On Friday (the 23rd), all three major U.S. stock indices closed lower. International oil prices continued to rise, exacerbating market concerns about inflation, putting pressure on consumer and financial stocks, with the Dow Jones Index leading the decline. Chip stocks, which faced selling pressure on the previous trading day, saw a rebound, but were unable to drive the overall market higher.

As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 652.82 points, or 1.23%, to 52,215.16; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 53.52 points, or 0.21%, to 25,955.34; and the S&P 500 Index fell 39.75 points, or 0.52%, to 7,623.68.

On a weekly basis, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen by 0.41%, closing higher for the third consecutive week; the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 Index have fallen by 0.71% and 0.47% respectively, both experiencing declines for the second consecutive week.

Hot Stock Performance

Most large tech stocks fell. Google dropped 1.08%, Meta fell 0.96%, Amazon fell 0.95%, Tesla fell 0.63%, NVIDIA fell 0.59%, and Apple fell 0.14%; Microsoft rose 0.66%.

Chip stocks rebounded, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rising by 0.44%. Micron Technology rose 2.46%, Marvell Technology rose 2.26%, AMD rose 1.74%, Intel rose 1.72%, and TSMC ADR rose 1.49%.

Hard drives and flash memory stocks continued their downward trend, with Western Digital falling by 2.97%, and Sandisk and Seagate falling by 1.82% and 1.81% respectively.

Telecom operators' stock prices plummet. Bloomberg reported that Space Exploration Technologies Corp. ( SpaceX ) is in negotiations to acquire a large number of American cellular base station sites in order to build wireless communication networks. This news has sparked concerns about increased industry competition, with AT&T falling by 7.96%, T-Mobile falling by 7.71%, and Verizon falling by 1.19%; SpaceX rose by 1.89%.

In terms of financial reports, American Express saw a decline of 3.68%. The company's revenue for the third quarter, after deducting interest expenses, increased by 9% year-on-year to $20.062 billion, and the adjusted earnings per share were $4.68, a year-on-year increase of 13%. The company raised its full-year earnings per share guidance to $18.30 to $18.60, with the adjusted guidance now at $17.60 to $17.90.

At the same time, American Express announced plans to cut about 5% of its global workforce in order to streamline its organizational structure, improve efficiency, and prepare for the application of artificial intelligence. During the quarter, the company's expenses increased by 9% year-on-year to $14.5 billion. However, the growth in profits and the upward revision of guidance were not enough to reverse the downward trend in the stock price.

Consumption, financial, and healthcare stocks weakened. Nike fell 2.66%, Home Depot fell 2.41%, Walmart fell 1.02%; Goldman Sachs fell 1.75%, Eli Lilly fell 2.54%.

Rising oil prices have driven energy stocks stronger. ConocoPhillips rose 3.55%, Chevron rose 2.88%, and ExxonMobil rose 2.79%. Schlumberger rose 7.08% after reporting quarterly profits that exceeded expectations; the company's revenue for the third quarter was approximately $9.449 billion, a year-on-year increase of 6%, with an adjusted earnings per share of $0.64.

Most popular Chinese concept stocks fell, with the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index dropping by 0.84%. Alibaba fell 2.14%, JD.com fell 1.25%, Baidu fell 1.00%, Li Auto fell 0.70%, and NIO fell 0.60%; Xpeng Motors rose 1.54%, and Ctrip rose 0.53%.

Market Overview

The investment prospects remain a focal point of market attention. Christina Hooper, the Chief Market Strategist at EIM Group ( Man Group ), stated that there are still lingering doubts about the AI transaction in the market, and investments next year for the construction of AI data centers may be lower than current expectations, which keeps investors cautious.

Next, companies such as Google's parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon will successively release their financial reports. Their capital expenditure plans and related business growth will become important indicators for assessing the investment prospects of AI. The market will also see a new round of Federal Reserve interest rate meetings.

In terms of economic data, S&P Global announced that the preliminary reading for the U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index ( PMI ) in October was 56.0, higher than 55.9 in September; the preliminary reading for the Services PMI ( PMI ) fell from 58.8 to 57.9; and the preliminary Composite Output Index also dropped from 58.4 to 57.6. All three indicators are above the 50 threshold, indicating that business activity continues to expand.

Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global Markets Intelligence (S&P P Global Market Intelligence), stated that the impact of rising oil prices is being transmitted to a variety of goods and services. The exacerbation of supply chain bottlenecks also makes it easier for companies to pass on costs to customers, with sales price increases reaching the fastest rate in over four years.

The University of Michigan announced on the 23rd that the final value of the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index for October was 48.0, higher than the preliminary value of 46.3, but slightly lower than 48.1 in September, marking a third consecutive month of decline. Among these, the Current Conditions Index fell from 50.9 to 46.7, while the Expectations Index rose from 46.3 to 48.8. The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index in October decreased by 10.4% compared to the same period last year and by 15% compared to February before the outbreak of the Iran conflict. The impact of high prices on family financial situations continues to be evident, with the proportion of consumers who reported that high prices are dragging down their personal financial situations rising for the fourth consecutive month, reaching 56%, up from 45% in January this year.

Joanne Xu (Joanne Hsu), the head of consumer surveys at that school, stated that the decline in the current situation index is entirely due to the deterioration of conditions for purchasing durable goods. High interest rates and concerns about price affordability have caused the relevant purchasing conditions indicators to drop by 18%. At the same time, consumers' one-year inflation expectations have risen from 4.6% in September to 4.7%, and long-term inflation expectations have increased from 3.4% to 3.5%, both reaching their highest levels since May.

The Federal Reserve is about to hold a new round of interest rate meetings. According to the "Federal Reserve Watch" by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ( CME ), the market pricing indicates that there is a 90.6% probability of interest rates remaining unchanged in October, and a 9.4% probability of a 25-basis-point increase; by December, there is a 25.8% probability of interest rates remaining at the current level, with probabilities of a cumulative 25-basis-point and 50-basis-point increase being 67.5% and 6.7%, respectively.

In the bond market, the Treasury Department of the United States reported constant yield to maturity at the end of the day, with a 2-year yield of 4.69%, a 10-year yield of 5.00%, and a 30-year yield of 5.33%, all up 4 basis points from the previous trading day. Among them, the 10-year yield returned to the 5% mark.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, according to CCTV News, on the 23rd, the Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards stated that two super tankers had hit mines in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the day. The explosions and fires resulted in the incapacitation of the ship's engines. Iran claimed that the two tankers were carrying over 4.5 million barrels of crude oil, and the crew abandoned the ships to escape.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Turki Maliki ( Turki al-Maliki ), the spokesman for the multinational coalition led by Saudi Arabia, stated on the 23rd that the coalition intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by Houthi forces towards Riyadh that day. The coalition also reported intercepting two drones targeting southern Saudi regions.

Large-cap performance

International oil prices have been rising continuously. On WTI, the settlement price of December crude oil futures increased by $3.80, representing a gain of 3.82%, to $103.27 per barrel; the settlement price of Brent crude oil futures for December also rose by $3.55, an increase of 3.14%, reaching $116.72 per barrel, the highest settlement price since April 29th.

Precious metals continued to decline, with spot gold falling below the $4,000 mark. At the close of trading in New York on Friday, spot gold fell by 0.71% to $3,996.10 per ounce, and at one point during the session it dropped to $3,975.75. This week, spot gold has fallen by a cumulative 4.07%. Spot silver also fell by 1.25% to $53.8897 per ounce, with a cumulative decline of 5.44% this week.