Eastern time on Thursday, the three major US stock indexes closed down. By the close, the Dow was down 0.51 percent, the Nasdaq down 0.63 percent and the S&P 500 down 0.63 percent.


Biotech company Tempest fell more than 60 per cent at one point and surged nearly 40 times last session. Ford Motor fell nearly 2 percent as 8,700 workers at a truck plant in Kentucky joined the strike.
The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell more than 3 percent, with most popular Chinese stocks falling. Jd.com fell more than 8%, Good Future fell more than 7%, and Bilibili fell more than 4%.

World News

< strong style=" text-wrap:wrap; " > The increase is steady! Us CPI fails to fall as expected, the Fed's fight against inflation is in a tug of war
Local time on Thursday (October 12), the latest release of the US year-on-year inflation rate in September failed to slow as expected, highlighting the difficulty of easing price pressures. Specific data released by the U.S. Labor Department showed that the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, higher than the market had expected 0.3 percent, and the figure rose 0.6 percent in August.
Fed minutes: "The last plus" is far from set in stone "proceed cautiously" is the consensus
Early Thursday morning Beijing time, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the September 19-20 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The differences between the lines and warnings not only indicate that the "end of interest rate hikes" is in sight, but also reflect the policy risk considerations in the eyes of monetary policy makers have also changed. After the September meeting, the 10-year Treasury yield soared from 4.4% to around 4.9%, as the Fed halved its forecast for next year's rate cut while expecting "one more rate hike this year." Seeing this, a number of Federal Reserve officials have recently come out to shout "fire fighting", which is why risk asset appetite has picked up in recent days.
Up to $40 billion in losses! Us auto strike escalates as automakers negotiate layoffs
The United Auto Workers' strike against Detroit's Big Three automakers is entering its fourth week with no end in sight. Faced with workers' demands for a 40 percent pay rise, automakers are negotiating lower increases while laying off workers en masse, claiming they are balancing higher costs. Recently, Michigan economic consulting firm Anderson Economic Group (AEG) released a report saying that as of the end of the third week of the strike, the strike on Ford, General Motors and Strangis caused losses of $5.5 billion (now about 40 billion yuan), more than the previous total loss of $4 billion record.
The Sword of Damocles! Us government shutdown fears hit IPO market
Earlier, the U.S. government averted a shutdown on October 1 in the last three hours, but the threat was not over, only postponed until November 17. In addition to the impact on the U.S. economy, markets, and the Fed's decision, the potential threat remains against the backdrop of concerns that the U.S. initial public offering (IPO) market, which is just showing signs of recovery, will also be affected. If the US government shuts down later in November, the Securities and Exchange Commission will be left with a skeleton staff, preventing the agency from effectively reviewing new listings.
This indicator is flashing red! If history is a guide, stocks could fall 50%
U.S. stocks have surprised many on Wall Street this year with a strong rally that defied decades of high interest rates and calls for a recession. Slowing inflation and hype about artificial intelligence have fueled the rally. But some time ago, the Fed's unwavering long-term rate hike stance and the deepening rout in the bond market dealt a fatal blow to the US stock market, with the S&amp 500 index (S& P 500) gave up gains since the start of the year. But with the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Federal Reserve has softened its stance recently, and the U.S. stock market has successfully achieved a fourth straight positive performance this week. In fact, according to research, equity valuations look increasingly expensive, which increases the risk of a market correction. One indicator in particular is flashing red - the relative valuations of equity and bond markets.
The US Space Force will temporarily disable AI tools such as ChatGPT due to data security concerns
According to a memo seen by the media, the US Space Force has temporarily banned its employees from using web-based generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT, including the so-called Large Language models (LLMS) that power these tools, due to data security concerns. The memo, dated September 29, was addressed to the "Guardians," the name given to members of the Space Force. They will not be allowed to use these AI tools on government systems unless they receive special approval, the memo said. The memo states that the temporary ban is "due to data aggregation risks."
Company news

Nearly $30 billion in back taxes! The IRS responded to Microsoft with a big stick: It will appeal
According to the SEC, Microsoft said in its 8-K filing that on October 11, 2023, Microsoft announced that it had received a notice of proposed adjustments from the Internal Revenue Service for the 2004 to 2013 tax years and was required to pay an additional $28.9 billion in taxes, plus penalties and interest. This relates to the distribution of profits between different countries and jurisdictions between 2004 and 2013. Up to $10 billion in taxes already paid by companies are not reflected in the IRS's proposed adjustments. Microsoft said it disagrees with the proposed changes and will appeal to the IRS.
Microsoft Blizzard acquisition as early as next week through the UK approval, the EU or "direct clearance"
Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been reshuffled. The latest news is that the revised acquisition plan is expected to avoid a new investigation by the European Union. That could mean a wider path ahead for the biggest merger ever in the gaming industry. The European Commission has concluded that amendments to Microsoft's bid, which it is seeking support from Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), do not need to go through the EU approval process because further approval would only delay the stop-start deal further, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Worth nearly 60 billion! The world's biggest merger this year, the United States oil production map may change dramatically
On Wednesday (October 11), energy giant ExxonMobil announced that it will buy Pioneer Natural Resources in an all-stock transaction for $253 per share, or a total value of $59.5 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Vanguard shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares of Exxon Mobil for each Pioneer share they own. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, subject to regulatory review and Pioneer shareholder approval, and the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024, the statement said.
Earnings outlook: Tesla car sales slowed sharply in the third quarter and sales in China are facing challenges
Big US tech earnings will kick off with Netflix and Tesla after the US stock market closes on October 19 (Asia-Pacific time). On the back of a broad rally in large-cap tech stocks in October, investors are likely to price in strong earnings results for the third quarter. So, after a two-month slump in US tech stocks, their earnings results will be crucial to market sentiment. Tesla's profit margin will be a key parameter in its earnings report. Here's a look at the potential trends brewing at the tech giant and the potential impact on its third-quarter earnings results.
Buffett's new "prey" exposed analysts: insurance companies and bank stocks are expected to be the next target
Warren Buffett's next prey? According to Bloomberg, Buffett bought shares in Japanese trading companies, helping to drive the country's stock market to multi-decade highs. Some analysts pointed out that six months later, insurance companies and bank stocks are expected to become Buffett's next investment targets in Japan. Masakazu Takeda, who manages the $294 million Hennessy Japan fund, said insurers have low price-to-book ratios, strong fundamentals and relatively high returns. In addition, analysts at Mizuho Securities and Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities said large banks were also bullish on the possibility of tighter monetary policy.