On October 17th Eastern Time, the three major indexes of the US stock market fluctuated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to set a new closing record high, rising 161.35 points to close at 43239.05 points, an increase of 0.37%; The S&P 500 index fell 1.00 point to close at 5841.47, a decrease of 0.02%; The Nasdaq rose 6.53 points to close at 18373.61, an increase of 0.04%.
In terms of key stocks, TSMC's third quarter performance and fourth quarter performance guidance both exceeded market expectations. The company's stock price rose by over 13% during trading and ultimately closed up nearly 10%, reaching a historic high. International gold prices hit a new high, with London gold approaching $2700 during trading and closing above $2690.
Buffett continues to sell Bank of America stocks. According to documents disclosed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sold 8.694538 million shares of Bank of America stock on October 15th, cashing out $369.9 million. According to media statistics, this is the 16th round of selling Bank of America stock disclosed by the company since mid July, with a cumulative cash out of over $10 billion.
The three major indexes of the US stock market have mixed ups and downs
On October 17th Eastern Time, the three major indexes of the US stock market fluctuated. As of the close of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to reach a historic high, rising 161.35 points to close at 43239.05 points, an increase of 0.37%; The S&P 500 index fell 1.00 point to close at 5841.47, a decrease of 0.02%; The Nasdaq rose 6.53 points to close at 18373.61, an increase of 0.04%.
In terms of economic data, US retail sales in September exceeded expectations and increased by 0.4% month on month. Last week, 241000 people applied for unemployment benefits for the first time, which was lower than expected, prompting traders to lower their bets on the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut this year, pushing up US bond yields and the US dollar.
The rise and fall of large technology stocks are mixed. Apple rose 0.2%, Nvidia rose 0.9%, Tesla fell 0.2%, Microsoft rose 0.14%, Google A fell 1.4%, Meta rose slightly, and Amazon rose 0.3%.
After rising over 13% during trading, TSMC closed up nearly 10%, reaching a historic high in stock price. On the news front, its third quarter performance and fourth quarter guidance far exceeded expectations. Specifically, TSMC's net profit for the third quarter was NT $325.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 54%; The operating revenue was NT $759.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 39%.
Most Chinese concept stocks fell, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closing down 3.6%. Among the popular Chinese concept stocks, Fangduoduo, which rose sharply yesterday, fell more than 24%, Beike fell more than 11%, JD.com fell more than 4%, Alibaba and Tencent ADR fell about 2%, Bilibili and Ideal Auto fell more than 5%, NIO and Jike fell more than 6%, Xiaopeng Motors fell more than 7%, Baidu fell more than 3%, Pinduoduo fell nearly 3%, and Tiger Securities stopped falling and turned up.
The European Central Bank announced a 25 basis point interest rate cut on the 17th, marking the second consecutive rate cut and the third rate cut of the year, which has driven European stocks to rise. As of the close of the day, the German DAX 30 index closed up 0.77%, the French CAC 40 index closed up 1.22%, the Italian FTSE MIB index closed up 1.09%, and the UK FTSE 100 index closed up 0.67%.
International gold prices hit a new high, with London gold approaching $2700 during trading and closing above $2690. COMEX December gold futures rose 0.6% to $2707.60 per ounce at the end of trading, breaking through $2710 and setting a new historical high.
Buffett continues to reduce his holdings in Bank of America
Buffett's sell-off of Bank of America may not be over yet. On October 17th, documents disclosed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway conducted two cash out transactions on October 15th, selling 8694538 shares of Bank of America stock and cashing out $369.9 million.
According to media statistics, this is the 16th round of selling Bank of America stock disclosed by the company since mid July, with a cumulative cash out of over $10 billion. From the 8th to the 10th of this month, Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings of Bank of America stocks for three consecutive trading days, selling over 9.5 million shares worth $382.4 million. This move has reduced the company's stake in Bank of America to 775 million shares, lowering its shareholding ratio below the critical threshold of 10%.
According to relevant regulations, if the shareholding ratio exceeds 10%, the transaction involved must be disclosed within 2 working days; If the shareholding ratio does not exceed 10%, there is no need to disclose the trading situation as soon as possible. Usually, it may take several weeks to disclose in each quarterly report.
The US Treasury Department releases the August TIC report
On Thursday, October 17th Eastern Time, the August International Capital Flows Report (TIC) released by the US Treasury Department showed that the top two overseas "creditors" of the United States have resumed reverse operations.
Among them, Japan's US Treasury holdings ended their "four consecutive declines", increasing by $13.5 billion month on month in July to $1.1292 trillion. The total holdings rebounded after hitting a new low since October last year for two consecutive months.
At the same time, China's US Treasury holdings decreased by $1.9 billion month on month in August, with a total holdings size of $774.6 billion. After rebounding to a five month high in June, the holdings fell for two consecutive months, approaching the low point since March 2009, which was set in March. Since April 2022, China's holdings of US Treasury bonds have been consistently below $1 trillion. In the first eight months of this year, China's US Treasury holdings decreased for a total of six months, with only an increase in holdings in April and June.
The TIC report has a lag of two months. In the past few months, due to the depreciation pressure on the Japanese yen, the foreign exchange intervention actions of the Japanese authorities may lead to changes in Japan's holdings of US Treasury bonds. According to data released by the Japanese Ministry of Finance, the amount of foreign exchange intervention implemented by Japan from April 26 to May 29 was approximately 9.8 trillion yen; The foreign exchange market intervention implemented from June 27th to July 29th amounted to approximately 5.5 trillion yen. Entering August, the depreciation pressure on the Japanese yen has subsided, with the yen rising over 2.5% against the US dollar that month.
Currently, diversified allocation of external reserve assets has become the trend. The World Gold Council recently released a report stating that global central bank gold demand remained stable in August 2024, with a net purchase of about 8 tons of gold. Overall central bank gold demand has fallen from its peak at the beginning of this year, but still maintains a positive growth trend.
Recently, officials from multiple central banks publicly expressed support for continuing to increase gold reserves. At the annual industry conference of the London Bullion Market Association held in Miami, officials from the Central Bank of Mexico, the Central Bank of Mongolia, and the Central Bank of the Czech Republic stated that against the backdrop of escalating geopolitical tensions, the proportion of gold in central bank reserves is likely to continue to increase in the coming years.