On Thursday, January 25th Eastern Time, all three major US stock indexes closed higher, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 continued their recent upward trend, setting a new record for the highest closing in history. The fourth quarter GDP of the United States grew by 3.3%, exceeding the widely expected 2% of economists.
Due to lower than expected financial results, Tesla fell more than 12% and its total market value fell below $600 billion. Multiple institutions have lowered Tesla's target prices.
Boeing fell nearly 6%, and the Federal Aviation Administration suspended Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft expansion plan, including the 737-9 MAX aircraft.
US GDP grew by 3.3% in the fourth quarter
Annual performance exceeded expectations
As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.64% to 38049.13 points, the S&P 500 Index rose 0.53% to 4894.16 points, and the Nasdaq rose 0.18% to 15510.5 points. Both the S&P and Nasdaq have recorded six consecutive days of gains.
In terms of macro data, the initial annualized quarterly real GDP rate in the fourth quarter of 2023 in the United States was 3.30%, expected to be 2.0%, and the final value in the third quarter of 2023 was 4.9%; The initial quarterly rate of actual personal consumption expenditure is 2.8%, expected to be 2.5%, and the final value for the third quarter of 2023 is 3.1%.
The initial quarterly rate of the US GDP price index for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 3.2%, and the final rate for the third quarter of 2023 was 3.6%; The initial value of annualized real GDP is 22.6729 trillion US dollars, and the final value in the third quarter of 2023 is 22.4907 trillion US dollars.
The annualized quarterly rate of the core PCE price index in the fourth quarter of 2023 in the United States was initially 2.00%, expected to be 2.00%, and the final value in the third quarter of 2023 was 2.00%; The initial annualized quarterly rate of the PCE price index is 1.7%, and the final value in the third quarter of 2023 is 2.6%.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen said that inflation is being well controlled, and the pressure on the US labor market has "to some extent eased"; A year ago, forecasters believed that economic recession was almost inevitable, but they did not see such a situation; If inflation remains low, consumer confidence will increase. The $34 trillion debt is a "terrible number", but the United States also has a huge economy; The actual cost of debt repayment is still quite controllable.
Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said that GDP data shows "the economy is operating much hotter than expected, but at the same time, we are facing a situation where inflation is decreasing."
Tesla plummeted by over 12%
Microsoft's massive layoffs of Activision Blizzard employees
Technology stocks mostly rose, with Apple down 0.17%, Amazon up 0.56%, Netflix up 3.14%, Google up 2.13%, Facebook up 0.63%, and Microsoft up 0.57%.
Tesla fell 12.13%, the largest daily decline in a year.
Multiple institutions have lowered Tesla's target price. Among them, Goldman Sachs lowered its target price from $255 to $220; Wade Bush lowered his target price from $350 to $315; HSBC has lowered its target price from $146 to $143.
In other news, according to Wanda Hong Kong News Agency, market reports indicate that Apple has comprehensively reformed the EU App Store and iPhone features to appease regulatory agencies. Apple will lower App Store rates in Europe to between 17% and 10%, and allow EU users to choose default browsers, stores, and payment applications. The Apple App Store policy remains unchanged outside the European Union.
IT Home News: Microsoft will lay off 1900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees. In addition to regular employees, Blizzard President Mike YBarra and Chief Designer Allen Adham will also leave the company.
FAA suspends Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft expansion plan
Boeing continues to be stuck in a quagmire, with its stock price falling nearly 6% against the trend.
According to comprehensive media reports, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States has suspended Boeing's 737 MAX aircraft expansion plan, including the 737-9 MAX aircraft; We will strengthen the supervision of Boeing's production lines, and the quality issues we see are unacceptable; Approved inspection of 171 grounded Boeing 737-9 MAX aircraft.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun said after meeting with senators in the US Congress that he believes the issue surrounding the Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft can be resolved "within days or weeks, rather than months.".
In addition, Alaska Airlines announced plans to take off the first 737-9 MAX on Friday, stating that the grounding of the 737-9 MAX would have a negative impact on the company of $150 million.
Most aviation stocks rose, with Boeing down 5.71%, American Airlines up 10.27%, Delta Air Lines up 5.25%, Southwest Airlines down 2.31%, and United Airlines up 5.19%.
WTI crude oil and oil distribution increased by 3%
Energy stocks rose across the board
WTI crude oil futures and Brent crude oil futures both closed up 3% on Thursday, while energy stocks closed higher overall.
The futures price of West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil (WTI) for March delivery increased by $2.27, or 3%, to close at $77.36 per barrel.
The Brent crude oil futures for delivery in March rose by $2.39, or 3%, to close at $82.43 per barrel.
Since the beginning of 2024, WTI crude oil has risen by nearly 8%, while Brent crude oil has risen by 7%.
Matt Maley, Chief Market Strategist at Miller Tabak, said that the breakthrough of US crude oil above $76 per barrel should confirm that the recent trend in oil prices has shifted upwards. Maley also stated that the next catalyst will be whether WTI can break the 200 day moving average of $77.65.
Energy stocks rose overall, with ExxonMobil up 2.53%, Chevron up 2.53%, ConocoPhillips up 2.18%, Schlumberger up 1.57%, and Western Oil up 1.23%.