U. S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday, led by technology stocks. The market is still concerned about fiscal stimulus measures, vaccine research and development and international tensions. Russia announced the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine, but it was questioned by some medical experts. Gold futures fell 4.6% and silver tumbled 11%.

The Dow fell 104.53 points, or 0.38%, to 27686.91; the Nasdaq fell 185.53 points, or 1.69%, to 10782.82; and the S & P 500 fell 26.78 points, or 0.80%, to 3333.69.

Technology stocks generally fell, with Zoom down 7.6%, Netflix Inc 3.4%, Uber 3.3%, Tesla, Inc. 3.1%, Apple Inc 3%, Facebook Inc 2.6%, Microsoft Corp 2.3% and Amazon.Com Inc 2.1%.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 0.656%, above the 50-day moving average. Along with the sharp rise in US bond yields, US bank stocks rose collectively. JPMorgan Chase & Co rose by more than 3%, Wells Fargo & Co and Morgan Stanley by more than 2%, American Express Co by 1.6%, Citigroup, Bank of America Corporation and Deutsche Bank by more than 1%. Banking ETF-SPDR rose nearly 2 per cent.

A lot of Wall Street proposes to reduce their holdings of technology stocks

Some analysts believe that once there are signs that the worst of the coronavirus epidemic is over and the economy is likely to reopen more fully, money will shift from hot growth-led stocks, which have risen sharply recently, to more cyclical stocks.

Mark Haefele, chief investment officer of global financial management at UBS, said: "our core prediction is that the United States will not re-impose a national blockade, widespread use of vaccines will begin in the second quarter of 2021, and moderate restrictions on human activities should be sufficient to bring the epidemic under control. "

He said the combination of expansionary monetary policy and modest fiscal stimulus would bring US economic activity back to pre-coronavirus levels in 2022. With interest rates anchored near record lows, equity risk premiums could also return to normal levels before the outbreak, bringing the S & P 500 to 3500 by the end of June 2021, he added.

Wall Street bulls suggest reducing their holdings of technology stocks, thinking that the Nasdaq may fall by 10%. Julian Emanuel, Wall Street bullion and chief equity and derivatives strategist at BTIG, warned on Monday that the biggest winners in the US stock market may already be in a bubble, advising investors to consider reducing their exposure to large technology stocks.

In his view, Alphabet, the parent company of Facebook Inc, Apple Inc, Amazon.Com Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc-CL C, the top five technology stocks known as "FAAMG" stocks, is the most vulnerable. He is not sure what will pierce the bubble. It could be an escalation of geopolitical tensions, a US presidential election, or without warning, as it did when the interconnection bubble burst in 2000.

Adrian, Allianz's chief economic adviser, believes that a wave of corporate bankruptcies is the biggest risk of a rebound in U. S. stocks. "I don't think it's more geopolitical tensions or more political divisions that derailed this market," he said. It would be too bad if there were a large-scale bankruptcy. This is the reason why the market is derailed. Otherwise, there will be powerful technology to support this market. "

Russia's first coronavirus vaccine approved, questioned by medical experts

Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed that Russia's first coronavirus vaccine had been approved and registered by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning local time, and his daughter had taken the lead in vaccination. He thanked the R & D staff at a government meeting and expressed the hope that the vaccine would enter mass production as soon as possible.

The first registered coronavirus vaccine, named SPUTNIK V, will give people long-term immunity that lasts for two years, and is expected to go on sale on January 1, 2021, the Russian health minister said.

Russia has become the first country in the world to regulate and approve a coronavirus vaccine, less than two months after human vaccination testing of the vaccine began. Although the vaccine is expected to be mass produced by the end of this year, final trials must be completed.

The news of Russian registration of coronavirus vaccine has been questioned by medical experts. It is worth noting that the vaccine has been "scrambled" as soon as the second phase of clinical trials have been completed. In addition, the researchers have not released any experimental data, and it is not clear how effective and safe the vaccine is. For comparison, China is the first country in the world to conduct phase III clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine, but it is still waiting for the results of the trial.

A spokesman for the World Health Organization said that he hopes to review the relevant data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccine in Russia, is in close contact with the Russian health authorities, and is discussing the issue of vaccine prequalification.

Duncan Matthews, a professor of intellectual property law at Queen Mary University in London, said news of a potential coronavirus vaccine would be welcome, but safety must be a top priority.

Russian officials say 20 countries have initially ordered 1 billion doses of Russian coronavirus vaccine, although its safety and effectiveness have not been confirmed.

According to another report, the director of the Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF said that Russia has received requests from more than 20 countries around the world to buy 1 billion doses of Russian coronavirus vaccine.

Although there are doubts about whether Russia can develop a safe vaccine so quickly, the news sparked investor optimism about defeating the coronavirus epidemic.

White House adviser Conway announced on Tuesday that Trump will receive an update on the coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday and discussed six vaccine candidates. He said Trump will brief the media today on the vaccine news, which is more stringent in the United States than in Russia.

Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned on Tuesday that if Americans do not abide by the guidelines of wearing masks and social quarantine, the United States may deal with double outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 in the autumn and winter. There is a way to avoid the convergence of the two outbreaks, "but this is not wishful thinking."

Trump's executive order on anti-epidemic assistance is opposed by many states.

Investors are still watching the prospect of a new round of fiscal stimulus in Congress. Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump bypassed Congress and signed a series of executive orders aimed at expanding epidemic relief measures, allowing the federal government to provide some economic support without congressional action. Trump's actions were hit back by some states in the United States.

On Aug. 8, local time, Trump signed several executive orders aimed at extending some of the outdated relief measures for the coronavirus epidemic after talks with congressional Democrats stalled. One of the executive orders calls for additional unemployment assistance of $400 a week for the unemployed on the condition that states bear $100 of that.

The governors of New York and Kentucky respectively said that the decree on unemployment benefits recently signed by Trump was "not feasible" and that "if the president thinks this is a solution, the situation can only be worse."

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he advised Trump to "stop digging holes." "the executive order only makes the pit bigger," he said. The proposal to require states to allocate some money to supplement unemployment benefits "will only make states already in budget deficits more difficult."

Kentucky Governor Steven Beshir says it won't work. My motivation today is not to criticize or point out that the president's executive order is not intended to help, but to point out that the current plan is not feasible.

Some governors say local governments do not have the financial resources to pay extra unemployment benefits and may even cause some state governments to close down. Cuomo also said that the executive order will be "challenged by the courts in New York", while whether Trump has the right to issue such an order remains to be seriously examined by the law.

At present, both houses of Congress are on holiday, and negotiations on a new round of stimulus measures have stalled.

On Monday night, Trump also announced that he was "very serious" about cutting capital gains tax. Last September, Trump said that cutting the capital gains tax would not help the middle class, so he decided not to do so.

"We are also considering cutting capital gains tax, which will create more jobs," Trump said at a White House news conference. "

Without congressional support, the president cannot unilaterally cut long-term capital gains by 20 per cent, but some advisers have told him he can issue an executive order to cut taxes on investors when they sell assets. The move, known as "capital gains linked to inflation", adjusts the original purchase price at which assets are sold, so there is no need to pay tax on inflation-linked appreciation.

There may be legal challenges to changing the capital gains tax through regulations or executive orders, a concern that reportedly prompted the George-Bush administration to abandon similar plans.

Focus stocks

American Airlines Group, United Airlines, Delta Airlines and other aviation stocks strengthened.

BP P.L.C., Royal Dutch Shell, Eni Oil, TotalEnergies SE and other oil stocks climbed.

Affected by the collapse in the price of gold, gold stocks generally fell.

BioNTech SE's share price rose. Phase 2b/3 trials of the key BNT162 vaccine project for COVID-19 have been launched and clinical results are expected in October 2020.

Western oil companies suffered a huge loss of $8.4 billion in the second quarter, well below market expectations.

Chevron Corp submitted a final letter of intent to issue a note with a coupon of 0.333% due to mature in 2022 at a coupon of US $400m, with all guarantees provided by Chevron Corp unconditionally.

Three iPhone supply chain companies said they had not received a notice from Apple Inc to lower the iPhone12 shipping guidelines.

Other markets

Global market risk sentiment erupted and European stock markets rose sharply. France's CAC40 index closed up 2.37%, Germany's DAX30 index rose 2.01%, and the UK's FTSE 100 index rose 1.59%.

Gold futures prices recorded their biggest one-day drop in seven years on Tuesday. The optimistic outlook for vaccine development and the slowing growth of infections in the US have boosted venture capital appetite and sent gold prices down sharply.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday that Russia has become the first country to register an epidemic coronavirus vaccine, but his statement drew criticism from some medical experts.

Companies, including AstraZeneca PLC and Moderna Inc, are currently conducting final-stage trials of their vaccines, which are expected to produce results soon.

Under the background that the coronavirus epidemic has hit the economies of various countries, the price of gold futures has hit record highs recently. Progress in vaccine development is seen as a factor in the decline in gold prices, which tend to rise when uncertainty is high.

Gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $93.40, or 4.58%, to close at $1946.30 an ounce.

Gold suffered its biggest one-day drop in dollars since April 15, 2013 and its biggest one-day percentage decline since March 13 this year, according to Dow Jones market data.

Silver futures for September delivery also fell sharply. Silver futures fell $3.21, or 11%, to close at $26.049 an ounce. Silver futures suffered the biggest one-day drop in dollars since September 23, 2011, and the biggest one-day percentage decline since March 16 this year.

Crude oil futures closed lower on Tuesday, while US WTI crude oil futures fell from their highest intraday record since March.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) cut its forecast for US crude oil production this year and raised its oil price forecast for 2020, according to its monthly report.

Phil Flynn, a senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group, said the EIA report "supports higher oil prices", but said "oil cannot ignore the substantial revision of precious metals. He pointed out that the big sell-off in gold and silver on Tuesday "led to some sales of oil for margin calls." "

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery fell 33 cents, or 0.8%, to $41.61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The September contract rose to $42.94 in the current session, the highest intraday price since early March, according to FactSet.