Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes both rose for the 5th consecutive day this week, marking the largest weekly gain since November last year; S&P is only 0.7% away from its all-time high; Chairman promises no shareholding reduction, Trump's media technology group sees a surge towards the end of trading; Suspected 'Tesla Robotaxi spy photos' emerge.
September 14th, Caixin News (Editor Shi Zhengcheng): Last night and this morning, on the third trading day before the official start of the Fed's rate cut cycle, US stocks continued to rise moderately. Both Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes closed higher for the fifth consecutive day this week, marking the largest weekly gain since the 'V-shaped reversal' in November last year.
As of the closing on Friday, the S&P 500 rose by 0.54% to 5626.02 points. It has increased by 4.02% this week, marking the largest weekly gain since November last year. It is currently only 0.7% away from the previous high of 5669.67 points.
(S&P 500 weekly chart, Source: Wind)
Nasdaq index rose by 0.65% to 17683.98 points; it has also increased by 5.95% this week, marking the largest weekly gain since November last year.
(Nasdaq index weekly chart, Source: Wind)
Dow Jones Industrial Index closed higher by 0.72% at 41393.78 points; it has increased by 2.6% this week, marking the largest weekly gain since mid-August. The index is currently about 0.5% away from the previous high of 41585.21 points.
(Dow Jones Industrial Index daily chart, Source: Wind)
The core factor affecting Friday's market was the well-known journalist Nick Timiraos, known as the "Fed megaphone".
In an article on Thursday, he talked about the Federal Reserve's "rate-cutting dilemma". Although the article considered a 25 basis point rate cut to be a prudent option, it also listed a large number of reasons to support a 50 basis point rate cut - for example, if the Fed expects to cut rates by 100 basis points throughout the year, why wait until November or December instead of cutting 50 basis points next week?
The article also mentioned a viewpoint from Jon Faust, a former senior advisor to Powell who left earlier this year. Faust stated that the "overall rate cut magnitude in the coming months" is more important than whether the first rate cut is 25 or 50 basis points. Faust believes that for next week, a 25 or 50 basis point cut is actually a very similar choice.
In the latest guidance, the probability of a 50 basis point rate cut next week rose to 45%, after falling to single digits earlier this week.
(Source: CME "Fed Watch")
Of course, for Chinese investors, the debate between the "25 group" and the "50 group" can be put aside for now. According to Powell's consistent style of doing things, if there really is an unexpected 50 basis point rate cut next week, the "Fed megaphone" will continue to provide guidance before the end of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Other news
[Possible "Tesla Robotaxi Spy Shots" Surface]
Spy photos that appeared on the social media Reddit forum show a uniquely shaped and heavily disguised small vehicle in the Tesla fleet preparing for the October launch event at Warner Bros. Studios in California. Internet users quickly identified it as the upcoming Cybercab. Consistent with the concept image in the book 'Elon Musk', the Tesla Robotaxi is a two-door, two-seat compact car with larger rear wheels and a long strip taillight similar to the Cybertruck.
United Airlines and SpaceX have reached an agreement on satellite internet cooperation.
This week, United Airlines signed an agreement with SpaceX, and SpaceX's Starlink will provide satellite internet services to United's aircraft. United Airlines plans to equip all of its more than 1,000 aircraft with Starlink service within the next few years. Testing will begin in early 2025, and the first batch of passenger flights is expected to take place later that year.
Uber has expanded its partnership with Waymo in the development of self-driving taxis.
On Friday, local time, the U.S. online car-hailing platform Uber announced that it will launch self-driving taxi services in Austin and Atlanta in collaboration with Waymo, a subsidiary of Alphabet, starting in early 2025. As a result, Uber's stock price surged 6.45% on Friday.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT), Donald Trump, who is currently running for president of the United States, stated on Friday afternoon that he has no plans to sell the company's stocks. As a result, DJT, which has fallen 60% in the past six months, saw a temporary rise of nearly 30% near the close on Friday and ultimately closed up 11.79%.
DJT went public by acquiring a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in March of this year. The lock-up period of six months theoretically expires as early as next week. Even under the current conditions where the price has fallen below the March level, Trump can still make an unexpected windfall of over $1 billion by selling stocks.
Chairman of the Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT), Donald Trump, who is currently running for president of the United States, stated on Friday afternoon that he has no plans to sell the company's stocks. As a result, DJT, which has fallen 60% in the past six months, saw a temporary rise of nearly 30% near the close on Friday and ultimately closed up 11.79%.
MicroStrategy purchased 0.018 million bitcoins.
Compared to stocks, MicroStrategy, a US-listed company, is more like a bitcoin fund. On Friday, the company announced that it spent nearly $1.11 billion to purchase approximately 0.0183 million bitcoins between August 6 and September 12, with an average transaction price of $60,408. As of September 12, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries held approximately 0.2448 million bitcoins.
Boosted by the rebound in bitcoin prices on Friday, MicroStrategy rose by 8.18%.