"3 Major Indices Rise for 6th Week; Netflix Soars Over 11%"

News /category/1/ 2024-09-29

On Friday, the three major indices closed higher, with the three major U.S. stock indices recording gains for the sixth consecutive week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.96% for the week, the S&P 500 increased by 0.85%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%.

**U.S. Stocks**: At the closing bell, the DJIA was up 36.86 points, a gain of 0.09%, to close at 43,275.91; the Nasdaq Composite added 115.94 points, a rise of 0.63%, to close at 18,489.55; the S&P 500 index gained 23.20 points, a 0.40% increase, to close at 5,864.67. Netflix (NFLX.US) closed up over 11%, marking its largest single-day gain in a year. The NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index ended up 3.03%, with Ke Holdings (BEKE.NUS) rising 8.37% and Li Auto (LI.US) climbing 6.3%.

**European Stocks**: The German DAX 30 index increased by 65.56 points, a 0.33% gain, to close at 19,653.75; the UK's FTSE 100 index fell by 26.51 points, a 0.32% decrease, to close at 8,358.62; the French CAC 40 index added 29.32 points, a 0.39% rise, to close at 7,613.05; the EURO STOXX 50 index gained 38.15 points, a 0.77% increase, to close at 4,985.45; the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose by 18.50 points, a 0.16% gain, to close at 11,923.00; the Italian FTSE MIB index added 164.27 points, a 0.47% increase, to close at 35,203.00.

Advertisement

**Asia-Pacific Stocks**: The Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.18%, the Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia gained 0.32%, and the VN30 index in Vietnam fell by 0.01%.

**Cryptocurrencies**: Bitcoin was up over 1.2%, trading at $68,218.46 per coin; Ethereum increased by over 1.2%, trading at $2,636.32 per coin.

**Gold**: COMEX gold futures rose by 0.41%, to $2,689.90 per ounce; spot gold increased by 0.42%, to $2,673.75 per ounce.

**Oil**: The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures for delivery in November at the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.45 on Friday, a decrease of 2.05%, to close at $69.22 per barrel, approaching the closing price of $68.17 on September 30 and $65.14 on September 10. U.S. WTI crude futures recorded a weekly decline of 8.39%, marking the largest single-week drop since September 2, when both the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) simultaneously lowered their global oil demand forecasts for 2024 and 2025. The price of Brent crude oil futures for delivery in December on the Intercontinental Exchange in Europe fell by $1.39 on Friday, a decrease of 1.87%, to close at $73.06 per barrel. The futures recorded a weekly decline of over 7%.

**Metals**: Most metals on the London Metal Exchange rose, with nickel falling by 0.31%; copper increased by over 1.2%, zinc by more than 1.3%, and aluminum by over 2%.

**Macro News**:

Federal Reserve's Bostic: Slowing the pace can achieve dual goals. Atlanta Fed President Bostic stated that the Federal Reserve should patiently and gradually lower its policy interest rates, which would allow it to reduce inflation to the 2% target level while also preventing the U.S. economy from falling into a recession. At an American Business Economics Education Forum held in Mississippi, Bostic pointed out: "I am not in a hurry to adjust interest rates to a neutral level; we must restore the inflation rate to the 2% target level; I do not want our restrictive measures to be implemented for too short a time, causing the progress against inflation to stagnate, so I will remain patient." Additionally, Bostic indicated that he expects the Federal Reserve to further reduce the benchmark interest rate. "If the economy continues to develop according to the current trend, if inflation continues to decline, the labor market remains strong, and we still see positive production, then we will be able to continue on the path back to a neutral interest rate." Bostic forecasted that by the end of 2025, U.S. inflation could fall to the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve, at which point the interest rate should also be able to be adjusted to a neutral level.Federal Reserve's Kashkari: Private Credit Could Reduce Systemic Risk. Minneapolis Fed Chairman Kashkari stated that despite the U.S. government's lack of willingness to increase capital requirements for banks, the rise of the private credit market could reduce systemic risk in the U.S. financial system. Kashkari said, "This is somewhat terrifying because it has grown rapidly to a market size of over a trillion dollars. But according to my research, the leverage ratio of a bank in the United States today—a large bank—is about 10 to 1, ten times its equity assets. And the leverage ratio of these private credit instruments is usually 1 to 1, so the leverage is much lower." Private credit—typically referring to loans from non-bank institutions—has been surging in recent years. In an environment of rising interest rates, private credit offers investors more attractive returns compared to other fixed-income products. For borrowers, it has become another source of funding, eliminating many of the stricter requirements typically found in bank loans. Kashkari said that the risks brought by private credit instruments may also be smaller because, compared to banks that need to provide overnight liquidity, private credit instruments usually lock up capital for a longer period. He added, "So, where does systemic risk come from? The intersection of leverage and maturity transformation. Therefore, from these two aspects, the risks of these private credit instruments seem much lower than those of banks." "Although I wish we had stricter regulation for banks, I am actually cautiously optimistic that some developments in the market may reduce the risk of the financial system, at least the systemic risk."

BlackRock ETF Chief: 75% of Bitcoin Buyers Are Cryptocurrency Novices. A year ago, BlackRock's Chief Investment Officer for Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and index investing, Samara Cohen, believed that the suppressed demand for Bitcoin was too large, so she and her team at BlackRock launched one of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products in the United States. Now, investors are flocking, many of whom are cryptocurrency enthusiasts on Wall Street. BlackRock now believes that market demand is a better way to obtain Bitcoin, "This is for ETF packaging." Part of the strategy to attract customers to invest in its funds is to introduce the benefits of exchange-traded products (ETPs) to cryptocurrency investors.

【Stock News】

The world's largest oilfield services company warns: Spending growth by oil exploration companies has slowed. Schlumberger (SLB.US), the world's largest oilfield services provider, warned that spending growth by oil exploration companies has slowed in the past few months as customers take a cautious approach amid falling commodity prices. The company also told investors in a statement on Friday that it expects shareholder returns to exceed the target of $3 billion this year, as most of its customers' projects are underway. The company's CEO, Olivier Le Peuch, said, "Although some customers have taken a more cautious attitude towards near-term capital expenditure and discretionary spending in the face of falling commodity prices, most projects are proceeding as planned. Despite the impact of the macro environment, the growth rate of upstream investment has slowed in the past few months, but we still expect upstream investment to remain at a sustained level in the coming years." Schlumberger is usually a barometer for the oil and gas industry, and its global business provides a perspective on the financial health of the energy industry.

OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT.US) hire investment banks to negotiate on equity conversion issues. OpenAI and Microsoft are engaging in high-stakes negotiations on an unprecedented issue: how should an investment of nearly $14 billion in a non-profit organization be converted into equity in a for-profit company? OpenAI recently completed a financing round with a valuation of $157 billion and is transitioning from a non-profit organization to a for-profit company. How to allocate equity is one of the biggest challenges it faces when it becomes a for-profit company. As the largest investor in OpenAI, Microsoft may own a large share of the company's equity. Given the significance of the negotiation outcome for both Microsoft and OpenAI, both companies have hired investment banks to provide consulting services. Microsoft is working with Morgan Stanley, while OpenAI has chosen Goldman Sachs. In addition to determining the proportion of Microsoft's shares after the restructuring, it is also necessary to clarify the governance rights that Microsoft will have.

【Major Bank Ratings】

Bank of America Global Research: Raised the target price for NVIDIA (NVDA.US) from $165 to $190

UBS: Raised the target price for Uber (UBER.US) from $102 to $114; Raised the target price for Netflix (NFLX.US) from $750 to $825

Keybanc: Raised the target price for Microsoft (MSFT.US) from $490 to $505

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *