US stocks rose for two consecutive days, with Chinese concept stocks outperforming by more than 2%. Xpeng Motors took the lead, while European natural gas surged by 10%.

Market Awaits Economic Data from Europe and the United States this Week. It is expected that the US ADP private sector employment will add 170,000 in August, a sharp drop from the previous value of 324,000. It is also expected that the US non-farm employment will add 165,000 in August, a decrease from the previous value of 187,000. It is expected that the US core PCE inflation will remain unchanged at a MoM increase of 0.2% in July, with a YoY increase of 4.2%, slightly higher than the previous value of 4.1%. The Eurozone will also release inflation data.

Hawks on the European Central Bank's Governing Council, including the Governor of the Austrian Central Bank, Holzmann, stated that another rate hike may be needed in September if there are no unexpected events. Jens Weidmann, the hawkish President of the German Central Bank, also stated that the ECB interest rates may need to be maintained at their peak for some time.

The currency market believes that there is a slightly less than 50% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike by the ECB in September, but this probability has increased from 40% when the PMI data was weak last week. Last week, ECB President Lagarde also stated that the policy rates will be maintained at a high level for as long as necessary.

The market is also digesting the hawkish speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Powell last Friday. Traders believe that there is an 80% probability that the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged in September, but the probability of a 25 basis point rate hike in November has increased from 33% a week ago to 51%.

Dow Jones Rises Over 200 Points, Chinese Tech Stocks Surge Over 2% Outperforming, Xpeng Motors Jumps 6.7% at the Opening and Closes Up 5.6%

Monday, August 28th marked the beginning of the last trading week of August, with US stocks opening higher. The Dow Jones and Nasdaq opened with gains of over 100 points, with the Dow Jones reaching a high of over 300 points or a 0.9% increase. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and Nasdaq 100, as well as the Russell 2000 small-cap index, all rose by more than 1% at one point.

In the end, US stocks rose for two consecutive days, with the Dow Jones rebounding from a six-week low to its highest level since August 16th. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were close to recovering from the losses since last Wednesday. In August, the Dow Jones has fallen by nearly 3%, the S&P 500 by over 3%, and the Nasdaq by over 4%:

The S&P 500 rose 27.60 points, or 0.63%, to 4,433.31. The Dow Jones rose 213.08 points, or 0.62%, to 34,559.98. The Nasdaq rose 114.48 points, or 0.84%, to 13,705.13. The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.74%, and the Russell 2000 small-cap index rose 0.8%.

The Dow Jones rose over 200 points, while the Nasdaq and Russell 2000 small-cap stocks both rose over 1% during the trading session. Rising Star Tech Stocks. "Metaverse" Meta rose 1.7%, Apple and Google A rose nearly 1%, Microsoft rose 0.2%, Netflix rose 0.5%, all close to recovering from last Wednesday's decline; Amazon is close to erasing its losses, while Tesla fell over 1% before rebounding to a two-week high.

Chip stocks rise together. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose over 1%, breaking through 3500 points, and Intel rose over 1%, both close to recovering from last Wednesday's decline. AMD rose 0.4% after a two-day rebound from a three-month low, while Nvidia fell over 2% before rising nearly 2%, not far from its all-time high.

Nvidia fell over 2% before rising nearly 2%.

AI concept stocks also rise together. C3.ai rose 0.2%, Palantir Technologies rose nearly 1%, both rebounding from three-month and two-month lows for two days, SoundHound.ai rose over 4% to near a one-month high, and BigBear.ai rose over 4% after a two-day rebound from a seven-month low.

In terms of news, Tesla has fallen over 11% in August. Apple's COO visited China and stated that Apple's supply chain is truly global and will continue to evaluate where to source from. Reports indicate that Apple plans to release an upgraded version of the iPad Pro with the M3 chip next spring. Microsoft has launched an enterprise version of Bing Chat chatbot service in the Windows Copilot feature. OpenAI has released ChatGPT Enterprise Edition.

Popular Chinese stocks significantly outperform the U.S. market. ETF KWEB rose nearly 3%, CQQQ rose nearly 2%, and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC) rose over 2% to a two-week high, breaking through the key technical level of the 100-day moving average and approaching the 200-day and 50-day moving averages.

Among the Nasdaq 100 constituents, JD.com and Baidu both rose 2.6%, Pinduoduo rose 1%. Among other individual stocks, Alibaba rose nearly 3%, Tencent ADR rose over 2%, Bilibili rose 1.5%, NIO rose nearly 2%, Li Auto rose 1.4%, and XPeng Auto opened with a 6.7% jump and closed with a 5.6% gain. It will acquire Didi's smart electric vehicle business for $744 million in stock, making Didi a strategic shareholder of XPeng. It will launch the first mass-market brand electric vehicle model next year. Dingdong Maicai rose 9%, Tencent Music rose over 6%, and NetEase rose nearly 5%.

Bank stocks hit a one-week high together. The industry benchmark Philadelphia Stock Exchange KBW Bank Index (BKX) rose 1.2%, reaching its lowest level since October 2020 on May 4. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Bank Index (KRX) rose 1.5%, reaching its lowest level since November 2020 on May 11; the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) rose 1.4%, reaching its lowest level since October 2020 on May 4. Other stocks with significant changes include:

• "Vietnamese Tesla" VinFast rose as much as 35% to a high of $93, with a market value exceeding $210 billion, close to the combined market value of Boeing and Goldman Sachs. It closed up nearly 20%, hitting a new all-time high for multiple consecutive days. The most active call option with a strike price of $100 expiring on September 15.
• Dow component and chemical giant 3M rose nearly 7% and closed up more than 5%, reaching a two-week high and the largest increase in nearly three months. The media reported that it is about to reach a $5.5 billion settlement agreement with 330,000 plaintiffs regarding military-grade earplug performance, which is much lower than expected.
• Medical company Novocure fell nearly 38% to its lowest level since April 2018, as the Phase 3 clinical trial for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients did not meet the primary endpoint in the final analysis. Healthtech company Thorne HealthTech reached a new all-time high, rising over 29%, as private equity firm L Catterton proposed an acquisition at $10.20 per share, with a transaction value of approximately $680 million. Medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific rose 6% to its highest level in nearly two months, with positive results for patients with atrial fibrillation or abnormal heartbeats.
• JPMorgan believes that now is a good time to buy US medical technology stocks at a bargain price. The investment sentiment in the US medical device industry is at its worst level since the global financial crisis in 2008. Investors are concerned that the "miracle drug" for treating obesity, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), may bring competitive impact. iShares US Medical Devices ETF (IHI) has fallen 1.4% this year.

European stocks rose across the board, with UK stock indices closed, and German, French, and Italian stock indices all rose more than 1%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.86%, approaching a two-week high. Technology and construction stocks led the gains, rising more than 1%. The Russian MOEX index reached a new closing high since February 18 last year.

Short-term US Treasury yields hover at six-week highs, two-year/five-year Treasury auction yields reach the highest level in more than a decade

Short-term US Treasury yields rose at the beginning of the US stock market, with the more interest rate-sensitive two-year yield rising by 5 basis points to 5.10% at the highest point of the day. After the midday stock market, the gains were reversed, but they still hovered at the highest level in over six weeks since July 6.

The 10-year benchmark bond yield briefly fell by nearly 5 basis points and briefly fell below 4.20%. After the midday stock market, the decline was halved. Last week, it rose above 4.36%, the highest level in nearly 16 years since November 2007.

The two-year Treasury yield erased the gains since Powell's speech last Friday but remained above 5%. On Monday, the demand for US Treasury auctions was strong. The bid-to-cover ratio for the $45 billion two-year Treasury notes reached 2.94, surpassing the previous ratio of 2.78, and the awarded yield rose above 5% to the highest level in seventeen years since 2006, with a rate of 5.024%. The bid-to-cover ratio for the $46 billion five-year Treasury notes was 2.94, and the awarded yield reached 4.400%, the highest in sixteen years since 2007.

The stock market's rise also put pressure on the bond market. Although the yields of European bonds collectively increased slightly, the benchmark 10-year German bond yield in the eurozone fell slightly at the end of the day. The two-year yield increased by more than 2 basis points, and the benchmark 10-year Italian bond yield in peripheral countries rose by about 1 basis point.

US Oil Rises Above $80 Per Barrel, Brent Oil Slightly Down, Concerns Over Australian LNG Plant Strike, European Natural Gas Rises Over 10%

Investors are concerned about short-term supply tightening, as oil prices have fallen for two consecutive weeks. WTI October crude oil futures rose by $0.27, or 0.34%, to $80.10 per barrel. Brent October futures fell by $0.06, or 0.07%, to $84.42 per barrel.

WTI crude oil rose by as much as $1 or 1.3%, surpassing the psychological level of $80 per barrel and reaching a one-week high after rising for three consecutive days. Brent November futures, which are more actively traded, rose by as much as $0.7 or 0.9%. After the midday decline, US stocks fell again and lost the $84 level.

US oil rises above $80 per barrel, Brent oil slightly down

Tropical Storm Idalia is moving towards Florida in the United States, posing a threat to short-term oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. There are reports that Saudi Arabia may voluntarily extend its production cut of 1 million barrels per day until October, which will support oil prices.

The TTF Dutch natural gas futures, the European benchmark, rose by more than 11% at the end of the day, recovering more than half of the decline since last Wednesday. US natural gas prices briefly rose by more than 6% to a two-week intraday high.

In terms of news, Chevron, the oil giant, received a notice that the Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant will go on strike from September 7, triggering supply concerns. Norway, the largest natural gas supplier in Europe, has reduced its flow to the lowest level in over a year due to seasonal maintenance.

Analysts believe that the strike at the Australian LNG plant will continue to cause turbulence in the natural gas market. Since early August, the threat of strikes has unsettled the global natural gas market. The two Australian LNG plants operated by Chevron account for about 5% of global supply.

The US Dollar Stabilizes Above 104 and Hovers at the Highest Level in Twelve Weeks, the Yen Hits a Nine-and-a-Half-Month Low, Offshore Renminbi Briefly Falls Below 7.30 Yuan

The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures against six major currencies, stabilized above the 104 level, hovering at the highest level in twelve weeks since June 1, which was set last Friday. It has risen more than 2% in August and is expected to end the two-month decline. The US dollar stabilizes around 104, reaching a twelve-week high.

The euro rose slightly against the US dollar and stabilized above 1.08, still not far from the near 11-week low set last Friday, with a cumulative decline of 1.7% in August. The British pound rose 0.2% against the US dollar and approached 1.26, hovering around the mid-June low set last Friday.

The Japanese yen fell to 146.75, hitting a nine-and-a-half-month low since November 6 last year. The Governor of the Bank of Japan stated over the weekend that the current ultra-loose monetary policy will be maintained. Offshore renminbi briefly fell below 7.30 yuan, a drop of nearly 200 points from the previous day's closing.

Mainstream cryptocurrencies fluctuated. The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, rose slightly and returned above the $26,000 mark, but it is still not far from the two-month low. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, fell slightly and dropped below the $1,650 mark, hovering around the five-month low set last week.

Spot gold rises above $1,920 to a three-week high, while most domestic futures close lower, with soda ash falling more than 5.6%

COMEX December gold futures closed up 0.35% at $1,946.80 per ounce. COMEX October silver futures closed up 0.08% at $24.369 per ounce. Spot gold rose as much as 0.6% and broke through the $1,920 mark, reaching a three-week high.

Spot gold rises above $1,920 to a three-week high

London LME industrial metals market closed for one day. Most domestic futures closed lower in the night market, with soda ash leading the decline, falling more than 5.6%. Coke fell more than 1%, while coking coal and hot-rolled coil fell more than 0.6%. Rebar fell 0.3%, iron ore fell 0.2%, and glass and PVC fell by a maximum of 1.4%.