Source: Global Market News
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released data showing that the U.S. PPI increased by 1.7% year-on-year in August, slightly below expectations, marking the lowest level since February; it increased by 0.2% month-on-month, higher than the expected 0.1%. At the same time, the July PPI was revised down from 2.2% to 2.1%, further indicating that inflation pressure is easing. In addition, in the week of September 7th, the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits was 0.23 million, an increase of 2000 from the previous reporting period, higher than the market's expected 0.225 million.
US stocks were mixed in the morning of Thursday, May 12th, Beijing time. As of the time of writing, $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ decreased by 0.2%, $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ increased by 0.24%, $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ Up 0.05%. The S&P 500 index is expected to record gains for the fourth consecutive day. The 0.2% increase in the US August PPI meets expectations. In addition, the European Central Bank announced a 25 basis point rate cut.
The performance of U.S. stocks was volatile yesterday, with late gains in tech stocks helping U.S. stocks rebound. The S&P 500 index closed up 1.07%, falling by over 1% at one point during the day. This is the first time since October 2022 that the index has experienced such a large amplitude. The Dow rose 124.75 points, but was down 743.89 points at one point in the morning. The Nasdaq rose 2.17%, but was down by over 1% in the morning. Chip maker Nvidia's stock price continued to rise, following Wednesday's gains. The company's CEO, Huang Renxun, claimed on Wednesday that there is a "huge" demand for its Blackwell AI chips, and the stock rose by over 8%, almost single-handedly leading Wednesday's market reversal.
Huang Renxun stated that Nvidia's products have become the most sought-after commodity in the tech sector, with customers competing for limited supply, especially the limited growth in supply of AI chip Blackwell, leading to some customer frustration. He also hinted that if necessary, Nvidia would reduce reliance on [169.7, 0.09, 0.05%] and turn to other chip manufacturers for supply.Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM)Wednesday's morning announcement of the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) showed that core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy prices, continued to rise, scaring investors who were expecting a half-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve at the meeting on September 17-18.
Lauren Goodwin, Chief Market Strategist at New York Life Investment Management, said: "The inflation report we saw on Wednesday confirms a trend we've been observing over the past few months, and now the Fed is less focused on inflation, and more focused on economic growth, which I think is appropriate. The Fed's approach has completely changed the market's reaction."
On Thursday, economic data showed that the U.S. Labor Department reported that the Wholesale Price Index in August rose by 0.2% month-on-month, meeting expectations. This is the last inflation data before the Fed's monetary policy meeting. The market is currently widely expecting the Fed to cut rates next week.
Yesterday's U.S. stock market was volatile, and late gains in tech stocks helped the market rebound. The S&P 500 index closed up 1.07%, falling by over 1% at one point during the day. This is the first time since October 2022 that the index has experienced such a large change. The Dow rose 124.75 points, but was down 743.89 points at one point in the morning. The Nasdaq rose 2.17%, but was down by over 1% in the morning. Chip maker Nvidia's stock price continued to rise, following Wednesday's gains. The company's CEO, Huang Renxun, claimed on Wednesday that there is a "huge" demand for its Blackwell AI chips, and the stock rose by over 8%, almost single-handedly leading Wednesday's market reversal.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday that the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the cost of goods and services received by producers, rose by 0.2% year-on-year, in line with the average expectation of economists surveyed by Dow Jones.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the U.S. PPI rose by 0.3% month-on-month in August, slightly higher than the market's general expectation of 0.2%. After excluding trade services, the core PPI rose by 0.3% month-on-month in August. Compared to a year ago, the PPI in August increased by 1.7% year-on-year. Excluding food, energy, and trade, the core PPI increased by 3.3% year-on-year.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Labor also reported that for the week ending September 7th, the number of initial jobless claims was 0.23 million, an increase of 2,000 from the previous reporting period, higher than the market's expected 0.225 million. However, analysts pointed out that the data for last week's survey period includes the U.S. Labor Day holiday. The number of initial jobless claims around public holidays tends to fluctuate. In addition, for the week ending August 31st, the number of continuing jobless claims was 1.85 million, a slight increase of 0.005 million from the previous reporting period.
In July, the number of continuing jobless claims soared to the highest level since the end of 2021, but mostly declined by August. This decline is consistent with the decrease in the unemployment rate last month. Analysis suggests that although the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. increased slightly last week, it indicates that the number of layoffs is still very low, even as the U.S. labor market slows down.
On Thursday, in terms of overseas central bank news, the European Central Bank announced another 25 basis points cut in interest rates. On the local time of the 12th, the European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, decided to lower the deposit facility rate by 25 basis points to 3.5%; lower the refinancing rate by 60 basis points to 3.65%; lower the marginal lending rate by 60 basis points to 3.9%.
In June of this year, the European Central Bank lowered all three key interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since it stopped raising rates in October last year. In July, the European Central Bank decided to maintain the three key interest rates in the euro area.
Key sectors & stocks
Spot gold hit a record high of $2,542 per ounce, and gold stocks on the U.S. market collectively rallied, with B2Gold up nearly 10%, Coeur Mining up 8%, Iamgold up more than 5%, Harmony Gold and Pan American Silver up more than 4%.
Chinese auto stocks fell across the board, with "We Car" leading the decline, NIO down more than 8%, XPeng down more than 7%, Li Auto down more than 4%, and Cango down nearly 3%.
$PDD Holdings (PDD.US)$ Rising more than 2%, its overseas e-commerce platform Temu surpassed eBay to become the world's second largest e-commerce website.
$United States Steel (X.US)$ Up nearly 4%, the company's CEO and new executives of Nippon Steel are still working hard to facilitate the acquisition.
$Micron Technology (MU.US)$ Down nearly 6%, it was downgraded by Exane to "underperform the market", with a target price lowered to $67.
$Moderna (MRNA.US)$ The company's revenue expectations for 2025 have been reduced by nearly 18%.
Editor/rice