*The S&P 500 index hit a new high
*Meta's daily market value surged by nearly $200 billion
*The United States added 353000 new non-farm workers in January
The positive financial reports of technology stocks boosted US stocks, and the S&P 500 index hit a new high. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 134.58 points, or 0.35%, to 38654.42 points; The S&P 500 index rose 52.42 points, or 1.07%, to 4958.61 points; The Nasdaq closed at 15628.95 points, up 267.31 points, or 1.74%.
In summary, both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indexes rose 1.4% for the week, while the Nasdaq rose 1.1%. All three major stock indexes achieved four consecutive positive weekly trends.
Meta's daily market value surged by nearly $200 billion
Meta, Amazon, and Apple performed differently after their performance disclosures, with all three tech giants releasing their Q4 2023 financial reports after Thursday's trading hours.
Meta surged 20.3% throughout the day, making it the best performing component of the S&P 500 index on Friday, with its stock price reaching a new high. The company released strong financial results after hours on Thursday, with net profit more than doubling year-on-year. It also announced the implementation of its first quarterly dividend payout and a $50 billion stock buyback plan.
Stimulated by the above news, Meta's market value increased by $19.7 billion in a single day to $1.2 trillion, marking the largest daily market value increase in history and breaking the record set by Apple and Amazon for $190 billion in 2022. The personal wealth of co-founder Zuckerberg of the company has also skyrocketed. According to media statistics, his assets have surged by $28 billion in a single day, and his current value is $165 billion, surpassing the net asset value of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Amazon closed up 7.9% on Friday with a market value of $1.8 trillion, while Apple closed down 0.5% with a market value of $2.9 trillion.
The financial reporting season is still ongoing, and according to financial data firm LSEG, the S&P 500 index is expected to increase earnings per share by 7.8% in the fourth quarter of last year, far exceeding the expected 4.7% three weeks ago before major banks disclosed their results. Based on this trend, the previous quarter will also be the best quarter of 2023. Among them, the performance of energy, healthcare, and technology enterprises is particularly outstanding.
Lisa Shalett, Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, believes that high-quality growth stocks will be the best choice for investors this year amidst stock market volatility. She said that it is still at the end of the cycle, and the market will swing between accelerating and decelerating growth. As the Federal Reserve's stance has shifted from "higher interest rates lasting longer" to "the end of the interest rate hike cycle" and is expected to implement loose policies in 2024, asset prices have significantly increased compared to three months ago. She further stated that currently, in the context of slowing growth and inflation, and the Federal Reserve's planned interest rate cuts, high-quality growth stocks often perform better than the overall market.
January's non farm payroll report exploded
Investors are also digesting the latest employment report. Prior to trading, the latest data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that 353000 new non-farm workers were added in January, almost twice the expected value of 185000, with a previous value of 333000; The unemployment rate is 3.7%, which has remained at this level for three consecutive months, with an expected value of 3.8%; The key indicator that determines the trend of inflation is the acceleration of wage levels. In January, wages increased by 4.5% year-on-year, with a previous value of 4.1%. On a month on month basis, the average hourly wage growth rate was 0.6%, with an expected value of 0.3% and a previous value of 0.4%.
George Mateyo, Chief Investment Officer of Key Private Bank, a wealth management company, commented, "There is no doubt that the surge in employment growth will prove that the Federal Reserve's recent stance is correct, ruling out the possibility of a rate cut in March." He also stated that the combination of strong employment growth and higher than expected wage growth may mean that the timing of the 2024 rate cut will be further delayed, causing market participants to readjust their expectations.
Chicago Fed Chairman Austan Goolsbee recently stated that he will not overly focus on monthly data and that if the labor market maintains a strong momentum, it will alleviate the Fed's concerns about the deterioration of the job market. He stated that the January report is unlikely to have a direct impact on the recent policy path.
In terms of commodities, strong non farm data has led to a significant increase in US dollar and US bond yields, with gold prices falling on Friday. Spot gold fell 0.9% on Friday to $2037.49 per ounce, with a cumulative increase of 0.6% this week, remaining above the key level of $2000 per ounce since the beginning of the year; US gold futures fell 0.8% to $2054.50 per ounce.
Brent crude oil futures fell $1.37, a decrease of 1.7%, to close at $77.33 per barrel on Friday, while WTI crude oil futures closed at $72.28 per barrel, a decrease of $1.54, a decrease of 2%. This week, both Meiyou and Buyou have accumulated a decline of about 7%.