On Wednesday, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed with mixed results. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.09%, the Nasdaq Composite fell by 0.30%, and the S&P 500 index fell by 0.16%.
In terms of news, the Federal Reserve's "Beige Book" indicated that the number of regions where economic activity was flat or declining increased to 9.
Most large-cap technology stocks fell, with Intel dropping over 3%, and Amazon and Nvidia falling more than 1%. Microsoft, Google, and Apple saw minor declines; Tesla rose over 4%, with its market value surging by $28.1 billion (approximately 200 billion RMB) overnight; Netflix and Meta saw minor increases. Notably, Nvidia's stock price has fallen by 15% since the release of its financial report last week. U.S. Steel fell over 17%. In related news, President Biden is preparing to block a transaction between Japanese and U.S. steel companies.
Large-cap technology stocks showed mixed performance, with Apple down 0.86%, Amazon down 1.66%, Google down 0.5%, Microsoft down 0.13%, Facebook up 0.19%, Netflix up 0.65%, and Tesla up 4.18%.
Bank stocks mostly declined, with JPMorgan Chase down 0.61%, Goldman Sachs up 0.5%, Citigroup down 1.37%, Morgan Stanley up 0.87%, Bank of America down 0.66%, and Wells Fargo down 0.64%.
Semiconductor stocks showed divergent trends, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) up 2.87%, Qualcomm up 1.28%, Broadcom up 0.87%, Micron Technology up 0.8%, Nvidia down 1.66%, Intel down 3.33%, and ASML down 4.01%.
Chinese concept stocks also showed mixed performance, with the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index down 0.07%. Bilibili, NIO, and NetEase rose over 2%, Tencent Music rose over 1%, and XPeng Motors, JD.com, and Alibaba saw minor increases. Pinduoduo fell over 5%, Futu Holdings fell over 2%, and Full Truck Alliance, Baidu, and Li Auto fell over 1%, while Weibo, iQiyi, and Vipshop saw minor declines.
Regarding international oil prices, the price of light crude oil for delivery in October at the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.14 to close at $69.20 per barrel, a drop of 1.62%; the price of Brent crude oil for delivery in November fell by $1.05 to close at $72.70 per barrel, a drop of 1.42%.
In the precious metals sector, as of press time, COMEX gold futures rose by 0.1% to $2525.5 per ounce, and COMEX silver futures rose by 0.66% to $28.53 per ounce.Federal Reserve's "Beige Book": Regions with Flat or Declining Economic Activity Rise to 9
According to a report by CCTV News, on September 4th local time, the Federal Reserve Board of the United States released the Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve Districts, also known as the "Beige Book."
The "Beige Book" indicates that economic activity in 3 regions has slightly increased, while the number of regions reporting flat or declining economic activity has risen from 5 in the July report to 9 in the recent period. The overall employment level remains stable, but some companies have only filled necessary positions, reduced working hours and shifts, or decreased their overall workforce through natural attrition. There have been relatively few layoffs overall.
Furthermore, in general, wages have grown moderately, and prices have risen slightly. The increase in non-labor input costs and sales prices varies from slight to moderate across regions. Consumer spending has slightly decreased in most areas, whereas in the previous reporting period, consumer spending was generally stable. Car sales have increased in some areas, while in others, sales have slowed due to high interest rates and car prices. Manufacturing activity has declined in most regions. Reports on the residential and commercial real estate markets vary, but most regions show a slowdown in house sales. Economic activity in most regions is expected to remain stable or improve, but 3 regions anticipate a slight decline.
Federal Reserve "Hawkish" Voting Member Signals Monetary Easing
The Federal Reserve's "hawkish" official, Bostic, recently stated that he has shifted his focus to the central bank's "dual mandate" and mentioned that he is ready to begin lowering interest rates.
On Wednesday (September 4th) local time, Bostic published an article on the Atlanta Fed's official website stating that the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) dual mandate—price stability and full employment—has reached a balance for the first time since 2021.
However, he added that he is "not quite ready" to declare victory over inflation, "although inflation has significantly decreased, the risks to the price stability mandate still exist. We must remain vigilant to ensure these risks continue to diminish."
Bostic wrote, "History tells us that easing monetary policy too early is a dangerous strategy that could reignite inflation and keep it troubling the economy for months or even years."
But he also pointed out that if the central bank waits until the inflation rate falls back to 2% before reducing policy restrictions, the labor market would face certain risks, potentially disrupting the labor market and causing unnecessary pain and difficulties.Bostic added that recent price reports have bolstered his confidence, leading him to believe that inflation is now on a "sustainable path back to the 2% target," with price pressures diminishing rapidly and broadly.
Referring to current labor data and information, Bostic stated that he believes the job market is "loosening somewhat, but remains largely stable," and "the labor market is becoming a bit weaker than before, but it is not objectively weak."
Bostic thinks that the pressure of workers competing for positions is decreasing, which will cool down wage growth. The impulse for businesses (especially in the service sector) to raise wages to compensate for labor is diminishing, and "more broadly, it seems that the pricing power of businesses is weakening."
"Rest assured, I do not see signs of an imminent crash or panic in the business world," he wrote. "Although the data and our feedback indicate that the economy and labor market are losing momentum," this phenomenon is "welcome."
Daily Economic News, integrating CCTV News, the official website of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and public information.