Overnight US Stocks | Powell says it's time to adjust policies, three major indexes close higher this week

According to the Wise Finance APP, on Friday, the three major indices closed higher, with Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stating that the time for policy adjustments has come. This week, all three major US stock indices recorded gains, with the Dow rising 1.27% for the week, the Nasdaq up 1.4%, and the S&P 500 up 1.45%.

[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 462.30 points, or 1.14%, to 41,175.08; the Nasdaq rose 258.44 points, or 1.47%, to 17,877.79; the S&P 500 rose 63.97 points, or 1.15%, to 5,634.61. Bilibili (BILI.US) closed up 15.28% as the company's second-quarter net revenue exceeded market estimates. Apple (AAPL.US) rose 1.03%, Tesla (TSLA.US) rose 4.59%, and Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose 4.55%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX30 index rose 145.47 points, or 0.79%, to 18,640.85; the UK's FTSE 100 index rose 39.07 points, or 0.47%, to 8,327.07; the French CAC40 index rose 52.93 points, or 0.70%, to 7,577.04; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 22.55 points, or 0.46%, to 4,907.55; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 129.95 points, or 1.16%, to 11,286.25; and the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 339.07 points, or 1.02%, to 33,650.00.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index rose 0.4%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.74%, and the Vietnam VN30 index rose 0.2%.

[Gold] COMEX December gold futures rose 1.20% to $2,546.80 per ounce at the close, up 0.39% for the week; COMEX September silver futures rose 2.78% to $29.855 per ounce, up 3.50% for the week.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose over 6.6% to $64,144.9 per coin; Ethereum rose over 5.6% to $2,623.71762.33 per coin.

[Crude Oil] NYMEX October WTI crude oil futures rose $1.82, or 2.49%, to $74.83 per barrel at the close. ICE Brent crude oil futures for October rose 1.8%, or 2.33%, to $79.02 per barrel.

[Metals] London metals rose, with LME copper up 1.73%, LME lead up about 3.12%, LME tin up over 1.84%, LME aluminum up 2.50%, LME zinc up about 1.89%, and LME nickel up over 0.93%.

[Macro News]

US New Home Sales Reach Highest Level in Over a Year. Boosted by a drop in mortgage rates, US new single-family home sales in July rose to the highest level in over a year, providing more evidence of a recovering real estate market. The US Census Bureau reported on Friday that the annualized total of new home sales in July was 739,000, the highest level since May 2023 In July, the annualized monthly rate of new home sales was 10.6%, the largest increase since August 2022. Meanwhile, the average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the United States this week was 6.46%, the lowest level since May 2023.

Powell declares the arrival of an interest rate cut cycle. Jerome Powell, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, stated that the time for a rate cut has come, confirming market expectations that the central bank will begin cutting rates next month. Powell also emphasized the need to prevent further cooling of the labor market. "It's time to adjust the policy," Powell said at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday. "The future direction is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on upcoming data, evolving outlook, and risk balance." The Fed Chair also acknowledged recent progress in inflation, stating, "Our confidence in inflation returning sustainably to our 2% target has strengthened." Powell added, "We are not seeking nor do we want to see further cooling of the labor market. The slowdown in employment is clear." He believes the Fed has enough ammunition to address a rapid deterioration in the labor market. "Our current policy rate level gives us enough room to address any risks that may arise, including the risk of further weakening labor market conditions."

Fed's Bostic: Approaching readiness for rate cut, may support more than one rate cut this year. Atlanta Fed President Bostic stated that it may now be necessary to have more than one rate cut by the end of the year, a shift in his view following data showing declining inflation and a slowing labor market. Bostic said in an interview, "Taking the first rate cut action early may be appropriate." When asked if he would support more than one rate cut this year, he said, "It is possible." He noted that the extent of inflation slowdown exceeded his expectations, "The data suggests that taking action on rates is appropriate. For me, I just want to make sure the next few data points align with this." The market widely expects the Fed to begin cutting rates at the September meeting. Bostic had previously expressed openness to supporting rate cuts.

Research shows: The U.S. job market may be nearing a tipping point, Fed's rate cut is late. A recent study presented at the Jackson Hole Symposium suggests that the U.S. economy may be nearing a tipping point, where a continued decline in job vacancies will lead to a faster rise in unemployment, supporting the argument for the Fed to start cutting rates to protect the labor market. Economists Pierpaolo Benigno from Bocconi University and Gauti B. Eggertsson from Brown University pointed out in their research paper that Fed policymakers face two risks: cutting rates too slowly, leading to a "hard landing" with high unemployment; cutting rates too early, making the economy vulnerable to rising inflation. According to their new analysis of the job market, "Our current assessment indicates that the former risk outweighs the latter."

[Stock News]

Apple (AAPL.US) reportedly to hold its fall product launch event on September 10. Sources revealed that Apple plans to unveil new iPhones, AirPods, and Watches on September 10 (From the recent operating methods) This means that the new iPhone will go on sale on September 20th. Although Apple has not announced the exact date, preparations are in full swing for this day (usually falling on a Tuesday in September). Apple also plans to use the M4 chip to enhance testing for Mac products.

Microsoft (MSFT.US) adjusts Azure cloud department structure. Microsoft adjusts the structure of the Azure cloud department and accordingly lowers its revenue growth expectations. Reports on Thursday indicated that Microsoft will transfer Office commercial products and cloud services, Power BI, and other businesses originally under Azure cloud to the Productivity and Business Processes department. As a result, the revenue outlook for Productivity and Business Processes is raised to $27.75 billion to $28.05 billion, while the revenue outlook for Intelligent Cloud is lowered to $23.8 billion to $24.1 billion. Microsoft suddenly announced the adjustment of business department structure and updated the revenue outlook for the respective departments to reflect this change, with an increase in Productivity and Business Processes revenue and a decrease in Intelligent Cloud revenue outlook.

【Major Bank Rating】

Wade Bush: Raises the target price for NVIDIA (NVDA.US) from $120 to $138