At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 683.04 points, or 1.76%, to 39,446.49; the Nasdaq rose 464.22 points, or 2.87%, to 16,660.02; and the S&P 500 rose 119.81 points, or 2.30%, to 5,319.31.
According to the Futu Securities News App, US stocks rose across the board on Thursday. The S&P 500 saw its biggest one-day gain in 21 months, and the Nasdaq led the way with a 2.87% increase. The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the US fell sharply last week, easing concerns about a recession. Investors continue to monitor economic data, US stock earnings, and the Federal Reserve's interest rate path.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 683.04 points, or 1.76%, to 39,446.49; the Nasdaq rose 464.22 points, or 2.87%, to 16,660.02; and the S&P 500 rose 119.81 points, or 2.30%, to 5,319.31. The 'Tech Seven Sisters' collectively rebounded, with Nvidia (NVDA.US) rising 6.13%, returning above the $100 mark; Tesla (TSLA.US) rising 3.69%; Apple (AAPL.US) rising 1.66%; Meta (META.US) rising 4.24%; Google (GOOGL.US) rising nearly 2%; Amazon (MZN.US) rising 1.86%; and Microsoft (MSFT.US) rising 1.07%.
The German DAX 30 index rose 0.37%, the UK FTSE 100 index fell 0.27%, the French CAC 40 index fell 0.26%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.01%.
The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.74%, the Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 0.24%, and the Vietnam VN30 index fell 0.82%.
COMEX December gold futures rose 1.43% to $2,467.20 per ounce, and COMEX September silver futures rose 2.45% to $27.605 per ounce.
Bitcoin rose more than 10% and broke through the two key levels of $0.06 million and $61,000 in succession, and recovered from last Saturday's decline. Ethereum rose 13% and broke through $2,600.
Brent crude futures for October rose nearly 1.06%, or $0.83, to $79.16 a barrel, and WTI crude futures for September rose to $76.19 a barrel, up nearly 1.28%, or $0.96.
London copper rose $25 per tonne, breaking away from its five-month low, to $8,794 per tonne. London zinc rose $64, up nearly 2.48%. London tin rose $503, up about 1.68%. London nickel fell $153, down about 0.94%, and London aluminium fell $14. London lead fell $2.
Macro news
The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the US last week saw the largest drop in a year, which helped alleviate concerns about a recession. Data released by the US Department of Labor on Thursday showed that the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits fell by 0.017 million to 0.233 million as of August 3, lower than the expected 0.24 million and the largest drop in nearly a year. The decrease in the number of initial claims for unemployment benefits may help convince the market that the US labor market is merely recovering to pre-pandemic trends rather than deteriorating rapidly. The July employment report, released last week, showed that employers significantly reduced hiring, the unemployment rate rose for the fourth consecutive month, and triggered a key recession indicator.
Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Richard Clarida said that more data is needed to evaluate the labor market conditions. Chicago Fed Chairman Clarida reiterated that more data is needed to determine whether the labor market is stabilizing or deteriorating beyond normal levels. He said that the July non-farm employment report was 'disappointing.' He was asked to respond to President Trump's previous comments about the US falling into a depression but said that Federal Reserve officials will not comment on political remarks. 'Is the labor market cooling down and will it stop at this level or continue to deteriorate?' Clarida said. 'This is a very important question - for me, this is not a question that can be answered with just one month's data.' 'We need to focus not only on non-farm employment data, but also on data from more than one month.'
FOMC voter Barkin said the Fed has time to assess the economy and decide on policies. Richmond Fed Chairman and FOMC voter Barkin said the Fed has time to assess whether the US economy is normalizing or weakening beyond normal levels and whether officials need to take more forceful action. Barkin said he was 'optimistic' about the future months of inflation data and expected recent broad declines in inflation to continue. 'In a healthy economy, you have some time to figure out whether the economy is normalizing, allowing you to normalize rates in a stable and prudent manner,' Barkin said in an online event hosted by the National Business Economics Club. 'Or do you have to be more active.'
The 30-year mortgage rate in the United States has fallen to its lowest level since May 2023. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.47%, the lowest level since May 2023, down from last week's 6.73%, according to FreddieMac. Mortgage rates have steadily declined since breaking through 7% earlier this year, providing a boost to the real estate market. Data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that mortgage applications for home purchases rose for the first time in a month last week, and the refinancing index hit a two-year high.
JPMorgan: If the Fed does not have the urgency to relax monetary policy, then the US stock market still faces risks. JPMorgan analyst Lakos-Bujas recently stated that the recent plunge in the US stock market has eliminated some bubbles in the market, but if US economic growth continues to slow down and the Fed has not shown the urgency to relax monetary policy, the relevant holdings and valuations of US stocks still face risks. Lakos-Bujas told clients that the stock market is no longer an upward trend, but a more bilateral trend, and economic risks, Fed action timing, crowded holdings, high valuations, presidential elections, geopolitical uncertainties and other factors will affect the market.
Trump: My intuition is stronger than Powell's, and the president should have some say on Fed policy. On Thursday, Trump said that the US president should have some say on interest rates and monetary policy. Trump mentioned Powell anonymously in his speech, saying that his intuition is stronger than that of Powell and other Fed officials. Trump criticized Powell for being "either too early or too late" in adjusting interest rates. Last month, he said that if elected, he would allow Powell to serve his full term as Fed chairman, especially when he believed Powell was doing the right thing. Last week, Trump said he would cut interest rates significantly after being elected.
[Individual stock news]
Soundhound AI (SOUN.US) Q2 revenue increased by 54%, but losses expanded by 30%, rising more than 10% after hours and then falling. Soundhound's Q2 revenue was $13.5 million, a year-on-year increase that slowed to 54%, still stronger than expected, and EBITDA losses expanded by 30%, 10 times the first quarter, far exceeding expectations. Due to the acquisition of AI software company Amelia AI, Soundhound has raised its revenue guidance to up to 23% this year, and is expected to turn losses into profits in the second half of next year after the merger with Amelia AI. It is expected to exceed $80 million in revenue for the full year 2024 and $150 million in revenue for 2025.
Apple (AAPL.US) plans to launch the smallest Mac desktop with M4 chip. Apple plans to release a new version of the Mac mini, which will be the company's smallest desktop computer to date. The new product will be launched later this year and is the first major redesign of the product since Steve Jobs reformed Mac mini in 2010. Anonymous sources said the new device is much smaller than the previous generation and is about the size of the Apple TV box. The updated mini is one of several new Macs to be launched in the coming months. The company is preparing to equip iMac desktops and MacBook Pro with M4 chips, which will be launched as early as this year. MacBook Airs are being developed and will be launched in the spring. Mac Pro and Mac Studio are planned to be launched in the middle of next year.
"Anti-monopoly" iron fist strikes again! The UK is investigating Amazon's (AMZN.US) $4 billion investment in Anthropic. A few days after the UK anti-monopoly agency said it was investigating the relationship between Google (GOOGL.US) and AI start-up company Anthropic, the agency launched a similar investigation into Amazon (AMZN.US). The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is investigating whether Amazon's partnership with Anthropic could significantly weaken competition in the UK market. CMA said it has "sufficient information" and has started the first phase of its investigation. The deadline for CMA to decide whether to enter the second phase of the investigation is October 4th.