Overnight US Stocks | CPI Returns to "2" S&P 500 Index Rises for the Fifth Consecutive Trading Day

According to the Wisdom Financial APP, on Wednesday, the three major indices rose, with the S&P 500 index rising for the fifth consecutive trading day. The overall CPI in the United States returned to the "2-digit" level in July, while the core CPI fell for the fourth consecutive month, and the market believes that the Fed will be able to cut interest rates soon.

[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 242.75 points, or 0.61%, to 40,008.39 points; the Nasdaq rose 4.99 points, or 0.03%, to 17,192.60 points; the S&P 500 index rose 20.78 points, or 0.38%, to 5,455.21 points. Google (GOOG.US) and Intel (INTC.US) fell more than 2%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) rose 1.6%, and Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 3%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index fell 1.6%, and Alibaba (BABA.US) fell 2%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX30 index rose 88.77 points, or 0.50%, to 17,894.85 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose 43.23 points, or 0.52%, to 8,278.46 points; the French CAC40 index rose 57.49 points, or 0.79%, to 7,333.36 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 31.63 points, or 0.67%, to 4,726.55 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 29.20 points, or 0.27%, to 10,753.00 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 311.55 points, or 0.97%, to 32,318.00 points.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.58%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index rose by 1.08%, and the Vietnam VN30 index rose by 0.13%.

[Gold] COMEX December gold futures fell 0.94% to $2,484.2 per ounce at the close; COMEX September silver futures fell 0.78% to $27.570.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell by more than 2.7% to $58,933.7 per coin; Ethereum fell by more than 1.4% to $2,663.85 per coin.

[Crude Oil] The price of WTI crude oil futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.37, or 1.75%, to $76.98 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures for October fell to $79.76 per barrel, down more than 1.15% or $0.93 intraday.

[Metals] London metals varied, with LME copper down 0.37%, LME zinc up 0.45%, LME aluminum up 0.09%, and LME nickel down 0.99%.

[Macro News]

US July inflation slows to 2.9%, below market expectations. The US unadjusted CPI for July recorded 2.9% year-on-year, slightly lower, while the unadjusted core CPI recorded 3.2% year-on-year and 0.2% month-on-month. Many investors and economists have become more concerned about the risk of an economic recession after the unexpectedly weak July employment report released earlier this month. However, many economists still believe that the US may avoid a recession in the near term. They point out that the recent rise in the unemployment rate was caused by temporary layoffs, and some analysts also believe that the slowdown in inflation is a positive factor In Wall Street, the recent debate is not whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon, but by how much. Some are betting that the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points in September.

Fed's Bullard: Increasingly Concerned About Employment Rather Than Inflation. St. Louis Fed President Bullard stated that given recent progress in price pressures and disappointing employment data, he is increasingly concerned about the labor market rather than inflation. Bullard said on Wednesday that the current interest rate level is "very restrictive," and he believes this stance is only appropriate in the case of an overheated economy. He did not comment on the possibility and magnitude of a rate cut at the Fed's September meeting. When asked about the balance between inflation and labor market risks, Bullard said, "I feel more and more concerned about the employment side." He pointed out that the recent rise in the unemployment rate may reflect more people entering the labor market, but it could also "indicate that we are not at a stable level, but moving towards a worse situation in the short term."

"New Fed News Agency": Path to Rate Cut in September Has Been Paved, Focus is on the Size of the Cut. Nick Timiraos stated that a rate cut is almost inevitable, and the focus of the September meeting will shift to whether the rate cut decision is unanimous, and whether it will be a 25 basis points cut or a 50 basis points cut. The reason why the size of the rate cut may become a focal point is that the U.S. labor market has recently shown potential signs of weakness, making the rationale for a rate cut in September even more compelling, even if inflation data is not as mild as the Fed expected. He believes that moderate inflation data may make three rate cuts this year more likely.

Bank of America: Strong Swiss Franc Intensifies Pressure on Swiss National Bank to Cut Rates. Bank of America stated that the rapid appreciation of the Swiss Franc in recent market turmoil has increased pressure on the Swiss National Bank to ease monetary policy in September. Bank of America analyst Kamal Sharma wrote in a report on Wednesday, "We attach great importance to the Swiss National Bank's focus on the real effective exchange rate (REER), which is its guide to whether current policy is appropriate, and this is also having an increasing impact on Swiss businesses," "This was undoubtedly a strong determining factor in the rate cut on June 20, and we believe it will have a similar effect before the September meeting." With rapid unwinding of global carry trades, the USD/CHF fell to 0.8522 on August 5, the lowest closing level since early January.

[Stock News]

Apple (AAPL.US) to Open Up Payment Chips to Third Parties and Charge Fees. After years of pressure from regulatory agencies including the EU, Apple announced on Wednesday local time that it will start allowing third parties to use iPhone's payment chips for transactions, enabling banks and other services to compete with the Apple Pay platform. Apple stated that developers can start using NFC-supported payment chips from iOS 18.1, and users can also set third-party payment apps as the default system, replacing Apple Pay. However, according to Wednesday's announcement, under the new payment method, Apple will still require developers to pay "relevant fees" for using NFC chips and sign "commercial agreements." Eli Lilly (LLY.US) Sends Cease-and-Desist Letters to Pharmacists to Stop Providing Generic Weight Loss Drugs. Eli Lilly Pharmaceuticals recently sent a wave of cease-and-desist letters to healthcare suppliers in the United States, demanding the industry to stop promoting generic versions of weight loss drugs. These letters were signed by multiple lawyers from Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Despite an increase in the supply of Mounjaro and Zepbound, the U.S. weight loss drug market still faces supply shortages. It is worth noting that as long as there is a shortage of drug supply, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows pharmacists to provide generic drugs.

Buffett's Latest Holdings: Apple's Share Reduced to 30% and Investments in Beauty Stocks. The 13F filing shows that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway increased its holdings in Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) and Aon Insurance in the second quarter. They reduced their holdings of Apple (AAPL.US) by 389 million shares, reducing their stake to 30.52%, and also reduced holdings in Chevron (CVX.US) and T-Mobile. They completely sold off Snowflake (SNOW.US) and Paramount Global (PARA.US). They initiated positions in beauty company Ulta Beauty (ULTA.US) and aerospace company HEICO (HEI.US). By the end of the second quarter, Berkshire Hathaway's total holdings value decreased from $332 billion to $280 billion.

Hillhouse's HHLR Increases Stake in Alibaba in the Second Quarter. Hillhouse's HHLR Advisors disclosed their U.S. stock holdings as of the end of the second quarter of 2024. Data shows that in the second quarter, HHLR held a total of 78 stocks in the U.S. market, with a total holding value of approximately $4.054 billion. Specifically, in the second quarter of this year, HHLR increased its holdings of Alibaba (BABA.US) by 5.24 million shares, making it the third largest holding, increased holdings in Vipshop (VIPS.US) by 14.61 million shares, and also increased holdings in Netease (NTES.US), Ctrip (TCOM.US), and other Chinese concept stocks. They reduced their holdings in Pinduoduo (PDD.US) by 2.9 million shares, but it remains their top holding, and reduced holdings in KE Holdings (BEKE.US) by over 6 million shares. Among the seven tech giants in the U.S. stock market, Apple, Nvidia, Google, and Meta were increased, while Amazon and Microsoft were reduced.

[Major Bank Ratings]

Wells Fargo: Lowered Dell Technologies' target price from $175 to $150, maintaining a "Buy" rating.

DA Davidson: Lowered CrowdStrike's target price from $380 to $290, still maintaining a "Buy" rating