On April 3rd local time, the three major US stock indexes closed with mixed gains and losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%, the Nasdaq rose 0.23%, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.11%.
Popular technology stocks have fluctuated, with Dell Technology rising more than 8% to reach a historic closing high, Meta up nearly 2%, Tesla up more than 1%, Apple, Google, Amazon up less than 1%, and Intel down more than 8%.
Precious metals and metal raw materials saw the highest growth, with gold resources rising by over 26%, Coldaren Mining up by over 10%, Pan American Silver up by over 6%, Alcoa up by over 4%, and Southern Copper up by over 3%. The commercial retail, food, and branded clothing sectors saw the largest decline, with Disney falling more than 3%, Cole's and Nordstrom falling more than 2%, and Burlington falling more than 4%.
Spot gold has risen over $2300 per ounce for the first time, continuing to reach a new historical high and rising over $200 so far this year.
COMEX June gold futures rose 1.45% to $2315.00 per ounce, continuing to reach a new historical closing high; COMEX May silver futures rose 4.39% to $27.060 per ounce.
Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index falling 0.13%. Ideal Automobile and Xiaopeng Automobile fell more than 2%, while JD.com, Bilibili, and iQiyi fell more than 1%. NIO, Alibaba, Vipshop, Baidu, Manbang, and NetEase saw a slight decline. Futu Holdings, Tencent Music, and Pinduoduo rose by over 1%, while Weibo saw a slight increase.
After Apple's decade long dream of making cars shattered, it is seeking new sources of income. According to insiders, Apple's team is researching and advancing personal robotics technology, which may become one of the company's constantly changing "next major projects". Apple engineers are developing a mobile robot that can follow users around the house. Apple has also developed an advanced desktop home device that uses robots to move displays around. Although research and development is still in its early stages and it is unclear whether these products will eventually be released, the pressure for Apple to find new sources of revenue is increasing.
Apple abandoned its electric vehicle project in February, and the hybrid reality headset is expected to take several years to shoulder the banner of profitability. With the help of robotics technology, Apple can gain a greater foothold in the consumer home device field and leverage the progress of artificial intelligence. But it is currently unclear what methods will be adopted. According to insiders, although robot intelligent displays have developed faster than mobile robots, they have been absent from Apple's product roadmap for many years.
As of the close on April 3rd local time, Apple was trading at $169.65, up 0.48%, with a market value of $2.6 trillion.
On Wednesday, data released by ISM showed that the PMI growth of the ISM service industry in the United States slowed down for the second consecutive month in March, which was lower than expected. The closely watched service price payment sub index fell to its lowest level in four years. In addition, supplier delivery volume and new orders also decreased.
The ISM Service Industry Index for March in the United States was 51.4, with an expected value of 52.8, compared to 52.6 before February. 50 is the watershed between prosperity and decline. The US ISM service industry PMI has remained above the 50 mark for over a year, but the March figure was lower than the expectations of the vast majority of economists surveyed by the media.
According to CCTV news, on April 3rd local time, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell delivered a speech emphasizing that the Federal Reserve needs more evidence of stable inflation decline before lowering interest rates.
Powell stated that regarding the issue of inflation, it is currently uncertain whether the recent data is only temporary fluctuations, so the Federal Reserve does not intend to cut interest rates until it has more confidence in a stable decline in inflation towards its target of 2%. Powell stated that the Federal Reserve is trying to balance the risks of "cutting interest rates too quickly" and "waiting too long", the former could trigger inflation again, the latter could put pressure on the economy and potentially trigger a recession.
On January 31st local time, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell delivered a speech on the announced federal funds rate decision, stating that before deciding to cut rates, the Federal Reserve needs to see more evidence to prove that inflation is continuing to decline.
Powell stated that the federal funds rate is likely to be at the peak of this tightening cycle. He said that the inflation level in the United States has eased to some extent, but the economy has not slowed down, and the unemployment rate has not significantly increased. The current process should continue to be maintained.
Powell stated that when considering any adjustments to the target range of the federal funds rate, the Federal Open Market Committee, which formulates monetary policy, will carefully evaluate future data, constantly changing prospects, and risk balance. Lowering interest rates is not appropriate until there is more confidence in moving towards the target of sustained inflation rate of 2%.
The Federal Reserve ended its two-day monetary policy meeting on January 31st, announcing that the target range for the federal funds rate would remain unchanged between 5.25% and 5.5%, and hinted that there would be no rate cuts for the time being. This is the fourth consecutive time that the Federal Reserve has maintained this interest rate range unchanged.