On Thursday, local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively. By the close, the Dow was up 0.35% at 33666.34; The S&P 500 gained 0.59% to 4,299.70. The Nasdaq rose 0.83% to 13,201.28.
In terms of sectors, the S&P 500 index of 11 major sectors 10 up and one down, communications services, materials, 1.16% and 1.05%, respectively, led by utilities down 2.19%.
On the economic front Thursday, second-quarter GDP growth was unchanged at 2.1%, while first-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 2.2% from the previously reported 2.0%.
The Labor Department reported the number of Americans filing for state unemployment benefits last week was 204,000, versus 215,000 estimates and 201,000.
Us GDP growth was unchanged at 2.1% in the second quarter
The final estimate released by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed US GDP growth was unchanged at 2.1% in the second quarter, after first-quarter GDP growth was revised up to 2.2% from the previously reported 2.0%.
The U.S. economy maintained a fairly robust pace of growth in the second quarter and appears to have picked up momentum in the third quarter amid a strong labor market, with expectations for third-quarter GDP growth now as high as 4.9%. But a looming government shutdown could dent momentum in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs forecasts that fourth-quarter GDP growth will plunge to 1.3%.
Already cooled by high interest rates, the U.S. economy could face a quadruple challenge this fall: a broader auto worker strike, a prolonged government shutdown, the resumption of student loan payments and soaring oil prices, analysts said.
The latest data from the US Department of Commerce showed that the US personal consumption expenditure (PCE) in the second quarter was 0.8% on an annualized basis, sharply revised down from the previous 1.7% and expected 1.7%. The data showed that the PCE, the main driver of the U.S. economy, was only half the previous value, mainly due to weak spending on services, which was the lowest increase in more than a year.
The Fed's favorite inflation measure, the final core PCE price index excluding food and energy, was unchanged at 3.7 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, compared with expectations of 3.7 percent.
On the employment front, initial claims for unemployment benefits edged up last week. U.S. jobless claims came in at 204,000 last week versus 215,000 estimates and 201,000.
The US existing home sales index fell 7.1% month on month in August, compared with an expected 0.8% decline.
The U.S. government shutdown is only three days away
If the House and Senate fail to pass a bill to fund the government by 11:59pm Eastern time on Saturday, the US government will face a shutdown. Thousands of federal employees will be suspended without pay and "non-essential" federal services will be shut down.
There are only three days left before the U.S. government shuts down. CNN reported that the House and Senate are deadlocked on a "path forward."
Wall Street is also closely watching the U.S. government shutdown crisis. Negotiations are continuing among lawmakers in Congress over a spending bill in the United States. If no deal is reached by the end of the week, the U.S. government will shut down.
Congressional Republican leader Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday blocked a stopgap funding bill, raising the prospect of a fourth partial U.S. government shutdown in a decade.
With the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline fast approaching, the federal government has begun preparing for its impact. Nearly 4 million U.S. federal employees would be affected by a shutdown, with essential workers continuing to work but others furloughed. Nothing will be paid during the shutdown, and for many, the shutdown will strain their finances.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Gensler warned on Wednesday that a government shutdown could furlough as many as 93 percent of the agency's 4,600 employees if Congress fails to fund the government by Friday.
There have been 20 government shutdowns in the last four decades. There were several shutdowns lasting longer than a week in the 1970s, the longest of which occurred in 1995 when then-President Bill Clinton faced off with the Republican House and Senate, resulting in two government shutdowns totaling 26 days.
A White House official said the White House was "preparing for a shutdown" and that the president's West Wing team was working on a plan, including which staff members would be considered "essential" starting Oct. 1.
Nvidia's French offices were allegedly raided by the country's antitrust authorities
On Thursday, local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively. By the close, the Dow was up 0.35% at 33666.34; The S&P 500 gained 0.59% to 4,299.70. The Nasdaq rose 0.83% to 13,201.28.
In terms of sectors, the S&P 500 index of 11 major sectors 10 up and one down, communications services, materials, 1.16% and 1.05%, respectively, led by utilities down 2.19%.
Hot technology stocks generally rose, Chaowei Semiconductor rose more than 4%, Tesla, Meta rose more than 2%, ebay, Qualcomm, Intel, Nvidia, Google, Cisco rose more than 1%, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Apple rose slightly.
French competition regulators raided Nvidia's local offices this week over alleged anti-competitive practices by the chip giant, according to media reports. The French competition authority disclosed the raids on Wednesday, but did not say what practices it was investigating or which company it was targeting, other than to say it was in the graphics card industry. However, people familiar with the matter said the target of the French regulator's action was Nvidia, the world's largest maker of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer graphics chips.
Meta releases new AI chatbot. At Meta's developer conference in California on Wednesday, CEO MarkZuckerberg unveiled a digital assistant called MetaAI that will be able to generate text and images. Meta also released a set of 28 chatbots made up of celebrity figures, including celebrities such as rapper SnoopDogg and football star TomBrady. Zuckerberg praised the technology not only as a tool to answer questions, but also as an entertainment companion and a bridge between the virtual and real worlds.
In addition, Meta also released the latest version of Ray-Ban smart glasses, which integrates MetaAI. Meanwhile, Meta has revealed more details about its Quest mixed reality headset. Both products are expected to go on sale in October.
Well-known analyst Guo Ming𠫓¹ said that Apple and Qualcomm chip demand is sluggish, and ASML EUV shipments are sharply reduced by about 20-3 Some analysts predict that ASML may "significantly" reduce its lithography machine (EUV) shipments next year. Kuo said Dutch lithography giant AsML is likely to slash its extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) shipment forecast by about 20-30%, citing, among other things, Apple's demand for 3-nanometer chips He also pointed out that shipments of MacBooks and ipads have declined significantly, which may be due to weaker demand for Apple chips and a "recession" in demand for Mini-Led features. Looking ahead to 2024, Apple's 3-nanometer chip demand is adversely affected by the lack of growth momentum for the MacBook and iPad. Guo also said that Qualcomm's demand for 3-nanometer chips may be lower than expected because Huawei has stopped using Qualcomm's
Energy stocks were mostly lower, with American Energy down more than 4% and Brazil Oil, ExxonMobil, Murphy Oil, Conocophillips, Chevron, BP down slightly; Occidental was up 0.43% and Shell was up 1.39%. International oil prices fell on the 28th. Light crude for November delivery fell $1.97, or 2.1%, to settle at $91.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by the end of the day. London Brent crude for November delivery fell $1.17, or 1.21 per cent, to settle at $95.38 a barrel.
The Nasdaq China Gold Dragon Index gained 0.27%. 21Vianet rose more than 9%, Uke Works rose nearly 7%, Nio rose more than 5%, Bit Mining rose more than 4%, Xiaopeng Automobile rose more than 3%, Niu Electric, Baozun e-commerce, Minzhuo products, Weibo rose nearly 2%, Ding Dong Buy food rose more than 1%, Manbang, Tuniu, Pinduoduo, New Oriental rose slightly. Faraday future fell more than 5%, Douyu fell 4%, New oxygen, Huya, iQiyi fell more than 2%, Jingdong, ideal car fell more than 1%, ZTO Express, Alibaba, NetEase Youdao, fog core technology fell slightly.
It is reported that NIO and Mercedes-Benz held talks on investment, technical cooperation and other issues. However, Mercedes said it does not currently have any cooperation plans with NIO. Nio also denied that it was in talks with Mercedes about a partnership, calling the news "untrue," without elaborating.