Before the heavyweight PCE inflation, the Dow fell for the third consecutive day, AI concept cooled down, BIDU-SW dropped by 8% after the earnings report, and Bitcoin rose above $60,000.

On Thursday, before the heavyweight inflation indicator PCE price index kicked off the year, the U.S. economic data released on Wednesday was a mixed bag: The annualized real GDP for the fourth quarter was slightly revised down to 3.2%, below expectations. Personal consumption expenditure for the quarter remained strong, but inventory levels were revised down. The economy grew by 2.5% for the whole of last year, exceeding Wall Street's expectations at the beginning of the year; in the fourth quarter, the core PCE unexpectedly rose slightly to 2.1%, highlighting the continued existence of inflationary pressures.

After the release of the revised U.S. GDP data, bond prices in Europe and the United States rose, yields fluctuated downward, hitting daily lows, and the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, which had been rising for several days, fell for the first time this week, not approaching the high point set in the past two months. The Invesco DB US DLR Index TR Bullish Fund, which had rebounded to a one-week high earlier, gave back most of its gains during the day, but overall rebounded. Analysts expect the PCE price index for January to show faster growth than in December, consistent with the signs of rising U.S. inflation shown by the CPI and PPI data released two weeks ago.

Major U.S. stock indices opened lower across the board, with tech giants like NVIDIA and other members of the "Seven Sisters" seeing simultaneous declines during trading. Some AI concept stocks that surged on Tuesday also cooled off, with SoundHound.ai, in which NVIDIA holds shares, falling by over 10%. Chinese concept stocks also fell, with Li Auto falling on the first day after announcing its earnings report, ending its consecutive days of double-digit gains; despite a 6% year-on-year increase in revenue in the fourth quarter driven by AI technology for marketing, Baidu's profits were dragged down by AI investments, with net profits falling 48% below expectations, causing its stock price to drop from its high point over a month ago.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin continued its frenzy, breaking through the $60,000 mark for the first time in over two years during trading, surging over $7,000 at one point, continuing to set new highs for over two years since the beginning of the week. Bitcoin-related stocks soared as a result. After the official listing and trading of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States over a month ago, many institutions are considering issuing new cryptocurrency ETFs, which will slow down the halving of Bitcoin supply in April, fearing missing out on this trend, which has been a driving force behind Bitcoin's recent surge.

In the commodity market, international crude oil, which had been rebounding for several days, turned lower during trading, with U.S. oil falling from the high point set over a week ago on Tuesday. Investors are concerned about the slow rate of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, and the U.S. Energy Department's announcement of a higher-than-expected increase of about 4.2 million barrels in U.S. EIA crude oil inventories last week, marking the fifth consecutive week of increases, signaling weak demand and dampening oil prices, offsetting the impact of news that OPEC+ may extend voluntary production cuts into the second quarter. After the EIA inventory announcement, the oil price, which rose during the trading session, gave back its gains. U.S. oil returned to a downward trend, while Brent oil's prompt contract barely managed to close higher. Gold turned higher after the U.S. GDP announcement, with spot gold maintaining its upward momentum thereafter. However, gold futures ultimately closed lower, failing to approach the two-week high set last Friday.

Dow and Nasdaq hit a one-week low, chip stocks underperforming the market, AI concept stocks falling, and Bitcoin concept stocks rising against the market

The three major U.S. stock indexes all opened lower and remained in a downward trend during the session. When hitting a daily low in the morning, the Nasdaq Composite Index fell by nearly 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by about 230 points, nearly 0.6%, and the S&P 500 Index once fell by nearly 0.4%. In the end, they all closed lower for the second day of the week, with the Dow falling for three consecutive days and the S&P and Nasdaq, which rebounded on Tuesday, falling back.

The Dow fell by 23.39 points, a decrease of 0.06%, closing at 38,949.02 points, while the Nasdaq fell by 0.55%, closing at 15,947.74 points, both hitting their lowest closing levels since Wednesday, February 21. The S&P fell by 0.17%, closing at 5,069.76 points.

Value stocks dominated the small-cap Russell 2000 index, which initially fell by 0.8% and closed down by 0.23%, falling from the four-day consecutive high since the closing high on February 15. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell by 0.54%, and the Nasdaq Technology Market Cap Weighted Index (NDXTMC), which measures the performance of tech stocks in the Nasdaq 100, fell by over 1% in the morning and closed down by 0.91%, failing to approach the closing historical high set last Thursday.

In the S&P 500's major sectors, four closed lower on Wednesday, with the communication services sector where Google is located falling by over 0.9%, the IT sector where Nvidia and other chip stocks are located falling by over 0.5%, healthcare falling by about 0.5%, and energy falling by 0.2%. Among the seven sectors that closed higher, real estate rose by over 1%, and the copper sector rose by less than 0.4%.

Including Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Google's parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Tesla, the seven major tech stocks all fell together for four consecutive trading days. After the announcement that Tesla's electric sports car Roadster will be launched by the end of the year, Tesla has maintained its upward momentum, only briefly turning lower in the morning. It rose by about 2.8% when hitting a daily high in the morning, closing up by nearly 1.2%, rising for three consecutive days to its highest closing level since January 24.

Among the six major FAANMG tech stocks, Alphabet fell by over 2% at midday after being accused by 32 media groups of causing losses in its digital advertising business and being involved in a €2.3 billion lawsuit, closing down by 1.9% and falling to its lowest level since January 5. At midday, Apple fell by over 1%, closing nearly 0.7% lower, approaching the low point since November 6, 2023, set on Monday; Meta fell by 0.6%, Amazon by 0.2%, Netflix by nearly 0.9%, while Microsoft saw a slight increase.

Chip stocks continued to decline overall, underperforming the broader market. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Semiconductor Industry ETF SOXX both fell by 1.1%, marking a two-day decline to a weekly low since February 21. Nvidia initially fell by 2% in the morning, briefly turned positive, and closed down by 1.3%, extending the two-day decline from the record high set on Monday; at the close, Arm fell by nearly 3%, Applied Materials by over 2%, Intel by 1.7%, and AMD by 0.8%.

AI concept stocks, on the whole, retreated, with some of the stocks that surged on Tuesday experiencing significant declines. SoundHound.ai (SOUN), which rose nearly 20% on Tuesday, initially fell by over 10% and closed down by 7.6%. BigBear.ai (BBAI), which surged by 38% on Tuesday, also initially fell by over 10% and closed down by 8.5%. Super Micro Computer (SMCI), which fell by nearly 3% against the market on Tuesday, closed down by over 4%. Palantir (PLTR), which rose by over 4% on Tuesday, fluctuated several times during trading and closed down by nearly 0.5%. Adobe (ADBE) closed down by 0.1%. C3.ai (AI), which rose by over 4% on Tuesday, fell by over 3% in the morning and closed down by nearly 1.4%. After announcing third-quarter revenue growth exceeding expectations by 18% after hours, it quickly turned positive, surging by over 10%.

Bitcoin-related stocks rose against the market trend, with the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) surging by over 6% during trading and closing up by 0.8%. MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR), one of the companies holding the most Bitcoin, surged by nearly 16% during trading and closed up by around 10.5%. Bitcoin mining giant Canaan (CAN) surged by 13% during trading and closed up by 5.7%.

Popular Chinese concept stocks followed the overall market decline. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC), which rose for five consecutive trading days, closed down by nearly 1.7%, bidding farewell to the high point since December 29, 2023, set on Tuesday. Chinese concept ETFs KWEB and CQQQ closed down by approximately 3.1% and 4.7%, respectively. Among individual stocks, Baidu, which announced its earnings before the close, fell by around 8%, dropping from the high point set on January 11 since Tuesday. XPeng fell by nearly 7%, Bilibili by over 6%, Nio and JD.com by over 5%, Alibaba and Tencent by nearly 4%, Pinduoduo by over 2%, Li Auto, which rose by nearly 19% and 12% on Monday and Tuesday respectively, fell by around 2%, marking its first decline since announcing earnings on Monday, and NetEase fell by nearly 0.8%.

Among the stocks that announced earnings, Beyond Meat (BYND), the plant-based meat giant, which reported a lower-than-expected decline in fourth-quarter revenue and plans to significantly reduce costs this year, surged by 30.7%. After announcing a dividend increase of $0.02 and a new $2 billion share buyback, e-commerce company eBay (EBAY) rose by 7.9%. In the fourth quarter, fashion retailer Revolve (RVLV) closed up 22.1% with revenue and profit higher than expected. However, dating app Bumble (BMBL) fell by 14.8% due to unexpected EPS losses in Q4, lower-than-expected Q1 profit guidance, and the announcement of 350 job cuts. Vaccine stock Novavax (NVAX) dropped by 26.7% as Q4 revenue and profit were below expectations. Insurance company Lemonade (LMND) fell by 27.7% despite Q4 losses being lower than expected, but Q1 and full-year guidance were disappointing. Cloud software company Salesforce rose by less than 0.1%, with Q4 revenue higher than expected but annual guidance falling short, dropping 7% after-hours. Cloud computing data company Snowflake (SNOW) fell by 1.7% after announcing lower-than-expected Q1 product revenue guidance and the CEO's retirement, dropping over 20% after-hours.

In European stocks, the pan-European index fell for the second day this week. The STOXX 600 index hit a new closing low since last Wednesday. Major European stock indexes had mixed performances. The German stock market hit a record high for five consecutive trading days, while the French stock market rebounded and approached the closing historical high set last Friday. On the other hand, the UK and Spanish stock markets fell for three and two consecutive days respectively, with Italian stocks falling after a rebound on Tuesday.

In various sectors, real estate led the decline by over 1.8%, with London-listed Taylor Wimpey dropping nearly 4.8% due to a decrease in annual profits and reduced construction plans for this year. The technology sector fell by 1.4%, with ASML, the highest-valued chip stock listed in the Netherlands, dropping by 1.1% after hitting a record high on Tuesday. The personal and household goods sector dropped by 1.2%, mainly due to the investigation affecting Middle East operations, with UK consumer goods giant Reckitt seeing a 13.3% drop in Q4 same-store net sales below expectations, marking the largest daily decline since December 1999.

In the US, after the GDP data release, US Treasury yields fell to a daily low. European bond prices rose in response to the decline in US bonds. By the end of the bond market session, the UK's 10-year benchmark bond yield was around 4.18%, down about 1 basis point intraday; the 2-year UK bond yield was around 4.32%, down about 1 basis point intraday; Germany's 10-year benchmark bond yield was around 2.46%, down about 1 basis point intraday; the 2-year German bond yield was around 2.91%, down about 1 basis point intraday.

In the US, the 10-year benchmark Treasury yield initially rose to 4.31% in the Asian market early session, hitting a daily high. After the US GDP data release, it briefly dropped to 4.27%, a daily low, then rebounded to 4.71%, a daily high. However, as the US stock market opened, it continued to fall, not approaching the high of 4.35% set on December 1, 2023, since last Friday. By the end of the US stock market session, it fell below 4.27% and was around 4.26% by the end of the bond market session, down about 4 basis points intraday after rising for two consecutive days. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to interest rate prospects, hit a daily high of 4.70% in the early Asian session, but accelerated its decline after the U.S. GDP was announced. The U.S. stocks fell below 4.64% in the late session, continuing to move away from the high of 4.74% reached last Friday and the high of December 11 last year. By the end of the bond market session, it was around 4.64%, dropping more than 5 basis points intraday, marking the second consecutive day of decline and the third day of decline in the last six trading days.

Various U.S. bond yields fell together on Wednesday, with short-term bond yields leading the decline.

The Invesco DB US Dollar Index TR Bullish Fund rebounded to a one-week high, giving back most of its gains after the GDP announcement, and Bitcoin rose above $60,000 for the first time in over two years.

The ICE Invesco DB US Dollar Index TR Bullish Fund (DXY), which tracks a basket of six major currencies including the U.S. dollar against the euro, surged in the early Asian session and maintained its upward trend. European stocks rose above 104.20 in pre-market trading, hitting a high since February 20, with an intraday increase of nearly 0.4%. After the U.S. GDP was announced, U.S. stocks accelerated the retracement of gains. By midday, U.S. stocks fell below 103.90, with an intraday increase of less than 0.1% and a slightly expanded gain by midday.

By the end of Wednesday's U.S. stock market close, the Invesco DB US Dollar Index TR Bullish Fund was slightly below 104.00, up 0.1% intraday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the U.S. dollar against ten other currencies, rose nearly 0.2%, rebounding to a high since February 19.

Among non-U.S. currencies, the Japanese yen failed to maintain its rebound from Tuesday, with the U.S. dollar against the yen rising above 150.80 in early U.S. stock trading, hitting a high since February 13. By the U.S. stock market close, it rose over 0.1%. The euro against the U.S. dollar fell below 1.0800 in early European stock trading, hitting a low since last Wednesday, with an intraday drop of over 0.4%. By the U.S. stock market close, it fell by less than 0.1%. The British pound against the U.S. dollar approached 1.2620 in early European stock trading, falling nearly 0.5% intraday, but did not reach the high since February 2 created last Thursday. By the U.S. stock market close, it fell nearly 0.2%.

The offshore Chinese yuan (CNH) rose to a daily high of 7.2115 in the early Asian session, but fell to 7.2203 in pre-European stock trading after the early Asian session. It broke below 7.22 for the first time since February 16, dropping 88 points from the daily high. European stocks rose multiple times during the pre-market session, while U.S. stocks continued to decline after turning lower in early trading. At 5:59 am on February 29th Beijing time, the offshore Renminbi against the US dollar was reported at 7.2141 yuan, down 2 points from the New York closing on Tuesday, marking a fifth consecutive day of decline after a six-day rally.

Bitcoin (BTC) surged above $60,000 in pre-market trading in the US, breaking this key level for the first time since November 2021. It further rose to over $63,900 during the US trading session, approaching $64,000, hitting a new intraday high for over two years. It surged over $7,000 and more than 10% from the low below $56,700 in the early Asian session, but later retraced more than half of the gains. At midday, it briefly dropped below $59,000 before climbing back above $60,000, closing above $60,000 and below $61,000, with a more than 5% increase in the last 24 hours.

After breaking the $60,000 mark, Bitcoin briefly approached $64,000, then retraced more than half of the gains, dropped below $59,000, and eventually climbed back above $60,000.

Crude oil falls from over a week high, Brent barely closes higher, hitting a three-month high

International crude oil futures turned lower during the European stock pre-market session. When European stocks refreshed daily lows, US WTI crude oil fell below $77.80, dropping nearly 1% intraday, while Brent crude's main contract fell below $81.60, down over 1.3% intraday. In the US stock pre-market session, oil prices rose, with US oil surpassing $79.60, up nearly 1% intraday, and Brent rising above $83.10, up nearly 0.6% intraday. After the release of US EIA crude oil inventory data, prices continued to fall, turning lower towards the end of the pre-market session.

In the end, crude oil prices closed mixed. WTI April crude oil futures, which had risen for two consecutive days, fell by 0.42% to $78.54 per barrel, dropping from the high of $79.19 on February 16. Brent April crude oil futures rose by $0.03, or 0.04%, to $83.68 per barrel, marking a three-day increase and hitting the highest closing level since November 2023. The main contract for Brent May crude oil futures fell by 0.6% to $82.15 per barrel.

US gasoline and natural gas futures continued to fluctuate. NYMEX March gasoline futures, which had risen for two consecutive days, fell by 3.1% to $2.271 per gallon, hitting the lowest closing level since February 7. NYMEX April natural gas futures, which had fallen on Tuesday, rose by 4.26% to $1.885 per million British thermal units, reaching the highest level since February 9. London copper fell, London nickel rose for the second consecutive time to a three-month high, while gold turned higher after GDP data, and spot gold ultimately closed lower.

London base metal futures mostly fell on Thursday. London copper, which rebounded slightly on Tuesday, fell to a low point in over a week. London zinc and London lead continued to decline slightly from their respective nearly three-week and over two-week highs set on Monday. London aluminum, which hit a low since late January on Tuesday, edged lower. Meanwhile, London nickel and London tin rose for the second consecutive time, with London nickel hitting a high since November last year set last Friday, and London tin reaching a new high in over a week.

New York gold futures fell to $2033.4 in early European trading, down over 0.5% intraday. After the release of US GDP data, gold prices turned higher, with pre-market US stocks hitting a daily high of $2047.4, up nearly 0.2% intraday, but turned lower before the US stock market opened.

In the end, COMEX April gold futures closed down 0.07% at $2042.70 per ounce, falling back after a rebound on Tuesday and failing to approach the closing high since February 7 set last Friday.

Spot gold fell to below $2024.60 in early European trading, hitting a low for the week, down nearly 0.3% intraday. After the release of US GDP data, spot gold turned higher, with early US stocks breaking above $2037.90 to hit a daily high, up nearly 0.4% intraday. US stocks turned lower in early and midday trading, then rose again at the close, ending at around $2033.50, up over 0.1% intraday.