Overnight US Stocks | S&P 500 Index, Nasdaq Record Eight Consecutive Gains NVIDIA Up 4.3%

According to the financial news app Zhitong Finance, on Monday, the three major indices closed higher, with the Dow rising for the fifth consecutive day, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recording their eighth consecutive gains. The market this week is focusing on the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting and Fed Chair Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Global Central Bank Annual Symposium on Friday.

[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 236.77 points, or 0.58%, to 40,896.53; the Nasdaq rose 245.05 points, or 1.39%, to 17,876.77; the S&P 500 rose 54.00 points, or 0.97%, to 5,608.25. Tesla (TSLA.US) rose by 3%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) by 4.3%, and Google (GOOG.US) by 2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 1.38%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) up nearly 1%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX30 index fell 9.70 points, or 0.05%, to 18,319.15; the UK's FTSE 100 index fell 14.66 points, or 0.18%, to 8,296.75; the French CAC40 index rose 5.30 points, or 0.07%, to 7,455.00; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 2.10 points, or 0.04%, to 4,842.65; the Italy FTSE MIB index rose 85.19 points, or 0.26%, to 33,126.00; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 33.40 points, or 0.31%, to 10,983.1.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index fell 1.77%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.47%, and the Vietnam VN30 index rose 0.57%.

[Gold] COMEX gold futures rose 0.19% to $2,542.60 per ounce; COMEX silver futures rose 2.24% to $29.495 per ounce.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose by over 1% to $59,035.5 per coin; Ethereum rose by 0.3% to $2,620.5 per coin.

[Crude Oil] NYMEX September WTI crude oil futures fell $2.28, or 3%, to close at $74.37 per barrel; ICE October Brent crude oil futures fell $2, or 2.5%, to close at $77.68 per barrel.

[Metals] London metals rose, with LME copper up 1.49%, LME zinc up around 0.87%, LME tin up over 2.10%, and LME aluminum up around 3.38%.

[Macro News]

US Chamber of Commerce: US Future Economic Growth Faces Resistance. Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager of the US Chamber of Commerce Business Cycle Indicators, stated that the leading indicators continued to decline on a month-on-month basis, but the six-month annual growth rate no longer indicates an imminent recession. In July, the non-financial sector was generally weak. The sharp deterioration in new orders, continued pessimistic consumer expectations about business conditions, and the slowdown in building permits and manufacturing hours collectively contributed to this decline. These data continue to indicate that future economic growth will face resistance The Consultative Council expects that as consumers and businesses continue to reduce spending and investment, the real GDP growth rate in the United States will slow down in the coming quarters. It is projected that the annualized real GDP growth rate in the third quarter of 2024 will be 0.6%, and 1% in the fourth quarter.

Fed's Kashkari: Soft job market should open the door to rate cut in September. Federal Reserve's Kashkari stated that he is open to cutting rates at the next meeting due to the increasing possibility of a too-soft labor market. Kashkari said in an interview, "The risk balance has shifted, so the discussion about a rate cut in September is appropriate." Kashkari had previously mentioned in June that there might not be a need to cut rates before the end of the year. However, the rise in the unemployment rate from 3.7% at the beginning of the year to 4.3% in July indicates a greater risk of economic slowdown. Kashkari mentioned that if there is no evidence of a soft labor market and if the unemployment rate remains within the range of 3.7% to 3.8%, he wouldn't even discuss whether a rate cut is necessary now. On the contrary, the situation has changed as inflation is making progress and there are some concerning signs in the labor market. Nevertheless, Kashkari still believes there is no reason to cut rates by more than 25 basis points, as the layoff rate remains low and the number of people applying for unemployment benefits has not shown significant deterioration.

Survey shows: U.S. unemployment expectations hit a record high. A survey by the New York Fed on consumer expectations shows that since 2014, the proportion of people who think they may be unemployed in the next four months has reached a historical high. However, at the same time, compared to a year ago, more and more consumers expect to find job opportunities in the next few months. Overall, the New York Fed's survey shows that labor market turbulence is intensifying, with workers becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their wages and benefits, and maintaining high wage expectations. Following the rise in the unemployment rate in the July employment report, economists and policymakers have been highly vigilant about any signs that the deterioration of the job market may be faster than expected. The survey found that 4.4% of respondents expect to be unemployed in the next four months, the highest level on record.

American Automobile Association: Record domestic summer travel volume boosts as gasoline prices fall. According to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA), domestic travel bookings for the upcoming U.S. Labor Day weekend are expected to increase by 9% year-on-year. Although this estimate only covers travel booked through AAA, the data further illustrates the optimistic outlook for U.S. summer fuel demand. The number of domestic travelers during the Independence Day holiday week on July 4th is expected to reach a record high, and the number of domestic travelers during the Memorial Day weekend before that is expected to reach the highest level in 20 years. Supported by lower gasoline prices, the growth in U.S. travel this year remains resilient. AAA stated that the retail price of gasoline for the Labor Day weekend is expected to be $3.50 per gallon, compared to $3.81 per gallon last year.

Historic milestone! Gold bar prices reach $1 million for the first time. Last Friday, the spot gold price exceeded $2500 per ounce, hitting a historic high, while gold bars typically weigh around 400 ounces, meaning that the price of each gold bar has surpassed the milestone of over $1 million. Of course, there may be slight differences in the data According to the London Bullion Market Association, in London, the global precious metals trading center, gold bars usually weigh around 400 troy ounces, but the pure gold content can also range from 350 to 430 ounces. In addition, there are smaller and lower-priced gold bars available for individual purchase, such as those sold by Costco.

Goldman Sachs strategist: U.S. stock market will rise in the next four weeks. Scott Rubner, Managing Director and Strategy Specialist of Goldman Sachs Global Markets, stated that driven by positive tech stock dynamics and corporate buybacks, the U.S. stock market is expected to rebound in the next four weeks. Rubner wrote in the report, "The threshold for remaining bearish over the Labor Day holiday is high." The total exposure of rule-based systematic funds has increased from $450 billion in July to $250 billion now. Trend-following funds are starting to leverage up again. Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs) are expected to show strong buying demand in the coming week. Regardless of market trends, CTAs are likely to buy stocks. Corporate demand will also be a driver. However, he warned that after September 16, the stock market may experience a negative trend, as the second half of September has historically been the worst two weeks of the year. Rubner expects the S&P 500 index to reach 6,000 points in November and December.

[Stock News]

AMD (AMD.US) splashes out $4.9 billion to acquire AI server leader ZT Systems. U.S.-based AMD has agreed to acquire server manufacturer ZT Systems for $4.9 billion in cash and stock. According to a statement on Monday, ZT Systems, headquartered in New Jersey, will become part of AMD's Data Center Solutions Business Group. AMD will retain the business's design and customer teams and seek to sell the manufacturing division. The deal includes $400 million or more in payments based on certain milestones. AMD expects the transaction to add value on a non-GAAP revenue basis by the end of 2025. AMD emphasized ZT Systems' rich experience in designing and optimizing cloud computing solutions. This acquisition will also help cloud and enterprise customers significantly accelerate large-scale deployments of AI infrastructure supported by AMD, enabling AMD to provide leading AI training and inference solutions based on cross-chip, software, and system innovation.

Amazon (AMZN.US) to spend $80 million to acquire Xperi (XPER.US) subsidiary Perceive. Amazon has announced an agreement to acquire chip manufacturer and AI model compression company Perceive, a subsidiary of publicly traded Xperi based in San Jose, California, for $80 million in cash. Perceive focuses on providing edge inference solutions for large AI models for edge devices. Xperi holds approximately 76% of Perceive's shares. The deal was signed last Wednesday and is expected to be completed within 90 days, but may be extended to six months if regulatory conditions require. Details of the transaction were disclosed in a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Xperi last Friday, including an asset purchase agreement that stipulates restrictions on certain business activities for Xperi and Perceive for three years after the completion of the transaction Perceive's technology focuses on running large AI models on edge devices, which are typically located at the network edge with limited power, processing capabilities, connectivity, and storage space. Although Amazon has not disclosed its specific application plans for this technology, a company spokesperson stated, "We are pleased to have signed the agreement to acquire Perceive and welcome their talented team to join us in advancing the application of large language models and multimodal experiences on edge devices."

【Major Bank Rating】

Cantor Fitzgerald: Maintains a target price of $245 for Tesla (TSLA.US)