According to Zhithong Finance, on Friday, the three major indexes fell, and Federal Reserve Board member Waller expressed an open attitude towards a substantial rate cut. The three major indexes have fallen this week, with the Dow falling 2.93%, the S&P 500 falling 4.25%, and the Nasdaq falling 5.77%. The S&P 500 index recorded its worst weekly performance since March 2023.

In the U.S. stock market, as of the press release, the Dow Jones fell 410.34 points, a decrease of 1.01%, to 40345.41 points; the Nasdaq fell 436.83 points, a decrease of 2.55%, to 16690.83 points; the S&P 500 index fell 94.99 points, a decrease of 1.73%, to 5408.42 points. Broadcom (AVGO.US) fell more than 10%, Tesla (TSLA.US) fell by 8.45%, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US), and Nvidia (NVDA.US) fell by more than 4%. Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun sold 2.4 million shares of Nvidia stock on September 4-5, cashing out $25.8 million. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 0.77%, Xpeng (XPEV.US) and Li Auto (LI.US) fell by about 3%, while Nio Inc (NIO.US) rose 3.7%.

In the European stock market, the German DAX30 index fell 297.16 points, a decrease of 1.60%, to 18298.35 points; the UK FTSE100 index fell 58.26 points, a decrease of 0.71%, to 8183.45 points; the France CAC40 index fell 79.66 points, a decrease of 1.07%, to 7352.30 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 75.40 points, a decrease of 1.57%, to 4739.75 points; the Spain IBEX35 index fell 94.10 points, a decrease of 0.83%, to 11179.40 points; the Italy FTSEMIB index fell 383.80 points, a decrease of 1.14%, to 33301.00 points.

In the Asia-Pacific stock market, the Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.72%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index rose by 0.53%, and the Vietnam VN30 index rose by 0.48%.

In the Gold market, U.S. gold futures closed down by 0.7%, at $2,524.6. Standard Chartered Bank analyst Suki Cooper stated, "We believe that the Fed may further reduce interest rates, at which point the price of gold will face upward risk. As the situation develops this year, we will begin to see the price of gold move towards $2,700 per ounce."

In the Cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin fell by more than 5.4%, to $53,129; Ethereum fell by more than 7%, to $2,197.33.

US WTI crude oil futures prices fell more than 2% on Friday, dropping to their lowest level since June 2023, marking the worst weekly performance in nearly a year for this benchmark crude. Despite the decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to postpone production increases to stabilize oil prices, the market remains concerned about global demand. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.48, a decrease of over 2.1%, to close at $67.67 per barrel, setting a new low since June 2023.

London metals fell, with nickel down more than 1.1%, zinc down more than 1%, aluminum down more than 1.6%, and copper down more than 1.5%.

Macro news

The moderate growth of non-farm payrolls in the USA in August and the decrease in the unemployment rate. Despite the decline in the unemployment rate, the US hiring in August remained lackluster, which could exacerbate the current debate about the size of the interest rate cut the Federal Reserve should adopt. Data released by the Labor Department on Friday showed that non-farm payrolls in the US increased by 0.142 million in August, with data for the previous two months being revised downward by a total of 0.086 million. The unemployment rate for August dropped to 4.2%. Following the release of the data, US bond yields fell, S&P 500 index futures continued to decline, and the decline in the US dollar widened. The report shows that the job market is losing momentum. While layoffs are still largely suppressed, many companies are delaying expansion plans due to high borrowing costs and uncertainty ahead of the November presidential election. Hiring in the healthcare and social assistance sectors drove the increase in employment. Hiring in the construction and government sectors also increased. The diffusion index, which measures the breadth of employment growth, increased. The participation rate in August remained unchanged at 62.7%. The participation rate of workers aged 25-54 declined for the first time since March.

Federal Reserve official Bostic will preview the proposed changes to bank capital regulations next week. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Bostic, responsible for supervision, will preview the revisions to the proposed bank capital reform on September 10. According to the announcement of Brookings Institution, Bostic will discuss the proposed amendments and the next steps. Bostic and Fed Chair Powell have previously stated that they intend to make broad and substantive changes to the capital plan, a move that has drawn strong opposition from the industry. In July of this year, Powell participated in a closed-door meeting with some chief executives of major banks, encouraging them to work with the Fed to avoid a long legal battle over the capital reform plan.

Federal Reserve Governor Waller: Open to larger rate cuts. Federal Reserve Governor Waller said on Friday that the time for a series of rate cuts to start this month has come, and added that he is open to the size and speed of the cuts. "If the data supports consecutive rate cuts, then I believe that consecutive rate cuts are appropriate. If the data indicates the need for a larger rate cut, then I will also support that." Two weeks ago, Fed Chairman Powell stated at the annual meeting of central banks around the world that given the progress made in inflation and the cooling of the labor market, the time had come to ease policy. Waller used the same language but his comments were more forceful, suggesting that he was willing to start with a larger 50 basis point cut. Data released earlier on Friday showed an average of 0.116 million new jobs added monthly over the past three months. Waller said that this data, along with other recent data, "reinforces the view that the job market continues to slow."

The third-ranking member of the Federal Reserve Williams: It is now appropriate to lower interest rates. John Williams, President of the New York Federal Reserve (enjoying a permanent vote on the Fed's Open Market Committee and known as the Fed's third-ranking member), said in a speech that the economy is in balance and inflation is heading towards 2%, so it is appropriate to lower the policy stance by reducing the federal fund target range. Later, during the discussion, Williams said that he wants to study the August non-farm payroll report more carefully, while pointing out that the latest data "confirms what we have been seeing all along - a slowing economy and a cooling labor market." Williams later told reporters that the employment data further confirmed the cooling labor market. He said he had no idea whether the Fed should cut rates by 25 or 50 basis points.

Former US Treasury Secretary: Weak employment brings the Fed closer to a 50 basis point rate cut. Former US Treasury Secretary Summers stated that although the August non-farm payroll report was not particularly bad, it did make it more difficult to predict the extent of the rate cut by the Fed this month. Summers said in an interview, "Although the data did not show a very clear weakness, if you are concerned about the recent trend in the statistics, then these data will certainly not provide you with assurance of economic health." "The probability of a 25 or 50 basis point rate cut in September seems to be closer compared to one or two months ago." Summers said that ultimately, the size of the initial action by the Fed is not important. Officials will closely monitor the development of the economic outlook and adjust policies accordingly. He said, "If the economy weakens significantly, they will make a substantial cut. If the economy does not truly weaken significantly, they may cut rates at about one meeting per rate."

[Individual stock news]

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRK.A.US, BRK.B.US) further reduced its stake in Bank of America. According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company sold slightly over 18.7 million shares of Bank of America stock this week. After Bank of America's last earnings report exceeded expectations and its stock price hit a two-year high, Berkshire Hathaway has been reducing its stake in the bank. Bank of America's stock price reached a recent high of $44.13 on July 16, but has since fallen back. However, the price is still nearly 18% higher than at the beginning of the year. In fact, Berkshire Hathaway has been selling Bank of America stock for nine consecutive trading days. Data shows that the company has sold Bank of America stock every trading day over the past nine days, reducing its holdings from slightly under 0.95 billion shares at the beginning of the month to approximately 0.864 billion shares at Thursday's close.

Microsoft (MSFT.US) has appointed Rodrigo Kede Lima as the new President of Microsoft Asia. Rodrigo Kede Lima has been appointed as the new President of Microsoft Asia, effective immediately, replacing Ahmed Mazhari, who held the position for five years. Both individuals will work together to ensure a smooth transition until September 30, 2024. In his new role, Rodrigo will leverage his experience in driving digital transformation and collaboration to lead Microsoft's work in the region. He will lead a diverse team of 30,000 employees across 20 countries, dedicated to unlocking Asia's innovation potential and creating opportunities for sustainable economic recovery and prosperity. Rodrigo will report to Judson Althoff, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Microsoft. Judson Althoff said, "I am delighted to welcome Rodrigo Kede Lima as the new President of Microsoft Asia. Rodrigo brings extensive experience and recognized leadership in driving digital transformation, making him the ideal candidate for this position. His commitment to empowering our employees, customers, and partners is crucial to our leadership in AI transformation in the region and to making a significant impact on the communities we serve. I would also like to thank Ahmed Mazhari for his significant contributions in building a trusted partner reputation for Microsoft in Asia."

Faraday Future (FFIE.US) announced a $30 million financing commitment. The California-based company has announced that it has secured a $30 million financing commitment from investors in the Middle East, the United States, and Asia. The new financing commitment includes $7.5 million from previous financing and $22.5 million in new investments in the form of convertible notes and warrants to purchase additional ordinary shares of the company.

Bank review:

BMO: Maintains a buy rating for Microsoft (MSFT.US) and a target price of $500.