U.S. Stocks Extend Gains Amid Cooling Inflation Expectations and Dollar Weakness

Intelligent Finance APP learned on Monday that the three major indexes rose together, marking the fourth consecutive day of gains and hitting a two-week high. Both the S&P and Nasdaq rose more than 1%, with the S&P recording its largest four-day winning streak since June. The U.S. dollar index once fell more than 1% and lost the 108 mark, reaching a three-week low. The U.S. bond yield curve steepened, with the 10-year Treasury yield falling 6 basis points to 3.26% at its lowest, before turning positive and trading at 3.36%; long-term yields turned positive, with the 30-year yield hitting another eight-year high; while the two-year yield fell more than 5 basis points, narrowing its losses during U.S. stock trading hours and returning to 3.57%. With increasing supply uncertainty, both WTI and Brent crude oil rose more than 1%, with Brent briefly breaking above $95. The U.S. NYMEX October natural gas futures rose over 3%. Gold futures closed up 0.7%, marking the second consecutive day of gains.

【US Stock Market】By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 229.63 points, or 0.71%, to 32,381.34 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 154.10 points, or 1.27%, to 12,266.41 points; and the S&P 500 Index climbed by 43.05 points, or 1.06%, to 4,110.41 points. Meta (META.US) closed down 0.11%, Alphabet (GOOGL.US), the parent company of Google, finished up 0.2%, Amazon (AMZN.US) surged more than 2%, nearly recovering losses since August 25. Apple (AAPL.US) jumped nearly 4%, Microsoft (MSFT.US) gained almost 1%, both approaching recovery of losses since August 26. Netflix (NFLX.US) rose over 1% to a three-week high. Tesla (TSLA.US) added 1.6%, marking its fifth consecutive gain to the highest level since August 16. Chip stocks were mixed, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index turning positive by 0.3% in late trading, rising for four straight sessions to a two-week high. AMD (AMD.US) fell 1%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) reversed to rise by 0.8%, Lam Research (LRCX.US) dropped 0.8%, and Applied Materials (AMAT.US) declined 0.2%.

【European Stocks】Germany's DAX 30 Index rose 2.4%, the UK's FTSE 100 Index increased by 1.66%, France's CAC 40 Index climbed 1.95%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 Index advanced by 2.14%.

【Asia-Pacific Stock Market】The Nikkei 225 index rose by 1.16%, the KOSPI index in South Korea increased by 0.33%, the Straits Times Index in Singapore went up by 0.36%, the VN30 index in Vietnam dropped by 0.14%, the Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia gained 0.16%, the SET Index in Thailand climbed by 0.67%, and the BSE Sensex 30 in India advanced by 0.54%.

【Foreign Exchange】The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, once fell more than 1% and broke below the 108 level to a three-week low, after nearing 111 last Wednesday, hitting its highest point in two decades.

[Cryptocurrency]Mainstream encrypted digital currencies showed mixed performance, with Bitcoin rising over 3% and breaking through the 22,000-dollar mark, nearing its highest point in a month; Ethereum fell by 3% but remained above 1,700 dollars.

[Gold]COMEX December gold futures rose 0.7% to $1,740.60 per ounce.

【Crude Oil】WTI crude oil futures for October closed up 1.14% at $87.78 per barrel. Brent crude oil futures for November closed up 1.25% at $94 per barrel.

[Base Metals]London base metals closed higher across the board. LME copper futures rose 1.88% to $8,004.00/ton. LME nickel futures surged 6.25% to $24,431/ton. LME aluminum futures increased 0.20% to $2,290.50/ton. LME zinc futures climbed 1.39% to $3,211.50/ton. LME lead futures advanced 1.85% to $1,952.50/ton. LME tin futures gained 1.69% to $21,523/ton.

【Macroeconomic News】

U.S. CPI May Cool Again, But Markets Are "One-Sided" in Betting on a 75 Basis Point Rate Hike by the Fed in September.Due to the continued decline in gasoline prices, the US inflation rate in August may slow for the second consecutive month. However, in the view of most analysts, this may not be enough to stop the Federal Reserve from another aggressive interest rate hike later this month – a third consecutive 75 basis point increase.

New York Fed Survey: U.S. Inflation and Home Price Expectations Declined in AugustThe monthly Survey of Consumer Expectations released by the New York Fed on Monday showed that expectations for inflation over the next three years fell to 2.8% in August, down from 3.2% the previous month and 3.6% in June. Expectations for inflation over the next year also fell from 6.2% in July to 5.7%, while expectations for inflation over the next five years dropped from 2.3% to 2%.

EU to Introduce Measures to Intervene in Energy, Natural Gas Prices Drop by 8% at One Point.European Natural Gas Prices Plunge, EU Expected to Announce Intervention Measures This Week. On Monday, September 12, the European benchmark TTF Dutch natural gas October futures plummeted by 8.3% at one point, reaching the lowest level in a month, and are currently down 6.1% to €194.5 per megawatt-hour. Last Friday, EU energy ministers held an emergency energy meeting, calling for measures to control energy costs and provide liquidity to the market. The European Commission is expected to propose energy-related measures this week.

To Address Unprecedented Energy Crisis, EU Proposes Mandatory Electricity Reduction and Tax on Energy Company Profits.According to a draft document, the committee will propose that the 27 member states impose a "special and temporary" contribution based on the taxable excess profits earned by companies in the oil, natural gas, coal, and refining industries during the 2022 fiscal year. The EU will also propose two targets for reducing electricity demand: a target for cutting overall power consumption, and a mandatory target for reducing demand during specific peak time periods.

ECB Governing Council Member Scicluna: A 75-basis-point interest rate hike is not the norm.Recently, Edward Scicluna, a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, stated that future interest rate hikes may be smaller than last week’s 75 basis points. "This will not be the only rate hike," he said. "There will be a few more." Scicluna, who serves as the Governor of the Central Bank of Malta and is considered one of the more dovish members of the ECB Governing Council, noted that 75 basis points would not become the norm.

Euro Sees Largest Gain Since March, ECB's Hawkish Stance Helps Cool Dollar Rally.The euro once rose 1.6% to $1.0198, the largest increase since March, benefiting from more hawkish comments by European Central Bank officials — for instance, German central bank governor Nagel stated that if the inflation situation remains unchanged, then the European Central Bank must take further decisive measures. Last week, the European Central Bank raised interest rates by an unprecedented 75 basis points in order to curb the fastest rise in consumer prices ever recorded.

Peripheral Market Fluctuations: Yen Leads Asian Currencies in DeclineOn September 12, volatility in overseas markets continued, with Asian currencies plunging against the US dollar. The yen has fallen to levels seen during the Asian financial crisis, while the won has dropped to levels last seen during the 2008 financial crisis. As of 15:30 Beijing time on September 12, USD/JPY was at 142.86, and USD/KRW was at 1378.9, with cumulative annual declines of 29.74% and 17.14%, respectively.

【Individual Stock News】

Goldman Sachs (GS.US) Initiates "Bottom-Up Elimination," Plans to Lay Off Hundreds Starting This Month.Data shows that analysts expect Goldman Sachs' performance this year to suffer a decline of more than 40%. The New York-based company said in July that it plans to slow hiring and reinstate annual performance reviews, signaling potential layoffs later this year. In response to what the company calls a "challenging operating environment," layoffs are undoubtedly a quick way to control costs.

Strong pre-orders for high-end models drive Apple's (AAPL.US) biggest one-day gain since May.On Monday local time, mega-cap Apple Inc. closed up 3.85%, marking its largest single-day gain since the end of May this year. The main reason was the strong market expectations for the high-end models of the newly released iPhone 14 series last week, which were as hot as expected. Bank of America analyst Wamsi Mohan noted that the order waiting times for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models both surpassed those of their corresponding models from the previous generation.

Intel (INTC.US) Lowers IPO Expectations for its Autonomous Driving Unit Mobileye, Targeting $30 Billion.Intel's IPO is expected to value its self-driving technology business at up to $30 billion, lower than the initially hoped-for level. The original plan was to issue shares around the middle of 2022, with a potential valuation exceeding $50 billion.

Oracle (ORCL.US) Q1 Revenue Grows 18% YoY in Line with Expectations, Cloud Business Revenue Surges 45%.Oracle (ORCL.US) Announces Q1 2023 Earnings After U.S. Market Close on Monday Eastern Time

General Electric (GE.US) announced that it will spin off its healthcare business early next year.General Electric announced on Monday that it will spin off its healthcare business from the group in the first week of 2023, naming it GE HealthCare. GE stated that the new company's board will consist of 10 members, including CEO Larry Culp and Healthcare CEO Peter Arduini, as well as executives from Honeywell International and Amazon AWS.

Japan Approves Pfizer (PFE.US) and Moderna (MRNA.US) Boosters Targeting Omicron.Pfizer (PFE.US) and Moderna (MRNA.US) Omicron-Targeted COVID-19 Booster Shots Approved in Japan

[Major Ratings]

Rui Mu: Downgraded Adobe (ADBE.US) rating from "Buy" to "Neutral", target price reduced from $480 to $440.

Deutsche Bank: Reiterates NIO (NIO.US) as the Top Pick in China's EV Sector, Maintains "Buy" Rating.

Piper Sandler: Downgrades Meta Platforms (META.US) price target from $190 to $175, maintains "Neutral" rating.

Piper Sandler: Downgraded Exxon Mobil (XOM.US) target price from $109 to $108, maintained "Overweight" rating.

Goldman Sachs: Initiated Coverage on Newmont Mining (NEM.US) with "Buy" Rating, Target Price $53.