On Wednesday, the three major indices showed mixed performances. During the session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) reached a high of 42,299.64 points, and the S&P 500 index rose to 5,740.13 points, both setting new intraday record highs. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 and DJIA rose by 0.25% and 0.20% respectively, both hitting historical highs. All three major U.S. stock indices recorded gains in September.
**U.S. Stocks**: As of the close, the DJIA fell by 293.47 points, or 0.70%, to 41,914.75 points; the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) rose by 7.68 points, or 0.04%, to 18,082.21 points; the S&P 500 index fell by 10.67 points, or 0.19%, to 5,722.26 points. Nvidia (NVDA.US) gained 2%, Intel (INTC.US) gained 3%, and Trump Media & Technology Group (DWAC.US) surged by 10%.
**European Stocks**: The German DAX 30 index fell by 63.79 points, or 0.34%, to 18,923.95 points; the UK's FTSE 100 index fell by 11.51 points, or 0.14%, to 8,271.25 points; the French CAC 40 index fell by 38.39 points, or 0.50%, to 7,565.62 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell by 23.27 points, or 0.47%, to 4,917.45 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index fell by 35.92 points, or 0.30%, to 11,801.08 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell by 44.26 points, or 0.13%, to 33,837.00 points.
**Asia-Pacific Stocks**: The Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.19%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite index fell by 0.48%, and the Vietnam VN30 index rose by 0.99%.
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**Gold**: COMEX gold futures closed up by 0.16% at $2,681.3 per ounce; COMEX silver futures closed down by 0.94% at $32.125 per ounce.
**Cryptocurrencies**: Bitcoin fell by over 1.2% to $63,529.9 per coin; Ethereum fell by over 2.6% to $2,579.97 per coin.
**Crude Oil**: WTI crude oil futures fell by 2.43% to $69.82 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures fell by 2.10% to $73.59.
**Metals**: London metals saw mixed performances, with zinc falling by 0.48%, aluminum falling by 0.51%, copper rising by 0.16%, and nickel rising by 0.65%.
**Macro News**:
Federal Reserve's Koolger: Strongly supports the decision to lower interest rates by 50 basis points. Federal Reserve Governor Koolger said today that she "strongly supports" the Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates by 50 basis points, reflecting a focus on the job market. Koolger stated: "The job market remains resilient, but the FOMC now needs to balance its focus so that it can continue to make progress in eliminating inflation while avoiding unnecessary pain and economic weakness. I firmly support last week's decision (to lower interest rates by 50 basis points), and if inflation continues to progress as I expect, I will support further rate cuts." Koolger expects this Friday's inflation data to show continued easing of price pressures, with the August PCE price index annual rate possibly as low as 2.2%. She said that it is appropriate for the Federal Reserve to focus on the job market now, which has cooled but "remains resilient," with a 4.2% unemployment rate that "is still quite low by historical standards."U.S. mortgage rates have dropped once again, sparking a massive wave of refinancing. As more Americans take advantage of the cheapest borrowing costs in two years, mortgage refinancing applications have surged for the second week in a row. Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that for the week ending September 20th, the association's refinancing index jumped by 20.3%, reaching its highest level since April 2022. The 30-year fixed mortgage contract rate fell by 2 basis points to 6.13%, marking an eighth consecutive week of decline, which is the longest duration since 2018-2019. This has propelled the association's purchase application index to rise by 1.4% last week, reaching its highest level since early February. The index has risen for five consecutive weeks, indicating a rapid increase in housing market demand that is gradually finding some footing. At the same time, housing financing costs may begin to stabilize. Last week, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note edged higher as traders debated the magnitude of the Federal Reserve's expected rate cut in November and the path of rate cuts.
New York Fed's Open Market Account Head: The market is ready to correctly interpret last week's rate cut. Officials responsible for implementing monetary policy at the New York Fed said on Tuesday that financial markets are ready to correctly interpret the Fed's unexpected rate cut, viewing it not as a sign of trouble. Roberto Perli, head of the Federal Reserve System's Open Market Account (SOMC), said in a speech that while the futures market did not fully factor in the Fed's 0.5 percentage point rate cut last week, market intelligence collected by the New York Fed shows that investors may correctly interpret the 50 basis point rate cut, believing that a more neutral FOMC policy stance will help maintain economic and labor market strength while continuing to push for further progress in inflation.
Goldman Sachs: S&P 500 index expected to reach 6,000 points, mid-cap stocks favored in the context of rate cuts. David Kostin, Chief U.S. Equity Strategist at Goldman Sachs Group, said that once the U.S. presidential election is settled, the U.S. stock market will continue to rise. Kostin said that he expects the S&P 500 index to be near 6,000 points a year from now. This forecast implies an approximate 5% increase from Monday's record closing level of about 5,719 points. The index has risen about 20% this year. However, he said that given the close contest between Harris and Trump, investors may have to deal with some market turbulence in the coming weeks. Kostin also believes that opportunities lie in mid-cap stocks, noting that compared to large-cap and small-cap stocks, mid-cap stocks have performed better over the long term, with lower valuation multiples and better valuations. He also pointed out that mid-cap stocks tend to outperform large-cap stocks in the three and twelve months following a rate cut.
The U.S. House of Representatives passes a short-term spending bill to be considered by the Senate. On September 25th local time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a three-month short-term spending bill with a vote of 341 in favor and 82 against, to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month. It is reported that the purpose of the bill is to ensure that U.S. government funding continues at the current level for three months until December 20th. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill on the evening of September 25th, and after the bill is passed, it will be sent to President Biden for signing into effect.
**Stock News**
Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) files antitrust lawsuit against the European Union, accusing Microsoft (MSFT.US) of stifling cloud computing competition. Google filed an antitrust lawsuit against the European Commission on Wednesday, accusing Microsoft of using unfair licensing contracts to stifle competition in the multi-billion dollar cloud computing industry. The core of Google's complaint is the accusation that Microsoft uses unfair licensing terms to "lock in" customers and exert control over the cloud market. Google claims that Microsoft, through its dominant Windows Server and Microsoft Office products, can make it difficult for its vast customer base to use any products other than its Azure cloud infrastructure products. Google stated in the lawsuit that restrictions in Microsoft's cloud licensing terms make it harder for customers to move their workloads from Microsoft's Azure cloud technology to competitors' clouds, even though there are no technical barriers to doing so. Google cited a study conducted by the cloud computing industry trade organization CISPE in 2023, which stated that due to the limited ability of customers to switch from one cloud provider to another, European businesses and public sector organizations are forced to pay the company up to €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in licensing penalties each year. Google's antitrust complaint comes after CISPE and its members reached a settlement agreement with Microsoft in July, which will lead to changes by Microsoft to address competitive issues. Microsoft mentioned CISPE's settlement agreement in a statement on Wednesday, saying it expects the European Commission, the EU's executive body, to dismiss Google's complaint. "Microsoft amicably resolved similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even though Google would prefer they continue to litigate," said a Microsoft spokesperson. "After failing to persuade European businesses, we expect Google will similarly fail to persuade the European Commission."
Apple (AAPL.US) stock dips as Morgan Stanley warns of shorter iPhone delivery cycles. Apple's stock edged lower as Morgan Stanley analysts noted that the delivery cycle for the iPhone 16 is lower than the past three iPhone cycles. Analysts including Erik Woodring wrote, "Despite supply improvements and positive rumors about iPhone 16 demand, we remain more cautious in our interpretation of these data points." On the 11th day after pre-sales began, "the iPhone 16's delivery cycle in the U.S. is 15 days, compared to an average of 26 days for the iPhone 15 models at this time last year, and 18 days for all iPhone 14 models." "Overall, these data points are more negative than positive for the iPhone 16 cycle, although their predictive power for the entire cycle remains weak." Shortly after the iPhone 16 was released, other analysts had already warned of weaker demand for the iPhone 16.
**Major Bank Ratings**
Morgan Stanley: Downgrades General Motors (GM.US) rating from "Hold" to "Underweight"
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