Breakfast | PDD plunges nearly 30%, causing Chinese concept stocks to collapse, the US discovers a 30% fatality rate for encephalitis, 4 cities urgently locked down

Last night, the three major U.S. stock indexes diverged, with the Dow hitting a new intraday high. By the close, the Dow rose 0.16%, the Nasdaq fell 0.85%, and the S&P fell 0.32%. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury rose by 0.447% to close at 3.818%, with a spread of -12 basis points compared to the two-year Treasury yield. The VIX fear index rose by 1.83% to 16.15, and Brent crude oil closed up 2.44%.

Pinduoduo plummeted nearly 30%, dragging down Chinese concept stocks

Most Chinese concept stocks closed lower, with the KWEB falling by 3.15%. Pinduoduo dropped by 28.51% as its Q2 revenue fell short of expectations, leading to a decline in e-commerce stocks, with Alibaba falling by 4.27% and JD.com by 3.84%.

TSMC fell by 1.29%, Li Auto by 2.31%, New Oriental by 3.22%, Bilibili by 4.55%, and Luckin Coffee by 4.67%. Miniso rose by 2.58%, XPeng by 7.13%. XPeng CEO He Xiaopeng recently increased his holdings of the company's stock by about HKD 100 million and plans to further increase his stake.

iPhone 16 is coming! Apple announces new product launch event on September 10

Apple announced that it will hold a press conference at its Cupertino headquarters in California on September 10th, Beijing time, where it is expected to unveil a new iPhone and Apple Watch.

The event will be live-streamed on Apple's official website and YouTube platform. Since 2020, Apple has been using pre-recorded videos to launch new products.

It is worth mentioning that Apple replaced its CFO, causing the stock price to briefly drop by 1% after hours. Apple announced the appointment of Kevan Parekh as CFO to replace Luca Maestri, effective January 1, 2025, as part of a "planned transition." Currently, Kevan Parekh is the Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at Apple. Apple's stock price fell by 1% after hours.

IBM shuts down R&D department in China, affecting over 1000 employees

According to Yicai, IBM China has confirmed that it will completely shut down its R&D department in China, affecting over 1000 employees. The closure of the R&D department mainly involves two business lines: IBM China Development Lab (CDL) and IBM China Systems Lab (CSL), which are mainly responsible for research and testing. IBM will provide N+3 compensation for affected employees. China was once IBM's most well-established market outside the U.S. This closure marks a significant turning point in IBM's 40-year development history in China.

XPeng self-developed chip goes into production, with three times the computing power of peers, designed for AI

XPeng Motors' self-developed intelligent driving chip has successfully gone into production. Informed sources revealed that XPeng's intelligent driving chip is specifically designed for AI needs, end-to-end large models, and features a central computing architecture chip that supports cockpit integration, with "AI computing power close to the level of three mainstream intelligent driving chips." Additionally, on August 27, during XPeng's 10th anniversary and M03 launch event, the company will officially release information about its self-developed chip. Responding to rumors about the upcoming chip unveiling, XPeng Motors' Chairman and CEO subtly expressed on his personal Weibo account, "I will definitely not disappoint everyone."Investors fear missing out on the uptrend, Goldman Sachs: S&P 500 index expected to hit new highs this week

According to Scott Rubner, Global Market Director and Tactical Expert at Goldman Sachs, strong company buybacks and systematic fund inflows are expected to drive the S&P 500 index to new historical highs this week, further exacerbating investors' Fear of Missing Out (FOMO).

In a report sent to clients on Monday, Rubner wrote, "We estimate that there will be $17 billion in daily buying demand from algorithmic trading and companies this week." He also pointed out that the U.S. stock market will see a very positive three-week trading window leading up to September 16.

The S&P 500 index fell by 0.3% on Monday, but is less than 1% away from its historical closing high on July 16.

Rubner reiterated the views of Goldman Sachs' trading team, stating that the Federal Reserve's dovish turn on interest rates, especially Fed Chairman Powell's speech last Friday, has given the green light to leveraged trading, therefore "the trading direction of the stock market will continue to rise until mid-September."

Oil prices surge over 3%! "Double Storm" of Middle East Tensions and Libya Halting Exports

According to Bloomberg, the eastern government of Libya announced on August 26 that it would declare "force majeure" on all oil fields, ports, and oil facilities, halting all oil production and exports in response to the Tripoli government's attempt to take over the Libyan Central Bank.

In addition, according to CCTV News yesterday, Hezbollah announced that it has begun a large-scale attack on Israel, escalating tensions in the Middle East. The latest news indicates that the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces stated that Iran will independently decide to respond to Israel.

With the combination of these two pieces of news, concerns about supply disruptions have surged, causing oil prices to jump nearly 3% today, with Brent crude briefly touching $81 and U.S. crude rising above $77.

Deadly Case of "Eastern Equine Encephalitis" Discovered in U.S. East Coast: 30% Fatality Rate, 4 Towns Urgently Implement Night Lockdowns

According to the Associated Press, a rare and deadly case of Eastern Equine Encephalitis has been reported in the northeastern state of Massachusetts in the United States, with a 30% fatality rate. To prevent the spread of the disease, four high-risk towns have implemented night lockdowns starting on the 21st