On Wednesday Eastern Time, the three major US stock indexes collectively closed lower. As of the close, the three major US stock indexes collectively closed lower, with the Nasdaq down 1.5%, the S&P 500 down 1.47%, and the Dow down 1.27%. The Nasdaq and Dow ended their nine consecutive gains.
Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index falling more than 2%. NIO fell more than 10%, Bilibili fell more than 6%, Xiaopeng Motors and Ideal Motors fell more than 5%, and New Oriental fell more than 4%.
FedEx fell more than 12%, and the company's second quarter revenue and adjusted earnings per share both fell short of expectations. The company expects a lower decline in revenue between 0% and 10% in the 2024 fiscal year, which was originally expected to remain stable. In addition, the company expects to add $1 billion in stock repurchases in the fiscal year 2024.
Global News

$35 billion worth of goods forced to change course! The tense situation in the Red Sea is causing anxiety in the global shipping industry
The global shipping situation remains urgent. So far, due to the threat of attacks by Yemeni armed militants in the Red Sea region, shipping shippers have diverted their routes from the Red Sea route, and approximately $30 billion worth of goods have been rescheduled for new routes.
China has reduced its holdings of US Treasury bonds for the seventh consecutive month, with a cumulative decrease of nearly 100 billion US dollars this year!
On Tuesday, December 19th local time, the US Treasury Department released its International Capital Flow Report (TIC) for October 2023. The report shows that the size of US treasury bond held by China in October decreased by $8.5 billion compared with the previous month, marking the seventh consecutive month of position reduction. The total size of positions fell from $778.1 billion in September to $769.6 billion, a new low since 2009. Since April last year, China's U.S. debt position has been less than $1 trillion. Compared with the position size at the end of last year ($867.1 billion), China's U.S. treasury bond debt position has declined by nearly $100 billion this year. It is worth mentioning that this is also the second wave of seven consecutive declines in China's US Treasury holdings in just 15 months.
"Four Eagles and Five Pigeons": Changes in the Federal Reserve's FOMC Pattern in 2024
In the next year, the lineup of FOMCs with voting rights from the Federal Reserve will shift towards a more dovish stance. This may provide support for bond prices in 2024.
The UK's November CPI is weaker than expected and the economy will falter
According to data from the UK Office for National Statistics, the country's consumer price index rose 3.9% year-on-year, lower than the 4.6% increase in October. Economists had previously expected a 4.3% increase, and there was no prediction of a growth rate lower than 4.2%. The pound expanded its decline after the data was released, falling 0.6% at one point to $1.2658. After the data was released, traders increased their bets on interest rate cuts, and it is expected that the Bank of England will cut rates by 143 basis points next year.
Company News
Alibaba Group CEO Wu Yongming concurrently serves as CEO of Alibaba Cloud and Taotian Group. Dai Shan will collaborate to build an asset management company
On December 20th, Alibaba announced that Wu Yongming, CEO of Alibaba Group and Chairman of Taotian Group, will also serve as CEO of Taotian Group. From now on, Wu Yongming will concurrently serve as the CEO of Alibaba Group, Taotian Group, and Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Group, helping to lead Taotian's transformation through technological innovation, ensuring that the group focuses on core strategic e-commerce and cloud, forming a unified command and high-intensity continuous investment. Dai Shan, former CEO of Taotian Group, will assist in the establishment of Alibaba Group Asset Management Company, which is a new business function after Alibaba's transformation.
Google Gemini Exposes Behind Baidu Wenxin Training: Good Chinese Data is Very Scarce
Not long after the release of the new Google Gemini model, Gemini Pro claimed to be the Baidu Wenxin model during a Chinese conversation, which attracted industry attention.