference on the 20th, Aliyun IoT announced that it had reached a deep cooperation with Intel Corp in the field of the Internet of things. The Yunbian integrated edge computing product jointly launched by the two sides is an open framework specifically for the application of the Internet of things, including Intel Corp's hardware, AI technology, as well as Aliyun IoT platform, operating system and other products.
$Baidu, Inc. (BIDU.US) $A strategic partnership has been reached with NYSE:WBC to jointly develop L4 self-driving commercial vehicle solutions. Under the cooperation agreement, Baidu, Inc. will provide an open platform for Apollo autopilot, while WIBCO will provide ADOPT autopilot ecosystem to help lower barriers to entry into commercial vehicle sensors, safety controls and on-line drive systems.
[important news from American companies]
$Micron Technology Inc (MU.US) $The financial results for the first quarter of this fiscal year will be released after trading. Analysts expect the storage chipmaker to earn $3.32 a share on revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter. Investors will pay close attention to Micron Technology Inc's performance to gain an in-depth understanding of whether the chip industry is coming out of a cyclical downtrend. Micron Technology Inc's share price has fallen to $45 from $60 three months ago, hit by competitors and signs of dwindling demand in the memory market.
Hemp stock$Tilray, Inc. (TLRY.US) $It rose 16% before trading, then fell sharply. Wall Street has warned that the surge in Tilray has nothing to do with the industry's long-term prospects and is driven purely by investor fanaticism. According to data from Arcview Market Research / BDS Analysis, global legal marijuana consumption spending will not reach $32 billion until 2022. This means that four years later, the entire legal marijuana market is smaller than the market capitalization of the three well-known marijuana producers today.
$Amazon.Com Inc (AMZN.US) $According to BloombergAmazon.Com Inc is considering opening thousands of unmanned convenience stores by 2021.The plan could threaten convenience stores such as 7-11, fast-food sandwiches such as Subway and Panera Bread, as well as self-employed pizzeria and tacos.
$Goldman Sachs Group (GS.US) $Goldman Sachs Group is about to spin off the Simon app business, which sells complex investment products and was launched three years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. JPMorgan Chase & Co, NYSE:BCS, HSBC Holdings PLC, NYSE:HSBC, Credit Suisse, Wells Fargo & Co and NYSE:PRU are in advanced talks with Goldman Sachs Group about taking a stake in the business, according to people familiar with the matter. Simon is currently valued at about $100 million, and the deal is likely to be finalised in the coming weeks, people familiar with the matter said.
Red Hat (RHT.US) $Down 5.63%. Red Hat reported a 14% increase in revenue to $822.7 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2019, below expectations of $830 million, and earnings per share, excluding specific items, were 85 cents, higher than expected 82 cents. Most of Red Hat's revenue came from distribution subscriptions to products such as the Linux open source operating system, which rose 13% year-on-year to $722.7 million, below expectations of $724.1 million. The company expects third-quarter earnings per share of 87 cents and revenue of $846 million to $856 million, while investors expect 92 cents and $862.7 million, respectively.
$Herman Miller (MLHR.US) $Up 9.53%. Herman Miller's first-quarter results released after trading on Wednesday showed that the furniture maker beat expectations in revenue and earnings per share for the quarter. Herman Miller's first-quarter revenue was $624.6 million, better than expected of $611.45 million, and earnings per share of $.69, better than expected of $.65.
As of 20:50 Beijing time, the top stocks were up or down before the day's trading.
