Overnight U.S. Stocks | Three Major Indices Hit Historical Highs for Closing and Intraday, Tesla Rises Over 8%

According to Zhitong Finance, on Friday, all three major U.S. stock indices reached new closing and intraday historical highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average broke through the 44,000-point mark, rising to a maximum of 44,157.29 points. The NASDAQ reached a high of 19,318.56 points. The S&P 500 index surpassed the 6,000-point threshold, peaking at 6,012.45 points. This week, the Dow rose 4.61%, the NASDAQ increased by 5.74%, and the S&P 500 gained 4.66%.

[U.S. Stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 259.65 points, an increase of 0.59%, closing at 43,988.99 points; the NASDAQ rose 17.32 points, an increase of 0.09%, closing at 19,286.78 points; the S&P 500 index rose 22.44 points, an increase of 0.38%, closing at 5,995.54 points. Tesla (TSLA.US) rose 8.19%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) fell 0.84%, Apple (AAPL.US) fell 0.12%, and Amazon (AMZN.US) fell 0.89%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX 30 index fell 153.66 points, a decrease of 0.79%, closing at 19,213.95 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 70.12 points, a decrease of 0.86%, closing at 8,070.62 points; the French CAC 40 index fell 86.93 points, a decrease of 1.17%, closing at 7,338.67 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 49.81 points, a decrease of 1.03%, closing at 4,802.15 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index fell 15.00 points, a decrease of 0.13%, closing at 11,555.10 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 169.23 points, a decrease of 0.50%, closing at 33,812.00 points.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.3%, the Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia rose 0.6%, and the KOSPI index in South Korea fell 0.14%.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose 0.7%, trading at $76,447.89, continuing to set new historical highs; Ethereum rose over 2%, trading at $2,958.23 per coin.

[Crude Oil] U.S. WTI crude oil fell 2.7% on Friday. Traders eased concerns over long-term disruptions to crude oil supply due to hurricanes in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, leading to a decline in oil prices. The futures price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for December delivery fell by $1.98, a decrease of 2.74%, closing at $70.38 per barrel. This futures contract rose approximately 1.3% over the week.

[Gold] COMEX gold futures fell 0.52%, trading at $2,691.60 per ounce, with a cumulative decline of 2.09% this week. COMEX silver futures fell 2.20%, trading at $3.1410 per ounce, with a cumulative decline of 3.89% this week.

[Metals] LME copper futures fell by $220, closing at $9,444 per ton. LME aluminum futures fell by $74, closing at $2,620 per ton. LME zinc futures fell by $72, closing at $2,980 per ton. LME lead futures fell by $14, closing at $2,024 per ton. LME nickel futures fell by $190, closing at $16,397 per ton. LME tin futures fell by $169, closing at $31,648 per ton LME cobalt futures closed flat at $24,300 per ton.

[Macroeconomic News]

U.S. Consumer Confidence Index rises, inflation expected to slow next year. Boosted by Americans' optimism about the future economy and financial situation, the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index climbed to its highest level in seven months in November. The preliminary value of the University of Michigan's Consumer Confidence Index rose to 73, above the expected 71. The expectations index surged to 78.5, the highest since mid-2021. The optimistic outlook also reflects Americans' expectations for slowing inflation. Consumers expect prices to rise by 2.6% next year, the lowest level since 2020. However, expectations for inflation over the next 5 to 10 years rose to 3.1%. The survey was conducted from October 22 to November 4. Survey director Joanne Hsu stated, "Consumers have consistently indicated that the future of the economy depends on who wins the presidential election. Looking ahead, the economic policies of the next administration may become the most concerning issue for consumers regarding inflation and could drive their confidence in economic performance." The personal financial expectations index rose to its highest level since March, partly due to improvements in personal financial conditions. Confidence in long-term business conditions surged to a nearly four-year high.

JP Morgan: The Federal Reserve is expected to end balance sheet reduction in Q1 2025 rather than by the end of 2024. JP Morgan's Teresa Ho and other strategists expect that, given that liquidity conditions have normalized since the end of October, the Federal Reserve will end quantitative tightening (QT, or balance sheet reduction) in Q1 2025, previously expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The increase in U.S. Treasury bill and repo supply, along with money market funds seeking to extend to longer maturities amid weakening easing expectations, has drawn more funds from the Fed's overnight reverse repo facility.

S&P 500 Index first breaks through the 6000-point mark. Driven by information technology stocks, the S&P 500 Index crossed the significant psychological barrier of 6000 points for the first time on Friday, led by AI giant NVIDIA (NVDA.O). Following the announcement of the U.S. election results, all three major indexes surged to record highs, with analysts expecting companies to benefit from Trump's tax cuts and deregulation plans. Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth, stated, "The market is reacting to the low-interest-rate environment, and we have passed the earnings season without any controversy in the presidential election. I believe the election results were better than most expected. In fact, the (6000-point mark) doesn't mean much; it just confirms a good environment, giving investors a reason to remain optimistic." The S&P 500 Index has risen over 25% this year, steadily climbing since the end of the last bear market in October 2022. After breaking through 5000 points in early February this year, the index took only nine months to rise by 1000 points. In contrast, it took nearly three years to climb from 4000 points to 5000 points in April 2021.

U.S. media: Musk participated in the call between Trump and Zelensky, possibly indicating his future important role. According to sources cited by AXIOS, Tesla CEO Elon Musk participated in the call between U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky According to reports, Musk pointed out in a phone call that he would continue to provide access to the Starlink communication system for Ukraine. Axios speculates that Musk's involvement may indicate he will play an important role in the upcoming Trump administration. Sources say the call lasted about 25 minutes. It is reported that Trump promised to continue supporting Ukraine, but the two sides did not delve into details such as Trump's so-called plan to end the conflict or the prospects for further support for Kyiv from Washington.

The U.S. ends crude oil replenishment with profits reaching approximately $3.5 billion. The Biden administration announced on Friday that it has purchased the last batch of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Previously, the U.S. sold a record amount of strategic oil reserves in 2022 to address the rise in oil prices following the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The U.S. Department of Energy stated that it has purchased 2.4 million barrels of oil to refill the SPR, which will be transported to the SPR facility in Bryan Mound, Texas, between April and May next year. The department noted that this operation has exhausted the funds allocated for repurchasing more SPR. In 2022, the U.S. sold 180 million barrels of crude oil to raise nearly $17 billion in emergency revenue for repurchase, but Congress canceled about $2.05 billion to help offset the national deficit. After selling oil in 2022, the Biden administration repurchased 59 million barrels at an average price below $76 per barrel, far lower than the $95 per barrel price in 2022. The U.S. Department of Energy stated that this resulted in approximately $3.5 billion in profits.

Major U.S. banks hope Trump will ease regulations, proposed capital rules may be the first to be affected. This week, the mood among major U.S. banks has ranged from cautiously optimistic to exuberant, as they look forward to a new government that may ease regulations in the face of their common enemy, the Biden-era regulators. In recent years, regulatory tightening led by proposed capital increase regulations, also known as "Basel III finalization," has united the industry like never before in a concerted pushback. Large banks and their representative industry associations have spent millions of dollars lobbying, resulting in concessions as the Federal Reserve indicated it would introduce a more lenient version. This version has yet to be released. Now, industry executives believe the proposal is nearly dead, although regulators insist that regardless of who wins the election, they will strive to push the proposal into implementation.

【Individual Stock News】

Meta (META.US) CEO Zuckerberg not liable in lawsuit over social media harming children. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, dismissed allegations against Zuckerberg that he directed Meta to conceal serious mental health risks associated with using Facebook and Instagram from children. A federal judge stated that Zuckerberg bears no personal responsibility in 25 lawsuits accusing his company of making children addicted to social media. Plaintiffs claimed that Zuckerberg ignored repeated internal warnings about the risks and publicly downplayed these risks. However, the judge found insufficient specific details about what Zuckerberg did wrong and stated that "merely controlling company activities is not enough" to establish liability Stellantis NV (STLA.US) will lay off 400 workers at its Detroit parts plant. Stellantis increased the number of layoffs on Friday, stating that it will reduce 400 jobs at an auto parts plant in Detroit to cut costs for its underperforming North American business. The company said in a statement: "As the company enters a transitional period, the focus is on adjusting operations in the U.S. to ensure a good start in 2025."

Paramount (PARA.B.US, PARA.A.US) revenue falls short of expectations due to poor performance in cable and film studios. Paramount reported quarterly revenue that fell short of expectations on Friday, attributed to weak performance in its film studios and cable television business. Despite controlling costs and growing streaming users, the company's third-quarter profits exceeded expectations, but its stock price still fell over 5% as of the time of writing. Paramount+ streaming service added 3.5 million users in the third quarter, marking a significant turnaround compared to the 2.8 million users lost in the previous quarter. Revenue from Paramount's television media business declined by 6% due to reduced advertising spending and a drop in user numbers. Users decreased their cable television usage frequency, shifting to streaming platforms. According to LSEG data, Paramount's total revenue for the third quarter was $6.73 billion, below the expected $6.95 billion. Revenue from its film entertainment business dropped by 34%. The film studio released only one major theatrical film this quarter, which generated $127 million in box office revenue