On the evening of the 26th Beijing time, US stocks opened lower on Friday. As of press release, the three major indices had mixed ups and downs. The Dow rose 0.13%, the NASDAQ fell 0.18%, and the S&P 500 index fell 0.04%.

Traders weighed in on a series of disappointing performance reports, and chipmaker Intel's stock fell sharply after announcing earnings reports.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator — the December core PCE increase fell below the 3% mark. Together with Thursday's GDP data, it strengthened the possibility of a soft landing for the economy and lowered the market's bet on the Fed's interest rate cut in March.

The US core PCE price index rose 2.9% year on year in December, a new low since March 2021, estimated at 3.0%, and the previous value was 3.2%; the December core PCE price index rose 0.2% month-on-month, a new high since September 2023. The estimated value was 0.2%, compared with the previous value of 0.1%. The core PCE price index is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicator.

Since last week, the sharp rise in chip stocks has boosted the overall rise in the US stock market. The S&P 500 index closed at a record high for 5 consecutive trading days.

Economic data released on Thursday also further consolidated market gains. The initial quarterly annualized US GDP growth rate for the fourth quarter recorded a 3.3% increase. Although it slowed from 4.9% in the previous quarter, it far exceeded market expectations of 2%.

Individual stocks in focus

Most Star Technology stocks declined, with Intel falling more than 11%, Nvidia falling nearly 1%, and Apple, Microsoft, and Netflix falling slightly.

Popular Chinese securities had mixed ups and downs. NetEase and Pinduoduo fell more than 1%, NIO rose more than 1%, and Ideal and Xiaopeng rose slightly.

Semiconductor stocks generally fell, with Kelei falling more than 5%, AMD falling nearly 2%, Asmack and Micron Technology falling more than 1%, and Nvidia falling nearly 1%.

$Intel (INTC.US)$It fell more than 11%, and the Q1 results guidance announced yesterday after the market fell far short of expectations.

$American Express (AXP.US)$It rose nearly 7%, and the 2024 EPS guidance exceeded expectations.

$Western Digital (WDC.US)$It fell nearly 3%, and cloud business revenue for the second fiscal quarter fell 13% year on year.

$Visa (V.US)$It fell nearly 2%, and the adjusted earnings per share for the first fiscal quarter fell short of expectations, reaffirming the revenue and profit per share guidelines for the current fiscal year.

Editor/Corrine