US stocks closed Friday with mixed gains and losses, following next week's regional bank and Tesla financial reports
Consumer short-term inflation expectations rise, Federal Reserve officials make dovish remarks
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard transaction approved by UK regulatory authorities
Financial giants generally outperform expectations in their financial reports
Risk aversion sentiment heats up, and gold prices record their largest daily increase this year
Affected by the expected jump in oil prices and a rebound in inflation, US stocks closed mixed on Friday. In terms of sectors, with financial stocks taking the lead in releasing financial reports, JPMorgan Chase's stock price rose 1.5%, Wells Fargo Bank rose 3%, Citigroup fell slightly by 0.2%, and BlackRock fell 1.3%. In addition, United Health Group rose 2.6%, leading the Dow higher. The market will focus on regional bank and Tesla financial reports next week.
As of the close, the Dow rose 39.15 points, or 0.12%, to close at 33670.29 points; The Nasdaq fell 166.99 points, or 1.23%, to close at 13407.23 points; The S&P 500 index fell 21.83 points, or 0.50%, to close at 4327.78.
The Dow rose 0.79% this week, the Nasdaq fell 0.18%, and the S&P 500 index rose 0.45%, marking the second consecutive week of gains.
In the bond market, the 10-year US Treasury yield fell by 8 basis points to 4.631%, while the two-year US Treasury yield fell by 1 basis point to 5.062%. Craig Johnson, Chief Market Technology Analyst at Piper Sandler, stated in an interview with First Financial that the 10-year US Treasury yield has shown a "double peaked" pattern and is expected to decline to 4.30% or 4.25%. If we consider the mid-term trend in the next few quarters, it may drop to around 3.50% or 3.75%. If the 10-year US Treasury yield drops, it will be beneficial for the stock market. The bank expects the S&P 500 index to approach the 4825 level by the end of the year.
Consumer short-term inflation expectations rise, Federal Reserve officials make dovish remarks
In terms of economic data, according to data released by the University of Michigan, the US consumer confidence index fell to 63 in October, from 68.1 in September, with an expected value of 67.4. The current situation index has also decreased, from 71.4 to 66.7. Consumer expectations for inflation in the next year have risen to 3.8%, the highest level since May; The inflation expectation for the next five years has risen to 3%.
Philadelphia Fed Chairman Huck reiterated his support for keeping interest rates unchanged. He said that at least for now, the Federal Reserve has done enough. If there is a change in inflation data, we will not hesitate to vote in favor of raising interest rates. Huck has the right to vote this year.
According to data released by the US Department of Labor, US import prices rose by 0.1% in September, with an expected value of 0.5%. Excluding fuel, import prices fell by 0.2%.
Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard transaction approved by UK regulatory authorities
On the company side, according to the latest results released by JPMorgan Chase, the bank's profit in the third quarter increased by 35% year-on-year to $13.15 billion, or $4.33 per share; Achieved a revenue of 40.69 billion US dollars, exceeding expectations, with a year-on-year increase of 21%. Driven by an increase in net interest income and the acquisition of First Republic Bank, the bank's retail banking business profit surged 36% to $5.9 billion. Due to a decrease in trading and consulting revenue, its corporate and investment banking profits decreased by 12% to $3.1 billion. JPMorgan Chase's stock price rose 1.5% to close at $148 per share.
Citigroup earned $1.63 per share in the third quarter, achieving revenue of $20.14 billion, exceeding expectations. Citigroup stated that its institutional clients and personal banking wealth management departments have achieved steady year-on-year growth. However, Citigroup's stock price turned negative on Friday, falling 0.24% to close at $41.43 per share.
United Health released its third quarter financial report, with a per share profit of $6.56 and revenue of $92.4 billion, both exceeding market expectations. The company also raised its annual earnings per share guidance. United Health's stock price rose 2.64% to close at $539.40 per share.
With the approval of the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA), Microsoft has completed a $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. This transaction has gone through more than 20 months and is the largest transaction in Microsoft's 48 year history. However, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated that it still believes that the transaction poses a threat to competition. Activision Blizzard's net profit for the second quarter was $587 million, with revenue increasing by 34% year-on-year to $2.2 billion. Microsoft's stock price fell 1% to close at $327.73 per share.
Risk aversion sentiment heats up, and gold prices record their largest daily increase this year
In the commodity market, due to the impact of a new round of conflict between Palestine and Israel, gold prices have returned above $1900. The price of gold futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 3.1% on Friday, closing at $1941.50 per ounce, the highest level since September 22 and the largest daily gain since December. Gold prices have risen by 5.2% this week, the largest weekly increase since mid March, and have risen 6.31% so far this year.
The WTI crude oil futures for October delivery rose 5.8% on Friday to close at $87.69 per barrel, marking the largest daily increase since April. WTI oil prices have accumulated a 5.9% increase this week. The Brent crude oil futures for December delivery rose 5.7% to close at $90.89 per barrel, with a cumulative increase of 7.5% this week.