Market analysis on May 2nd

Against the backdrop of the Fed maintaining high interest rates and announcing a slowdown in quantitative tightening (QT) starting in June, the three major stock indexes in the USA experienced severe volatility. Despite the S&P and Nasdaq indexes ultimately recording two consecutive days of decline, the market briefly rallied over 1% after Fed Chairman Powell's speech. Amazon closed up over 2% due to strong earnings reports, while Starbucks plummeted by 16% due to poor performance.

Chip stocks were under pressure with the chip index falling over 3%, with Nvidia and AMD dropping by nearly 4% and 14% respectively, and AMD also plummeting by 9%. In addition, the Fed's statement had a profound impact on the financial markets. Powell emphasized that although further rate hikes are unlikely in the short term, confidence in rate cuts will take longer, particularly if unexpected weakness occurs in the labor market.

In terms of economic data, the US ISM Manufacturing Index unexpectedly fell to 49.2 in April, indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity. Meanwhile, April ADP employment data exceeded expectations, but March JOLTS job vacancies fell to a three-year low, suggesting a slowdown in the labor market.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm published better-than-expected second-quarter financial results, benefiting from strong demand for AI chips in smartphones and PCs, showing positive performance and guidance for the next quarter. The market gave a positive outlook on Qualcomm's future prospects, with its stock price rising by 5% in after-hours trading.

In the international financial markets, the USD index accelerated its decline after the meeting, while the Japanese yen surged over 3% at the close. Crude oil prices also experienced a significant drop, marking the largest decline in nearly four months, while gold rebounded after the Federal Reserve's decision.

In the Chinese market, Chinese concept stocks rebounded across the board, especially nio inc surged nearly 12% after announcing strong delivery volumes. At the same time, the offshore renminbi to usd exchange rates surged over 200 points intraday, reaching a new high in five weeks.