Source: Wall Street News
Author: Li Dan
The three major US stock indexes closed down more than 1%; the Dow fell by more than 500 points, the biggest point drop in a year, and S&P recorded the biggest drop in seven weeks; the technology “Seven Sisters” only never fell in the Meta session and rose close to a record high; the chip stock index fell 3%, and Nvidia closed down more than 3% after rising nearly 2% at the beginning of the market; AMD fell more than 8% to the biggest decline in 11 months. The China Securities Index fell two times in a row, closing down 1.5%, while US stocks of NIO and Xiaomi closed slightly higher. After the unemployment data, the 10-year US Treasury yield declined, falling more than 10 basis points from Wednesday's high; the US dollar index accelerated to a two-week low; after the midday geopolitical news, US bond yields hit a new low, the US dollar smoothed out most of the declines, and the yen's rise expanded. The offshore renminbi fell more than 100 points in the intraday period and fell below 7.25. Bitcoin rose more than $4,000 in the intraday period and at one point hit the 70,000 mark. Crude oil rallied more than 2% in midday trading, hitting a five-month high on the 4th, and rising above 90 US dollars for the first time in five months. Gold hit a record intraday high for five days, but closed down for the first time in seven days. Industrial metals have been rising rapidly over the past few days. Lunzinc rose nearly 4% to a new high this year, and Luntong's revenue hit a new high in the past two years.
The number of first-time jobless claims in the US surpassed expectations and rebounded by 9,000 to 221,000 last week, the highest increase in a single week in more than two months. This is in line with recent data showing an increase in layoffs. According to the February JOLTS vacancy report released on Tuesday, the number of layoffs reached a record high of nearly a year. The review said that before the release of the major US non-farm payrolls report this Friday, the increase in unemployment data will help the Federal Reserve take action to cut interest rates this year.
After the unemployment data was released, the US stock market rose on Wednesday, supported by Powell's enhanced interest rate cut prospects; the US Treasury bond price rebounded, and the yield on the 10-year US bond benchmark once fell more than 10 basis points from the four-month high set on Wednesday; the US dollar index, which turned down on the same day Powell spoke, accelerated its decline and fell to a two-week low; non-US currencies generally rose, and the offshore renminbi jumped nearly 100 points. On Wednesday, the Japanese yen, which had been extremely close to the low since 1990, also temporarily lifted the mid-market rise of 15 2.00 may trigger the risk of Japan interfering in the foreign exchange market.
There was a big reversal in US stocks in midday trading, and the three major US stock indexes collectively dived. At one point, the Dow fell more than 800 points from the daily high level, and chip stocks and most blue-chip technology stocks turned down. The dollar index narrowed most of its declines, some non-US currencies turned down, and the safe-haven asset yen increased its gains. The media believe that signs that the situation in the Middle East is more tense, such as hawkish remarks by Federal Reserve officials suggesting that interest rates may not be cut this year, and the Israeli Prime Minister's warning against Iran have become the culprits of the collapse.
Also at noon trading, Cleveland Federal Reserve Chairman Meister, who has the right to vote at the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting this year, said that it is expected to reach a state suitable for interest rate cuts later this year, that the decline in inflation will progress, and “soon” he will feel at ease about slowing down the pace of contraction. After Mester and Kashkari's speech, at a time when the situation in the Middle East became more tense, the decline in US bond yields, which had already rebounded, widened again. The yield on two-year US Treasury bonds, which are sensitive to interest rates, returned to a downward trend, and the yield on ten-year US bonds all hit new low levels during the day.
Among commodities, after Powell once again confirmed this year's interest rate cut expectations, industrial metals continued to rise sharply. “Dr. Copper” hit a new intraday high in more than a year, and Luntong set a new closing high for almost two years. The review said that increased supply risks and recent data from China and the US have boosted the prospects for demand recovery, which is beneficial to copper prices. The rise in precious metals has been suspended for several days. After the US unemployment data was released, gold hit a new low. The increase in geopolitical risk in US stocks at the end of the session drove safe-haven purchases. Spot gold once turned up, and futures reached a record intraday high, but in the end, both spot gold and futures fell to the historical closing levels set for five consecutive days. International crude oil declined several times in the intraday market. After news of the geopolitical situation came out in midday trading, it rose more than 2% during the day. Surprisingly, it continued to hit a new closing high for five months, and the oil tanker broke through the 90 US dollar mark for the first time in five months.
The three major US stock indexes closed down more than 1%, and the Dow fell four times in a row, and AMD recorded the biggest decline in 11 months, Meta bucked the market and rose four times in a row to approach a record high
The three major US stock indexes collectively opened higher for the first time this week, and all turned down in midday trading. At the beginning of the session, the S&P 500 index rose more than 0.8%, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose nearly 1.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 290 points to nearly 0.8%. At the end of the session, the Dow fell more than 540 points and nearly 1.4% during the day, and fell more than 860 points from the intraday high. Both the NASDAQ and S&P fell more than 1%.
In the end, the three major indices collectively closed down on the 3rd day of this week. The Dow closed down 530.16 points, or 1.35%, the biggest point drop since March 9, 2023. It fell for four consecutive days to 38596.98 points, breaking its closing low since March 5. The S&P and NASDAQ indices, which stopped two consecutive losses on Wednesday, both fell back to their closing lows since March 15. S&P closed down 1.23%, and the Dow both hit February 13 — the biggest percentage drop since the US announced the January CPI growth rate exceeded expectations, at 5147.21 points. The NASDAQ closed down 1.4%, the biggest drop since March 5, to 16049.48 points.
The small-cap stock index Russell 2000, which is mainly value stocks, closed down 1.08%, falling back to its closing low since March 19. The Nasdaq 100 Index, which focuses on technology stocks, closed down 1.55%, and the Nasdaq Technology Market Capitalization Weighted Index (NDXTMC), which measures the performance of technology constituents in the Nasdaq 100 Index, closed down 1.97%, all falling back to closing low since March 15.
Among the tech giants “Seven Sisters,” including Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Google's parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook's parent company Meta, and Tesla, only Meta has not declined in the intraday market.
Tesla, which leveled off a 2% decline in the early intraday session on Wednesday and then maintained gains. It rose 5.2% in the midday session, and is still expected to close at least 1% for two consecutive days and continue to break away from the closing low since March 15. After announcing that delivery volume for the first quarter fell far short of expectations, it closed down nearly 5% on Tuesday, the biggest decline since March 4.
Among the six major FAANMG technology stocks, Microsoft, which turned down slightly in early trading on Wednesday, rose more than 1% in early trading, and will fall slightly for three days, breaking the closing low since March 18 on two days; after revealing that CEO Cook sold more than 196,000 shares of the company on April 1 and 2 and cashed out more than 33 million dollars, Apple rose more than 1% in midday trading and fell slightly at the end of the session, and failed to break away from the low level since March 7, which was refreshed for three consecutive days; Alphabet fell more than 2% in midday trading and rebounded slightly for three weeks. It began to fall below the closing record high set on Monday; Amazon turned down in midday trading After that, it fell more than 1%, falling to the high closing level since November 2021, which rebounded on Wednesday; Netflix, which rebounded to a high level since November 2021, turned down more than 2% in midday trading and fell more than 2% at the end of the session; while Meta rose nearly 4.5% in midday trading and closed up 0.8% for four consecutive days, approaching the highest closing record set on March 7.
Chip stocks generally turned down during the intraday period. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and semiconductor industry ETF SOXX rose more than 1% at the beginning of the session, turning down about 3% and 2.8% in midday trading, closing down about 3% and 2.8%, respectively. After rebounding on Wednesday, they fell back to their closing low since March 19. Among chip stocks, Nvidia rose more than 1.9% at the beginning of the session and closed down 3.4%, and will fall from the 3rd until March 11; after closing 8.2% on Wednesday, the biggest drop since January 26, Intel rose slightly in early trading and turned down 1.5% in midday trading; AMD, which opened low and went low, closed down nearly 8.3%, the biggest drop since May 3, 2023; TSMC and Broadcom, which rose more than 1% in early trading, closed down more than 1% and more than 3%, respectively; Micron closed down more than 3%.
Most AI concept stocks followed the general market decline. At the close, ultra-micro computers (SMCI) fell more than 5%, Adobe (ADBE) fell 2%, C3.ai (AI), BigBear.ai (BBAI), Oracle (ORCL), and Dell (DELL), which hit a record high of 8% on Wednesday, fell more than 1%, and Palantir (PLTR) fell nearly 1%; while SoundHound.AI (SOUN) rose more than 4%, known as “Little Nvidia,” Astera Labs (ALAB), which sells data center interconnect chips, rose 0.7%.
Popular Chinese securities generally turned down during the intraday period. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC) rose nearly 0.6% at the beginning of the session, then turned down in early trading and closed down 1.5%. After rising for 4 days until the closing high since March 20, it fell for 2 days. China's general ETFs KWEB and CQQQ closed down more than 1% and about 0.6%, respectively. The three new car builders rose sharply in early trading. NIO Auto, which rose more than 3% in early trading, closed up 0.2%; Xiaopeng Motors, which rose more than 2% in early trading, turned down 0.1% at the end of the session, and Ideal Auto closed down more than 2% after turning down in midday trading. Furthermore, Xiaomi Fen, which had popular orders to sell the first electric car SU7, rose nearly 3.5% in midday trading to close 0.5%. Among other individual stocks, by the close, Station B fell more than 2%, Pinduoduo fell nearly 2%, JD fell more than 1%, Alibaba and NetEase fell about 0.7%, Tencent Fandan fell 0.2%, while Baidu rose more than 0.1%.
At a time when US bond yields declined, many PV stocks surged intraday, recovering some of their gains in midday trading. By the close, First Solar (FSLR), which had risen more than 6% in the intraday period, had risen more than 2.8%, Enphase Energy (ENPH), which had risen nearly 7% in the intraday period, rose 1.8%, and SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG), which had risen more than 7% in the intraday period, rose nearly 0.6%.
Among individual stocks with high volatility, clothing brand LEVI (LEVI) closed up 12.2% after announcing that revenue and profit for the first fiscal quarter were higher than expected and the results of the company's cost reduction plan; software company Zeta Global (ZETA) closed up 13.3% after being upgraded by Morgan Stanley to overfit and anticipate positive revisions in future valuations and expectations; the media said marketing software company HubSpot (HUBC) rallied and closed up nearly 44.7% after Alphabet recently discussed a takeover offer with advisors.
Meanwhile, frozen food manufacturer Lamb Weston (LW), whose revenue and profit for the third fiscal quarter fell 19.4%; Hertz Rent a Car (HTZ) closed down by nearly 5% after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating from neutral to sales, believing that investor pricing did not reflect the department's recent pressure; after Blue Orca Capital released its short selling report, the human resources company Dayforce Inc. (DAY) fell nearly 5% in early trading, hitting a new low since November 3, 2023. At the end of early trading, it rose more than 1% at the end of early trading. It closed down 0.5%.
European stocks, which closed earlier than US stocks, escaped a robbery on Thursday. The Eurozone's composite PMI for March was higher than the initial value and entered the expansion range above 50. Eurozone PPI recorded the biggest month-on-month decline in nine months. The signs that the Eurozone's economic recovery and inflation are under control supported the rise in European stocks. The pan-European stock index rebounded for the second day in a row. The European Stoxx 600 Index began to approach the highest closing record set for three consecutive days last Thursday. Major European countries' stock indexes failed to rise in unison. German, English, and Western stocks rose for two consecutive days. As German stocks fell more than 1% on Tuesday, the slight rise in German stocks was not close to the highest closing record set by eight consecutive gains on Thursday, while the slight decline in French stocks, which rebounded on Wednesday, has almost come to an end. Italian stocks fell slightly after stopping two consecutive declines on Wednesday
Among various sectors, rising industrial metals such as copper led to a 1.6% increase in basic resources in the mining sector, while automobiles rose 1.2%, and banks rose 1%, leading the way. Among individual stocks, after announcing a 25% year-on-year surge in sales in March to a record high, Swedish-listed Volvo rose 6.7%; after the media said that activist investor Sachem Head already held 3.6% of the company's shares, seeking a seat on the company's supervisory board and possibly dismissing the company's CEO, the German takeaway platform Delivery Hero rose 14.5%, leading the stock market share of Stoke 600.
After unemployment data, 10-year US Treasury yields fell more than 10 basis points from Wednesday's high
After the US stock market pre-market US unemployment data was released, the yield on the US 10-year benchmark treasury bond was first close to 4.38%, then quickly turned down and broke 4.33%. At the beginning of the session, the US stock market fell 4.32% to a new daily low, and then returned above 4.35%. The decline widened after the mid-day session of the Fed official's speech. The refresh date of US stocks broke 4.31% at the end of the session and fell more than 12 basis points from the high level since November 27, 2023, which was about 4.31% at the end of the bond market. It fell nearly 4 basis points during the day and settled down on Wednesday It declined for the first time this week and in the last five trading days.
After the unemployment data, the 2-year US Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to interest rate prospects, quickly fell below 4.68%. After the Fed official's speech in the midday session, it fell from an intraday high of 4.70% to a fresh daily low of 4.64% below 4.64%, breaking away from the high level since March 18, which was refreshed by 4.74% on Wednesday. By the end of the bond market, it was about 4.65%. By the end of the day, it fell by about 2 basis points during the day.
After unemployment data, the US dollar index quickly fell to a two-week low, and Bitcoin rose more than 4,000 US dollars in the intraday period, and at one point rushed to the 70,000 mark
The ICE US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the exchange rate of a basket of six major currencies including the US dollar against the euro, was basically declining throughout the day. It only rose to a new daily high above 104.20 at the beginning of the Asian session. The decline widened after US unemployment data was released. Before the market, US stocks fell below for the first time since March 22, and approached 103.92 in early trading, breaking the intraday low of more than 0.3%, then narrowed most of the decline.
By the close of the US stock market on Thursday, the US dollar index was below 104.30, falling slightly during the day; the Bloomberg US dollar spot index, which tracks the exchange rate of the US dollar against ten other currencies, fell slightly during the day and stabilized at the same time low since March 21, and the US dollar index fell for 3 consecutive days.
Among non-US currencies, the yen turned upward in the intraday period. The dollar rose to a new high of 151.80 against the US dollar before the US unemployment data was released, and quickly turned down after the data was released. After the mid-day decline expanded, the US stock market fell close to a new daily low of 0.4%. US stocks closed above 151.20, not like the high level since mid-1990, which was extremely close to the high level created by 152.00 on Wednesday; EUR/USD was close to 1.0880 at the beginning of the US market, and the pound broke 1.2680 at the beginning of the US stock market, and broke 1.2680 at the beginning of the US stock market. March 21 was at a high level since last Thursday. During the day, it rose by nearly 0.4% and nearly 0.3%, respectively. US stocks fell in midday trading. At the close of the day, the euro rose slightly during the day, and the pound fell less than 0.1% during the day.
The offshore renminbi (CNH) fell to 7.2513 against the US dollar in the Asian market. After the pre-market rise, European stocks jumped several times, jumped after the US unemployment data was released and quickly recovered from the 7.25 mark. The US stock market hit a new high of 7.2418 in early trading, up 95 points from the Asian market's intraday low. After the end of the session, the US stock market fell as low as 7.2528, falling 110 points from the daily high. At 4:59 Beijing time on April 5, the offshore RMB was 7.2492 yuan against the US dollar, down 4 points from the end of Wednesday's New York session, and fell after two consecutive days of gains.
Bitcoin (BTC) dropped to a new daily low of $651,000 in the Asian market, and continued to rise. US stocks rose to $693,000 in midday trading, leveling off all losses on Wednesday and returning to Tuesday's intraday level, rebounding more than $4,000 and up more than 6% from today's low. US stocks closed above $67,700, up about 3% in the last 24 hours, far from the low since March 24, when it fell below $64,600 on Wednesday.
Crude oil rallied more than 2% in midday trading and hit a five-month high in four days, oil surged above $90
International crude oil futures declined several times in the intraday period. At a new intraday low, US WTI crude oil fell below $84.70 and fell more than 0.9% during the day. Brent crude oil was close to $88.70, falling more than 0.7% during the day. After rising to a new high in midday trading, US oil rose above $87.20 and rose nearly 2.1% during the day. For the first time in five months, oil rose to 91.30 US dollars and rose nearly 2.2% during the day.
In the end, crude oil closed higher for five consecutive trading days, and closed for four consecutive days, hitting a new high in five months. WTI crude oil futures for May, which have been high since October 27, 2023 for three consecutive days, closed up nearly 1.36% to $86.59 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures for June, which closed for the fourth day, a new high since October 27, 2023, closed more than 1.45% to 90.65 US dollars/barrel, and US Oil both hit a new monthly contract closing high since October 20, 2023.
US gasoline and natural gas futures continued to rise and fall with mixed results. NYMEX's May gasoline futures closed up about 1.2% to 2.7942 US dollars/gallon, rising for three consecutive days, breaking the high level since August 2023; NYMEX's May natural gas futures closed down about 3.64% to 1.774 US dollars/million British thermal units, continuing to fall from the high level since March 6, which was refreshed on Tuesday.
Lunzinc rose nearly 4%, and Luntong reached a new high in nearly two years, and gold hit a record intraday high for 5 days, but closed down for the first time in 7 days
London basic metals futures closed higher across the board for the second day in a row on Thursday. Lun Zn, which led the rise, rose more than 3.8%, closing close to 2,650 US dollars for the first time since the end of last year, and Lunn Copper, Lunn Aluminum, and Lunnickel all rose for four consecutive days. Lun Copper rose slightly more than 1%. After closing at a 14-month high on Wednesday, it also broke through 9,300 US dollars for the first time in 14 months, and set a new closing high since June 2022; Lun Aluminum hit a new high since late February last year for 2 consecutive days; and Lunn Nickel hit a new high for more than 2 weeks. Lun lead, which rose more than 3% on Wednesday, rose more than 2.7%, rising to a high level for two to three weeks. Renxi has been rising for three days, and has repeatedly reached a new high position for more than two weeks.
New York gold futures declined several times in the intraday session on Thursday. US stocks fell as low as 2301.8 US dollars on the new day after the release of pre-market US unemployment data, falling nearly 0.6% during the day. Spot gold fell below 2,283 US dollars during the same period, falling more than 0.2% during the day. After fluctuating and rebounding, US stocks turned upward in the short term in early trading.
In the end, futures and spot gold, which had been rising for six consecutive trading days, closed down, falling to the highest closing record set for five consecutive trading days. COMEX's June gold futures closed down 0.28% to $2308.5 per ounce, and will continue to rise for two consecutive weeks this week.
Futures turned higher after closing. US stocks rose to $2325.30 at the end of the session. Spot gold and US stocks rose above $2305 at the end of the session, all of which hit record highs for five consecutive trading days. However, since then, spot gold has declined again. US stocks were below $2,287 at the close, falling nearly 0.6% during the day.
Editor/Jeffy