On February 2nd local time, the three major US stock indexes collectively closed higher, with the Dow Jones Index up 0.35%, the S&P 500 Index up 1.07%, both reaching historic highs, and the Nasdaq up 1.74%.
Large tech stocks rose widely, with Facebook's parent company Meta up over 20% and its stock price reaching a new closing high. Its market value increased overnight by $206.14 billion (approximately RMB 1482.37 billion), with a total market value of $1.22 trillion. Amazon surged nearly 8%, with a market value increase of $130.1 billion and a total market value of $1.78 trillion. Nvidia rose nearly 5%, Microsoft rose nearly 2%, and both stock prices hit new closing highs, with a total market value increase of $77.37 billion and $55.2 billion, respectively. The total market value of the four major technology companies increased overnight by $468.81 billion (approximately RMB 3.37 trillion).
In terms of economic data, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the non farm employment population in the United States increased by 353000 people after the quarterly adjustment in January, almost twice the market expectation of 180000 people, the highest increase since January 2023. The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% in January, with market expectations of 3.8%.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 index hit new highs
On February 2nd local time, the three major US stock indexes collectively rose, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 reaching new highs. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.35% to 38654.42 points, the S&P 500 Index rose 1.07% to 4958.61 points, both reaching historical closing highs, and the Nasdaq rose 1.74% to 15628.95 points.
This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen 1.43%, the S&P 500 has risen 1.38%, and the Nasdaq has risen 1.12%.
In terms of economic data, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday that the non farm payroll in the United States increased by 353000 people after the January quarter adjustment, almost twice the market expectation of 180000 people, the highest increase since January 2023. The US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.7% in January, the lowest level in nearly six months, with market expectations of 3.8%.
The average hourly wage in January increased by 0.6% month on month, with a year-on-year increase of 4.5%, higher than market expectations of 0.3% and 4.1%, respectively. The average weekly working hours have slightly decreased to 34.1. The employment participation rate has also remained at 62.5%, with market expectations of 62.6%.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics pointed out that the employment growth in January mainly occurred in the fields of professional and business services, healthcare, retail trade, and social assistance. The employment rate in the mining, quarrying, oil and gas extraction industries has decreased.
The non-agricultural employment data for November 2023 was revised up from 173000 to 182000, and in December it was revised up from 216000 to 333000, a total increase of 126000 compared to before the correction.
After the data was released, traders lowered their expectations for interest rate cuts, with a probability of about 20% taking action at the March meeting. The swap market is no longer fully pricing the Fed's interest rate cut in May.
The Federal Reserve's Gullsby said that maintaining a strong labor market will alleviate the Fed's concerns about employment targets; The weakness in total working hours in January's employment data indicates that the report is not as strong as the overall data suggests; If there is a positive supply shock in the economic system, there will be no longer a need to wait for interest rate cuts.
On Wednesday of this week, the Federal Reserve announced its January interest rate decision, announcing the maintenance of the federal funds rate target range at 5.25% to 5.50% unchanged. The statement shows that FOMC expects that it is not advisable to lower the interest rate target range until there is greater confidence in the continued move towards 2% inflation rate.
Goldman Sachs asset management analyst Lindsay Rosner said, "Today's employment data and strong average hourly wages may have cast a shadow over the market. The statement that the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates in March seems appropriate. Whether the Fed raises rates in March or May, this shift has already occurred, and in this strong economic environment, monetary policy will become a driving force for fixed income investors."
In addition, the final value of the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index in January was 79, with an expected value of 78.9, compared to the previous value of 78.8. The expected one-year inflation rate in the United States for January is 2.9%, compared to the previous value of 2.9%.
In December 2023, factory orders in the United States increased by 0.2% month on month, with an expected increase of 0.2% and a previous increase of 2.6%.
The stock market value of the four major technologies surged overnight, exceeding 3 trillion yuan
In terms of sectors, the eleven major sectors of the S&P 500 index rose six times and fell five times. The communication services sector and the non essential consumer goods sector led the rise with gains of 4.69% and 2.49% respectively, while the public utilities sector and the real estate sector led the decline with losses of 1.81% and 1.26%, respectively.
Large tech stocks rose generally, Meta rose over 20%, Amazon rose nearly 8%, Nvidia rose nearly 5%, and Microsoft rose nearly 2%. The total market value of these four companies increased overnight by $468.81 billion (approximately RMB 337 trillion); Google A saw a slight increase; Apple and Tesla saw a slight decline.
Facebook's parent company Meta surged 20.32%, hitting a new closing high with a total market value of $1.22 trillion, an increase of $206.14 billion.
After Thursday's trading, Meta released its Q4 2023 financial report, which showed quarterly revenue of $40.11 billion, higher than analysts' expectations of $39.01 billion; The profit per share was $5.33, higher than the analyst's expected $4.91. The advertising department's fourth quarter revenue was $38.71 billion, higher than analysts' expectations of $37.81 billion; The Reality Labs department, which designs VR and metaverse, generated revenue of $1.07 billion, exceeding analyst expectations of $812.6 million.
Meta expects a revenue of 34.5-37 billion US dollars in the first quarter of 2024, higher than Wall Street's expected 33.8 billion US dollars; It is expected that the total expenditure for the entire year of 2024 will remain between $94 billion and $99 billion.
Meta also announced that starting from March, it will distribute quarterly cash dividends of 50 cents per share to Class A and Class B common stocks. This is the first dividend distribution made by Meta since its establishment. It also announced a $50 billion stock buyback.
Citigroup, Barclays, Wedbush, Goldman Sachs and other investment banks have all raised their target prices for Meta, with Raymond James raising the target price from $450 to $550 and maintaining a "strong buy" rating; Citigroup has raised its Meta target price from $440 to $525.
Amazon surged 7.87%, with a total market value of $1.78 trillion and an increase of $130.1 billion. Amazon's fourth quarter financial report for the 2023 fiscal year shows that its net sales in the fourth quarter were $169.961 billion, a 14% increase from $149.04 billion in the same period last year; The net profit was 10.624 billion US dollars, a significant increase of over 37 times compared to the same period last year's net profit of 278 million US dollars; Diluted earnings per share were $1.00, a significant increase from $0.03 in the same period last year. Amazon also predicts that the company's net sales in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 will reach $138 billion to $143.5 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8% to 13%; The operating profit will reach $8 billion to $12 billion, while the operating profit for the same period in fiscal year 2023 is $4.8 billion. JPMorgan Chase has raised Amazon's target price from $190 to $225. Bernstein raised Amazon's target price from $175 to $200.
Nvidia rose 4.97%, setting a new closing high for its stock price. On February 1st, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun stated in an interview that multiple countries are seeking to establish and operate independent AI infrastructure in their own countries, which will drive the growth of demand for Nvidia products. Countries such as India, Japan, France, and Canada are all discussing the importance of investing in "autonomous artificial intelligence capabilities". "The recognition of autonomous artificial intelligence capabilities is global."
Apple fell nearly 4% at one point, and as of the close, the decline narrowed to 0.54%. On the news side, Apple's net revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 was $119.575 billion, a 2% increase from $117.154 billion in the same period last year; The net profit was 33.916 billion US dollars, an increase of 13% compared to the same period last year's 29.998 billion US dollars. However, the revenue in Greater China was $20.819 billion, a 13% decrease from $23.905 billion in the same period last year. "The overall strong performance of iPhone 15 sales clearly reflects that the suppressed demand for smartphones has exceeded expectations, but the significant decline in China is worrying as it may be the beginning of a longer-term downward trend in China," said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at TECHanalysis Research
Popular Chinese concept stocks generally fell, with the NASDAQ China Golden Dragon Index falling 1.62%, Manbang falling nearly 5%, Bilibili falling more than 4%, Xiaopeng Automobile falling more than 3%, NIO, Beike, Ideal Automobile, Tencent Music, Baidu, NetEase falling more than 2%, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Ctrip falling more than 1%, Alibaba and others falling slightly; Gaotu rose by over 10%, while New Oriental rose by over 4%.