Tech stocks dragged down the market, with the Nasdaq falling more than 2% at one point. NVIDIA narrowly hit a new high, NIO-SW saw a big turnaround during trading, and Bitcoin plummeted nearly $10,000 after reaching a historic high.

Before Federal Reserve Chairman Powell testified before Congress this week, blue-chip technology stocks repeatedly hit the US stock market: following a suspected arson attack at its German factory that forced a shutdown, Tesla continued to lead the decline among the "Big Seven" tech giants. After institutions estimated a 24% drop in iPhone sales in China in the first six weeks of this year, Apple further tested a four-month low.

Chip stocks, which have outperformed the market in recent days, saw their overall momentum fade, and AI concept stocks fell across the board. Global Times cited reports that AMD's sales of "custom AI chips" to China were hindered by the US government, with US officials deeming their performance "too powerful." AMD fell from its recent all-time high, while its rival NVIDIA erased a decline of over 2% during the day, narrowly setting a new closing high.

Overall, popular Chinese concept stocks continued to fall, but NIO Inc. USD OV, which released its earnings report, staged a major turnaround, dropping sharply at the opening but turning higher. NIO-SW announced fourth-quarter revenue higher than expected but gross margin lower than expected, and operating losses far exceeding expectations. During the subsequent earnings call, NIO-SW CEO Li Bin stated that the Alpine sub-brand will launch its first model in the third quarter of this year, focusing on the family market, directly competing with the Model Y. NIO-SW will heavily invest in software capabilities this year, expressing confidence in reaching a monthly delivery volume of 20,000 units again this year.

The rise in chip stocks driven by the AI craze paused temporarily, and the exuberant Bitcoin also encountered setbacks. After breaking through $60,000 last week, Bitcoin further surged towards the $70,000 mark this week, briefly exceeding $69,000 on Tuesday, hitting a new all-time high for the first time in over two years. However, it quickly gave back its gains and plummeted, briefly falling below $60,000.

The US ISM non-manufacturing index for February, released on Tuesday, fell more than expected, reflecting a slower-than-expected expansion pace of service sector enterprises that contribute to the majority of the US GDP. Lackluster economic data fueled expectations of a Fed rate cut. Following the data release, US Treasury prices rebounded rapidly, with yields hitting at least daily lows. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield fell more than 10 basis points from its intraday high, while the US dollar index quickly turned lower, dropping to its lowest level in over a week. The offshore Chinese yuan against the US dollar briefly turned higher and regained 7.21.

In the commodity market, driven by the decline in the US dollar and Treasury yields, gold saw a mid-day rebound, with New York gold futures closing above $2,100 for the first time on Monday, continuing to set new closing record highs. Some analysts believe that the recent record high gold prices are due to increased speculative bets, and there has not been a gold rush in either physical or futures gold yet. After the release of the U.S. ISM data, international crude oil briefly rose and hit a daily high, but ultimately failed to rebound successfully, continuing to fall from the high point of nearly four months. Some analysts believe that the market's expectation of the Federal Reserve starting to cut interest rates only by the middle of this year supports the strength of the U.S. dollar, which is unfavorable for oil exports, putting downward pressure on oil prices. Additionally, the market's risk aversion sentiment on Tuesday also impacted oil prices, while the technical support of the 200-day moving average for U.S. oil helped limit the decline in oil prices.

The three major U.S. stock indices all fell by at least 1%, with Tesla leading the decline in technology, Apple falling for the fifth consecutive day, chip stocks overall cooling off, and regional banks rebounding.

The three major U.S. stock indices opened low and continued to decline. At midday, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which has been leading the decline for two consecutive days, fell by 2.1%, the S&P 500 Index dropped by over 1.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by over 530 points, nearly 1.4% at the end of the morning session. Ultimately, they all fell for two consecutive days, marking the largest decline since the unexpected increase in the CPI announced by the U.S. on February 13.

The Nasdaq fell by 1.65% to 15,939.59 points, hitting its lowest closing level since February 21. The Dow fell by 404.64 points, a decrease of 1.04%, to 38,585.19 points, hitting its lowest closing level since February 20. The S&P fell by 1.02% to 5,078.65 points, continuing to move away from the record high closing level set last Friday.

The small-cap Russell 2000 index, dominated by value stocks, fell by 0.99%, falling for two consecutive days from its highest closing level since April 2022; the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index fell by 1.8%, marking its largest daily decline since January 31, falling for two consecutive days after hitting a historical high last Friday; the Nasdaq Technology Market Cap Weighted Index (NDXTMC), which measures the performance of tech stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index, fell by 1.87% after hitting historical highs for three consecutive days.

The main U.S. stock indices fell for two consecutive days, with the Nasdaq leading the decline.

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 during trading. Tesla, whose German factory's production resumption date remains uncertain, fell by 5.6% in the morning and closed nearly 4% lower. After a sharp drop of over 7% on Monday, it hit its lowest closing level since May 2023. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's personal wealth was surpassed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, losing the title of the world's richest person.

Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, and the other seven major tech stocks fell by about 2% overall on Tuesday In the six major technology stocks of FAANMG, Apple fell more than 3% in early trading, closing down 2.8%, marking a fifth consecutive day of decline, approaching the lowest closing level since the end of October 2023; Microsoft fell nearly 3%, hitting a low for two consecutive days since February 21; Meta dropped 1.6%, while Amazon fell nearly 2%, both moving further away from their respective record closing highs set last Friday and the high since November 2021; Alphabet fell 0.5%, marking a three-day decline to the low since December 14, 2023; Netflix fell 2.8%, following a high reached last Friday since December 2021.

Apple is now more than 7.5% below the 200-day moving average.

Chip stocks retreated after a three-day overall increase. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Semiconductor Industry ETF SOXX both fell slightly over 2% and nearly 2%, respectively, moving away from the record closing highs set over the past three days. Among chip stocks, Nvidia initially turned higher but then fell, dropping more than 2% in early trading, rebounding towards the end of the session to close up nearly 0.9%, marking four consecutive days of setting new record closing highs; AMD fell 3% in early trading, closing down 0.1%, temporarily departing from the record closing highs set over the past three days; TSMC's US-listed shares, which also hit a new high on Monday, fell more than 2%; at the close, Intel fell more than 5%, Arm fell nearly 3%, Broadcom and Skyworks in Apple's supply chain fell more than 4%, Qualcomm fell more than 3%, and Micron Technology fell more than 1%.

Nvidia rose for four consecutive trading days and almost closed lower on Tuesday.

AI concept stocks, which had mixed performances on Monday, all fell during the session. At the close, SoundHound.ai (SOUN), which rose 25% on Monday, fell nearly 12%, C3.ai (AI) fell over 8%, BigBear.ai (BBAI) dropped more than 13%, Adobe (ADBE) fell over 4%, Palantir (PLTR) fell nearly 1%; while Super Micro Computer (SMCI), which rose nearly 19% against the market on Monday, initially fell more than 9% on Tuesday, rebounding towards the end of the session to close up 1.5%.

Overall, popular Chinese concept stocks continued to decline. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC) fell more than 2% in early trading, closing down 1.5%, marking a two-day decline and hitting the lowest closing level since February 13. The Chinese concept ETFs KWEB and CQQQ fell more than 2% and 1%, respectively. The performance of the three new energy vehicle companies varied, with NIO Inc. USD OV falling 10.3% in early trading, turning higher less than half an hour after the opening, rising 5.4% in early trading, and closing up 2.8%; XPeng Motors fell 2.6% in early trading before closing flat, while Li Auto rose more than 2% in early trading and closed up 0.4%. In the closing session, Dingdong Maicai fell nearly 4%, NetEase dropped nearly 3%, Baidu fell over 2%, JD.com and Bilibili both dropped 2%, Tencent Music Entertainment Group fell nearly 2%, Pinduoduo fell over 0.6%, while Alibaba, which turned up in the morning, rose by 0.1%.

The banking stock index turned up at the beginning of the session, outperforming the broader market, with regional banks experiencing a strong rebound. The overall banking industry index, KBW Bank Index (BKX), closed up nearly 1.4%, rising for two consecutive days and is set to continue to refresh the closing high since March 8, 2023, erasing the decline since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last year; the regional bank index KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index (KRX) and the regional bank stock ETF SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) closed up by 4.3% and 4% respectively, rebounding after two consecutive days of decline.

Among regional banks, New York Community Bank (NYCB), which fell over 20% for two consecutive trading days after a thunderstorm last Friday, rebounded and closed up by 18.6%. By the closing bell, Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) rose by over 7%, Zions Bancorporation (ZION) rose by 4.5%, and Keycorp (KEY) rose by 3%.

Among the stocks that released earnings reports, after announcing that this year's sales are expected to be weak but fourth-quarter revenue and profit exceeded expectations, retail giant Target (TGT) closed up by 12.1%; Payment technology company Paymentus Holdings (PAY) closed up by 20.2% after fourth-quarter revenue and profit exceeded expectations; Defense stock AeroVironment (AVAV) closed up by 27.9% after third-quarter performance and full-year guidance exceeded expectations; while software company GitLab (GTLB) closed down by 21% despite better-than-expected fourth-quarter performance but weaker first-quarter and full-year guidance; Personal styling service company Stitch Fix (SFIX) closed down by 21% after lowering full-year revenue guidance; Online ticketing platform Vivid Seats (SEAT) closed down by 10.4% after announcing fourth-quarter net profit exceeded expectations but decreased by 10% and lowered the 2024 profit guidance.

Among the volatile stocks, Microstrategy (MSTR), the company with the most Bitcoin holdings, fell by 21.2% after announcing a private placement of $600 million in convertible bonds to purchase more Bitcoin and meet general corporate needs; Lithium mining company Albemarle (ALB) fell by 17.8% after starting to sell $1.75 billion worth of depositary shares, with part of the proceeds used for business expansion in China and Australia; Financial services company SoFi Technologies (SOFI) fell by 15.3% after issuing $750 million in convertible bonds.

In European stocks, the pan-European stock index fell across the board. The slight decline in the European Stoxx 600 index on Monday continued to move away from the closing historical high set last Friday. Major European country stock indices showed mixed performance, with the German stock market posting slight declines for two consecutive days but still close to the closing historical high set for the eighth consecutive trading day last Friday. The French stock market, which rose for two consecutive days, retreated, while the Spanish stock index rose for three consecutive days, and the British and Italian stock markets rebounded after Monday's decline. In various sectors, the technology sector, which led the gains on Monday, fell by 1.6%, following the decline of US technology stocks. Among the components, ASML, the European chip stock with the highest market value listed in the Netherlands, fell by 1.5%, dropping from the record high closing set over the past two days. Investors are focusing on China's economic growth target for this year. The basic resources sector, where mining stocks are located, fell by nearly 0.9%, while the personal and household goods sector, where luxury goods giants are located, dropped by over 0.7%. Component stocks LVMH and Hermes both fell by over 1%.

In other individual stocks, despite the clinical trial results showing that their diabetes treatment drug Ozempic can reduce the risk of severe heart disease and death in patients by 24%, Novo Nordisk, the European pharmaceutical company listed in Denmark with the highest market value, still fell by 2.5%. It fell from the closing historical high set on Monday, after hitting a new historical high in early trading. Swedish carmaker Volvo, with February sales below expectations, fell by 7.6%. Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical giant, which postponed its group split plan for up to three years, also fell by 7.6%.

The ISM's 10-year US Treasury yield hit a more than three-week low, dropping by over 10 basis points at one point. European bond prices rose across the board, following the intraday decline in US bonds. By the end of the bond market session, the UK's 10-year benchmark bond yield was around 4.01%, down by about 11 basis points intraday; the 2-year UK bond yield was around 4.27%, down by about 3 basis points intraday; the benchmark 10-year German bond yield was around 2.32%, down by about 7 basis points intraday; the 2-year German bond yield was around 2.84%, down by about 5 basis points intraday.

The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose above 4.22% in early Asian trading, hitting a daily high, but fell below 4.20% in pre-market European trading. During the European and American trading sessions, it continued to decline. After the US ISM non-manufacturing index was released in early US trading, it quickly fell below 4.11%, hitting a low since February 8th, dropping by about 11 basis points from the daily high. By the end of the bond market session, it was around 4.15%, down by about 6 basis points intraday, rebounding after two consecutive declines on Monday.

The more interest rate-sensitive 2-year US Treasury yield rose to test above 4.61% in early Asian trading, hitting a daily high. After the US ISM index was released, it fell below 4.53%, hitting a daily low, approaching the low since February 15th set last Friday. It dropped by over 8 basis points from the daily high, reaching around 4.56% by the end of the bond market session, down by about 4 basis points intraday, giving back some of the gains from Monday's rebound. It marked the fifth day of decline in the last six trading days.

The yields of various maturities of US Treasuries rebounded on Monday and fell back on Tuesday.

USD Index Quickly Fell After ISM, Bitcoin Rose Above $69,000 Before Falling Back Over $9,000

The ICE Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the exchange rate of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies including the euro, approached 104.00 before the European stock market opened, hitting a daily high with a 0.1% increase. The US stock market slightly turned downward before the market opened, and after the US ISM Non-Manufacturing Index was released, it quickly fell below 103.60, hitting a low not seen since February 22nd, with a drop of over 0.2% during the day.

By the time the US stock market closed on Tuesday, the US dollar index was below 103.80, slightly down for the third consecutive day. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US dollar against ten other currencies, fell by less than 0.1% during the day, marking a three-day decline and hitting a low not seen since February 2nd.

Among non-US currencies, after the release of the US ISM index, the euro and the pound quickly rose. The euro against the US dollar approached 1.0880, hitting a high not seen since the Thursday before last, with a 0.2% increase during the day. The pound against the US dollar rose above 1.2730, reaching a high not seen since February 2nd, with an increase of over 0.3% during the day. The yen, which had fallen for two consecutive days, rebounded, and the US dollar against the yen approached 149.70 after the release of the US ISM index, hitting a daily low with a drop of over 0.5%, still far from the low of 149.20 reached on February 12th.

The offshore Chinese yuan (CNH) fluctuated slightly for two consecutive days. In the early Asian market on Tuesday, it rose and hit a daily high of 7.2059, but fell below 7.21 after the European stock market turned downward. During the European stock market session, it hit a daily low of 7.2137, dropping 78 points from the daily high. After the release of the US ISM index, it briefly rose and reclaimed 7.21. At 5:59 on March 5th Beijing time, the offshore Chinese yuan against the US dollar was at 7.2121 yuan, down 20 points from the New York closing on Monday, falling after a rebound on Monday, marking the seventh day of decline in the last nine trading days.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $69,000 in the early US stock market session, hitting a new historical high since November 2021. Some platforms even rose above $69,200, but quickly fell. During the midday trading, it fell below $60,000, dropping over $9,000 from the daily high, a decrease of over 10%. By the US stock market close, it hovered around $62,000, with a drop of over 8% in the last 24 hours.

Crude Oil Falls for Two Consecutive Days to a One-Week Low, Brent Oil Falls from Near Four-Month High After ISM, Short-Term Rebound

Most international crude oil futures were on a downward trend on Tuesday. In the early US stock market session, after the release of the US ISM index, they briefly rose and hit a daily high. At that time, US WTI crude oil approached $79.50, with an increase of over 0.9% during the day. Brent crude oil rose above $83.10, with a 0.4% increase during the day. After turning downward in the early session, the decline expanded at midday, hitting a daily low. US oil approached $77.50. The intraday drop exceeded 1.5%, with Brent crude approaching $81.70, down 1.3% intraday.

Ultimately, crude oil fell for two consecutive days. WTI crude oil futures for April fell by nearly 0.75%, to $78.15 per barrel, hitting a low since February 26th last Monday; Brent crude oil futures for May fell by nearly 0.92%, to $82.04 per barrel, moving further away from the closing high on November 6, 2023, set last Friday.

U.S. WTI crude oil briefly rose on Tuesday but ultimately fell for the second consecutive day.

U.S. gasoline and natural gas futures continued to fluctuate. NYMEX April gasoline futures fell by about 2%, to $2.5328 per gallon, marking a two-day decline and hitting a low since February 23rd; NYMEX April natural gas futures rose by 2.14%, to $1.9570 per million British thermal units, reaching a high since February 7th and rising for two consecutive days.

London copper halts three-day gains, London nickel bids farewell to nearly four-month highs, gold futures hit three consecutive historical highs

London base metal futures mostly fell on Tuesday. Nickel led the decline by about 1%, giving back most of Monday's gains, while tin and copper fell from their respective highs set nearly four months and over two weeks ago after rebounding on Monday. Copper, which rose for three consecutive days, also retreated from its high of over a week. Lead, which rebounded from lows of over two weeks on Monday, saw a slight decline. Zinc, which rebounded on Monday, closed slightly higher, hitting a new one-month high for two consecutive days.

New York gold futures broke above $2100 and remained above that level throughout the day, hitting a low of $2118.5 during the Asian session on Tuesday, down nearly 0.4% intraday. European stocks turned higher before the opening, maintaining gains, while U.S. stocks hit a daily high of $2150.5 before the opening, up 1.1% intraday.

In the end, COMEX April gold futures rose by 0.73%, to $2141.9 per ounce, rising for four consecutive trading days and hitting a new closing high for three consecutive days.

Spot gold approached $2142 before the U.S. stock market opened, nearing the intraday historical high set on December 4, 2023, rising by 1.3% intraday, and remained above $2130 when the U.S. market closed, up over 0.7% intraday.

Spot gold rose for five consecutive days, approaching the intraday historical high set in December last year.