On the previous trading day, the US January CPI data far exceeded expectations, pouring cold water on the market. On February 14th local time, Federal Reserve officials calmed market sentiment. Chicago Fed Chairman Goolsby said that the market does not need to overreact to a month's inflation data. Even if inflation levels are slightly higher than expected in the coming months, the Fed can still successfully achieve its goal of reducing inflation to 2%. Decision makers should avoid waiting too long before cutting interest rates.
After a brief pullback, the US stock market returned to an upward trend, and the three major indices collectively rebounded. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151.52 points, or 0.40%, to 38424.27 points; The S&P 500 index rose 47.45 points, or 0.96%, to 5000.62 points; The Nasdaq rose 203.55 points, or 1.30%, to 15859.15 points.
After Wednesday local time, Buffett suddenly announced the sale of Apple stocks. The latest 13F file for the fourth quarter of 2023 released by Berkshire Hathaway, a subsidiary of Buffett, shows that Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings of 10 million shares of Apple stock in the fourth quarter of last year. At this point, the company's shareholding in Apple has decreased to 5.9%.
The founder of Amazon cashed out $4 billion in four trading days. According to a document submitted by Amazon to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), founder Jeff Bezos sold a total of 24 million Amazon shares worth $4 billion last Wednesday (February 7), Thursday, Friday, and Monday.
Popular Chinese concept stocks generally rose, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closing 3.45% higher. Nvidia's stock price rose by over 2%, surpassing Google to become the third largest company in the US stock market. Uber surged over 14% and announced plans to repurchase up to $7 billion in stocks. Just last week, Uber announced that the company achieved annual profits for the first time last year.
There are new trends in the virtual currency market. After breaking through the important threshold of $50000, Bitcoin continued to strengthen on the 14th, reaching $52000 per coin during trading. Since the beginning of the year, the cumulative increase has exceeded 22%, and its market value has exceeded $1 trillion for the first time since December 2021.
The three major US stock indices have collectively rebounded
On February 14th local time, the three major US stock indices rebounded their gains. However, on the previous trading day, the three major US stock indexes collectively fell by more than 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the worst record since March 2023. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 151.52 points, or 0.40%, to 38424.27 points; The S&P 500 index rose 47.45 points, or 0.96%, to 5000.62 points; The Nasdaq rose 203.55 points, or 1.30%, to 15859.15 points.
Most large technology stocks rose, with Tesla, Meta, and Nvidia rising more than 2%. Among them, Nvidia surpassed Google to become the third largest company in the US stock market. Amazon rose more than 1%, while Microsoft and Google slightly rose.
Popular Chinese concept stocks generally rose, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closing 3.45% higher. TAL and Gaotu rose by over 6%, NIO and Xiaopeng Motors rose by over 5%, JD.com and Bilibili rose by over 4%, and Alibaba, Pinduoduo, NetEase, and Baidu rose by over 2%.
Huatai Securities stated that the rebound in US inflation has pushed back expectations of interest rate cuts, but the sustainability remains to be seen. The strong CPI and growth data highlight the resilience of US corporate cash flow, which may come from sustained support from fiscal easing and the boost of industry cycles such as artificial intelligence. In this context, even if the timing of interest rate cuts is pushed back, it is still driven by stronger than expected cash flows in the real economy, rather than a manifestation of a lagging monetary policy cycle. Therefore, the overall macro environment is still favorable for the performance of risk assets.
Buffett reduces his holdings in Apple
After Wednesday local time, Buffett suddenly announced the sale of Apple stocks. The latest 13F file for the fourth quarter of 2023 released by Berkshire Hathaway, a subsidiary of Buffett, shows that Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings of 10 million shares of Apple stock in the fourth quarter of last year. At this point, the company's shareholding in Apple has decreased to 5.9%.
After the reduction, Apple remains Berkshire Hathaway's largest holdings, accounting for 50.19% of disclosed assets. According to the stock price of Apple on the 14th, Buffett's holdings in Apple are worth approximately $167 billion.
Bezos sells Amazon shares again
The founder of Amazon cashed out $4 billion in four trading days. According to a document submitted by Amazon to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), founder Jeff Bezos sold a total of 24 million Amazon shares worth $4 billion last Wednesday (February 7), Thursday, Friday, and Monday. In early February, Amazon stated in a document submitted to the SEC that Bezos had developed a trading plan to sell 50 million Amazon shares by January 31, 2025. Currently, Bezos remains the largest shareholder of Amazon.
Multiple positive factors boosted Uber's surge of over 14%
On Wednesday local time, the stock price of Uber, a well-known US technology company, surged significantly. As of the close of the day, the company's stock price rose by over 14% to $79.15 per share. Looking at the extended period, the company's stock price has risen by over 28% since the beginning of the year.
On the news front, Uber announced that it will repurchase up to $7 billion in stocks. This is the first disclosure of the company's plan to return capital to shareholders after achieving operating profit and sustained positive free cash flow in 2023.
Uber CFO Prashanth Mahendra Rajah stated in a statement that the repurchase plan is a "vote of confidence in the company's strong financial momentum". He said, "On the issue of the pace of repurchase, we will carefully consider taking action to partially offset stock based compensation and strive to achieve a sustained reduction in the number of stocks."
Last week, Uber announced that the company achieved annual profits for the first time last year. Last December, Uber was included in the S&P 500 index and stated that it was on a "very clear path" towards an investment grade credit rating.
In addition, Uber also looks forward to the growth prospects of its total pre order volume over the next three years, with an expected growth rate of around 15%. The company also expects the adjusted EBITDA to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 30% to 40%.
Bitcoin rises above $52000 per coin
After breaking through the important threshold of $50000, Bitcoin continued to strengthen on the 14th, reaching $52000 per coin during trading. According to CoinGecko data, Bitcoin has accumulated a growth rate of over 22% since the beginning of the year, and its market value has exceeded $1 trillion for the first time since December 2021.
Boosted by the strength of Bitcoin, Bitcoin concept stocks rose, with Riot Platforms (RIOT. US), Coinbase (COIN. US), Marathon Digital (MARA. US) up over 14%, and Cann. US up over 31%.
Can Bitcoin continue its upward trend? Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, a liquidity provider for digital asset derivatives, said, "We expect Bitcoin's rise to briefly pause before it 'halves' after a stunning four month rebound."
IG Australia Pty market analyst Tony Sycamore stated in a report that despite the deterioration of risk sentiment overnight, Bitcoin has shown impressive resilience. However, he also said that another technical analysis in the form of charts suggests that Bitcoin may temporarily drop to around $30000.
In the options market, traders are betting that the target price of Bitcoin is expected to exceed the record of nearly 69000 set in November 2021.
