As of the close of Wednesday Eastern Time, the three major US stock indexes collectively closed higher, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.09% and the Nasdaq up 1.18%, marking the seventh consecutive day of gains. The S&P 500 index rose 1.02%, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 index continued to reach historic highs, with the S&P breaking below 5600 points for the first time in history.
Large tech stocks generally rose, with Nvidia rising more than 2%, Apple, Microsoft, and Google rising more than 1%, and Tesla rising less than 1%, marking the eleventh consecutive day of gains.
Popular Chinese concept stocks fluctuated, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index falling 0.04%.
On the news front, according to foreign media reports, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell visited Capitol Hill again and attended the semi annual monetary policy report hearing in the US House of Representatives as scheduled. Powell stated that the Federal Reserve has made significant progress in combating inflation and does not need to wait until the inflation rate drops to 2% before starting to lower interest rates.
Powell claimed at the hearing that recent data shows further progress in inflation, and more positive data will enhance the central bank's confidence in inflation returning to the 2% target, without specific inflation numbers to determine interest rate cuts. "We will return to the inflation level of 2%, and I am quite confident that there is no need to wait until the inflation rate drops to 2% before starting to lower interest rates."
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 index both hit new highs
As of the close, the three major US stock indexes have collectively risen, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reaching new closing highs. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 429.39 points, or 1.09%, to 39721.36 points; The Nasdaq rose 218.16 points, or 1.18%, to 18647.45 points; The S&P 500 index rose 56.93 points, or 1.02%, to 5633.91 points.
Most large technology stocks rose, with Amazon up 0.23%, Netflix down 1.18%, Google up 1.16%, Facebook up 0.88%, and Microsoft up 1.45%. Tesla rose 0.35% for the 11th consecutive trading day, with a cumulative market value increase of $242.3 billion (approximately RMB 1.77 trillion).
In addition, Apple rose 1.88% for seven consecutive trading days, with a total market value approaching $3.6 trillion.
According to Interface News, on July 10th, a report released by industry research firm IDC showed that the global shipment of personal computers in the second quarter of this year was 64.9 million units, a year-on-year increase of 3%. Among them, the shipment volume of Apple and Acer led the increase in major manufacturers, with year-on-year growth of 20.8% and 13.7%, respectively. According to Canalys data, the global personal computer (PC) market shipped 62.8 million units in the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%. The shipment volume of laptops (including mobile workstations) reached 50 million units, a year-on-year increase of 4%. Desktop computers (including desktop workstations) account for 20% of the total PC market, slightly increasing by 1%, with a total shipment volume of 12.8 million units. Among them, the performance of Apple Mac is relatively strong, with a year-on-year increase of 6% in shipment volume, which is higher than the overall PC market growth rate. Meanwhile, Lenovo, HP, and Dell still rank among the top three in the global PC market.
Bank stocks mostly rose, with JPMorgan Chase up 0.05%, Goldman Sachs up 1.27%, Citigroup up 0.62%, Morgan Stanley up 0.83%, Bank of America up 0.75%, and Wells Fargo down 0.3%.
Chip stocks rose generally, Micron Technology rose 4%, Chaowei Semiconductor rose 3.87%, Asma rose 3.68%, TSMC rose 3.52%, Grid chip rose 2.74%, NVIDIA rose 2.69%, Intel rose 0.81%, Qualcomm rose 0.81%, and Broadcom rose 0.66%.
Popular Chinese concept stocks fluctuated, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index falling 0.04%. Xiaopeng Automobile rose more than 7%, Ideal Automobile rose more than 3%, Futu Holdings, iQiyi, Baidu, and NIO rose more than 2%, while Alibaba, Weibo, and Pinduoduo rose slightly. NetEase fell more than 3%, Tencent Music and Bilibili fell more than 1%, while Manbang, JD.com, and Vipshop saw a slight decline.
In terms of international oil prices, the futures price of light crude oil for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange increased by 69 cents, closing at $82.10 per barrel, an increase of 0.85%; The London Brent crude oil futures for September delivery rose 42 cents to close at $85.08 per barrel, representing a 0.50% increase.
In terms of precious metals, as of press release, COMEX gold futures rose 0.46% to $2378.9 per ounce, and COMEX silver futures rose 0.17% to $31.11 per ounce.
Federal Reserve Chairman Powell speaks out
According to foreign media reports on the 9th local time, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed concerns on Tuesday that prolonged high interest rates could jeopardize economic growth. He stated that despite recent economic cooling, the economy and labor market remain strong. Powell mentioned that inflation has eased somewhat and stated that decision-makers are determined to lower inflation to the target of 2%.
"Meanwhile, given the progress made in reducing inflation and cooling the labor market over the past two years, high inflation is not the only risk we face," he said in a prepared speech. "Reducing policy restrictions too late or too little may excessively weaken economic activity and employment."
CNBC
This statement coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Federal Open Market Committee's last hike in benchmark interest rates.
At present, the overnight lending rate of the Federal Reserve remains in the range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest level in 23 years. This is the result of 11 consecutive interest rate hikes after inflation reached its highest level since the early 1980s.
The market expects the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates in September and may further lower rates by 0.25 percentage points before the end of the year. However, members of the Federal Open Market Committee only hinted at a rate cut at the June meeting.
In recent days, Powell and his colleagues have stated that inflation data is somewhat encouraging after an unexpected surge at the beginning of the year. The inflation rate measured by the Federal Reserve's preferred personal consumption expenditure price index was 2.6% in May, and its peak in June 2022 exceeded 7%.
"After our 2% inflation target lacked progress earlier this year, readings in recent months have shown moderate further progress," Powell said. "More positive data will enhance our confidence that inflation is continuing to move towards the 2% target."
This statement is part of the semi annual monetary policy update authorized by Congress. After his speech, Powell will face questioning from members of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
Several Democratic committee members urged Powell to cut interest rates as soon as possible.
"I am concerned that if the Federal Reserve waits too long to cut interest rates, it may undermine the progress we have made in creating high paying jobs," Senate Banking Committee Chairman and Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown told Powell. "If unemployment rates rise, you must take immediate action to protect American jobs. If the Federal Reserve excessively pursues inflation targets, leading to a completely unnecessary recession, workers will suffer heavy losses."
However, Powell emphasized that the Federal Reserve is not involved in politics and will not intervene in policy positions beyond its role. In his prepared speech, he emphasized the importance of the "independent operations" required for the Federal Reserve to complete its work.
His other speeches focused on the relationship between policy stance and the overall economy. Recent data shows that the unemployment rate is rising, while the overall growth measured by gross domestic product is slowing down. In June, both the manufacturing and service industries reported contraction.
However, Powell stated that the data shows that "despite a slowdown in GDP growth, the US economy is still growing steadily.". He said, "Domestic private demand remains strong, however, although the growth of consumer spending has slowed down, it remains stable."
