Caifinance News on October 29 (Editor: Zhao Hao) On Monday, October 28, the three major US stock indexes collectively rose, as the easing of geopolitical tensions boosted risk sentiment in the financial markets.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.65% to 42,387.57 points; the S&P 500 Index rose by 0.27% to 5,823.52 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index rose by 0.26% to 18,567.19 points, approaching historical highs.

Two days ago, Israeli warplanes and missiles launched attacks on Iranian air defense and military bases, not targeting Iranian oil facilities. Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei did not call for retaliation, greatly easing short-term concerns about oil supply, leading to a more than 6% fall in both crude oil futures.

According to Israeli media, before striking Iran, Israel not only alerted the United States in advance but also informed Iran in advance through 'multiple third parties'. Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif stated that Iran had received relevant information before Israel's attack on Iran.

At the close, among the 11 sectors in the S&P 500 Index, only two recorded declines, with the energy sector falling by 0.65% and the information technology sector slightly down by 0.07%. Five out of the 'Big Seven' will reveal quarterly earnings reports this week, and there is also the non-farm payroll report on Friday.

Mike Dickson, Head of Research and Quantitative Strategy at Horizon Investments, stated, 'Given the relatively high overall valuations of the 'Big Seven', people will closely monitor whether they can continue to achieve these growth figures.'

Chris Larkin, Trading Director at E*Trade, said, 'This week's performance of large tech stocks and employment data will provide a lot of potential momentum for the short-term market dynamics. However, it remains to be seen whether investors are willing to wait until next week after the election ends before making a move, especially considering the volatility of the past two weeks.'

Larkin pointed out that the US stocks were sold off in the week before the elections in 2016 and 2020, but saw a significant rebound after the elections. Callie Cox, Chief Market Strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, believes that the pre-election tension has not yet manifested in the stock market.

Cox mentioned that the S&P 500 index has not experienced daily fluctuations exceeding 1% this month, marking the first October since 2017 without a 1% daily swing. It could also be the first October in an election year without significant volatility since 1968.

Cox said, "The next two weeks will be very busy. While the election will be the hottest topic, the market may be more concerned with a series of corporate earnings and economic data. The results could be chaotic, especially in terms of employment."

Popular stocks performance

Large-cap tech stocks had mixed performances, with Apple up 0.86% (by market cap), Nvidia down 0.72%, Microsoft down 0.36%, Google C up 0.81%, Amazon up 0.30%, Meta up 0.86%, and Tesla down 2.48%.

Due to multiple gambling platforms bullish on Trump winning the US election, Trump Media Technology Group (code: DJT) closed up 21.59%, seeing a cumulative rise of 194.71% this month; conservative media platform Rumble rose by 14.08%, with a month-to-date increase of 20.90%.

Cryptocurrency concept stocks rose across the board, with MARA Holdings up 11.02%, Riot Platforms up 9.54%, Canaan up 9.15%, and MicroStrategy up 8.96%.

Philips US stocks fell by 15.95% as the company lowered its sales growth forecast for this year; Ford Motor tumbled over 5% in after-hours trading, with company performance outlook below market expectations.

In terms of China concept stocks, the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose by 4.05%, closing at the highest level since October 15.

Most of the popular Chinese concept stocks rose, with Miniso up 10.51%, Nio Inc up 10.46%, Xpeng up 8.98%, New Oriental up 5.65%, JD.com up 4.36%, Baidu up 3.72%, Tencent Music up 3.05%, PDD Holdings up 2.71%, Alibaba up 2.58%, Li Auto Inc up 1.18%, and TAL Education up 0.18%.

Company news

【Apple launches iMac with M4 chip, First Phase of AI Functionality Officially Launched】

Apple Inc. devices enter a "new era" as the company introduces the first phase of the Apple Intelligence AI functionality and unveils a new iMac desktop featuring the M4 chip. The company announced on Monday that the new iMac starts at the same price as the previous model at $1,299, offering faster processing speed and an enhanced neural network engine for AI tasks. The product will be available starting on November 8. Additionally, Apple stated that its Apple Intelligence software is now available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. While Apple introduced broader applications of AI in June, the initial phase only covers a small part.

【Meta Developing AI Search Engine to Reduce Dependence on Google and Microsoft】

Meta is developing a search engine that can crawl the web to offer conversational answers about current events to users of the Meta AI chatbot. The company aims to catch up with OpenAI in AI development. According to a source familiar with the search engine team, Meta hopes to reduce reliance on Google Search and Microsoft Bing, which currently provide news, sports, and stock information to users of Meta AI. A person involved in the strategy mentioned that if Google or Microsoft were to withdraw from these arrangements, it could also provide Meta with an alternative.

【Eli Lilly IL-23 Inhibitor Omvoh Shows Long-Term Efficacy in Treating Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease】

Research results released by Eli Lilly on Monday show that Mirikizumab (brand name Omvoh) has long-term efficacy in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease. The pharmaceutical company claims that based on the results of three Phase 3 studies for moderate to severe active UC and Crohn's disease, Omvoh is the first and only IL23p19 antagonist to report long-term, multi-year, sustained efficacy and safety for both conditions.

Robinhood, the popular brokerage firm, is entering the US election gambling market by allowing users to bet on contracts involving Harris or Trump.

The popular brokerage firm Robinhood announced that starting from Monday, eligible US citizens can trade election prediction contracts for Harris and Trump, meaning they can bet on who will win the election. With about eight days left until the US presidential election, Robinhood wasted no time in announcing that their users can now start placing bets on the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election.

Ford Motor's full-year adjusted EBIT outlook falls short of expectations.

Ford Motor's adjusted eps in the third quarter was $0.49, in line with analysts' expectations; third-quarter revenue was $46.2 billion, analysts expected $41.88 billion; expected full-year adjusted EBIT of approximately $10 billion, analysts expected $10.63 billion, the company originally expected $10 billion to $-12 billion; still forecasting full-year adjusted free cash flow of $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion; expected full-year capital expenditure of $8 billion to $8.5 billion, analysts expected $8.3-9 billion, the company originally expected $8 billion to $9 billion.