Overnight US Stocks | Nasdaq, S&P 500 Index rose for the sixth consecutive trading day Ulta Beauty surged over 11%

According to the Wise Finance APP, on Thursday, the strong July retail sales data in the United States eased market concerns about economic recession. The three major indices rose sharply, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 indices rising for the sixth consecutive trading day.

[US Stocks] At the close, the Dow rose by 554.67 points, or 1.39%, to 40,563.06 points; the Nasdaq rose by 401.89 points, or 2.34%, to 17,594.50 points; the S&P 500 index rose by 88.01 points, or 1.61%, to 5,543.22 points. Intel (INTC.US) rose by 3.8%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) rose by 4%, Tesla (TSLA.US) rose by 6%, Amazon (AMZN.US) rose by 4%, and Ulta Beauty (ULTA.US) surged over 11% with Warren Buffett's support. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up by 1.7%, Alibaba (BABA.US) slightly rose, JD.com (JD.US) rose by over 4%, and Nio (NIO.US) rose by 3%.

[European Stocks] Most major European indices closed higher, with the German DAX30 index up by 1.66%, the UK's FTSE 100 index up by 0.8%, the French CAC40 index up by 1.23%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index up by 1.7%.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index rose by 0.78%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index fell by 0.36%, and the Vietnam VN30 index fell by 0.4%.

[Gold] COMEX December gold futures rose by 0.6% to $2,494.7 per ounce at the close; COMEX September silver futures rose by 3.9% to $28.405.

[Cryptocurrencies] Bitcoin fell by over 1.7% to $57,642.5 per coin; Ethereum fell by over 3% to $2,573.15 per coin.

[Crude Oil] NYMEX September WTI crude oil futures rose by $1.18, or 1.53%, to close at $78.16 per barrel. Brent October crude oil futures rose to $81.04 per barrel, up over 1.60% or $1.28 intraday.

[Metals] London metals rose, with LME copper up by nearly 2.01%, LME zinc up by about 2.47%, LME tin up by about 1.71%, LME aluminum up by about 1.20%, and LME lead up by over 1.29%.

[Macro News]

US July Retail Sales Exceed Expectations, Easing Economic Slowdown Concerns. US July retail sales growth exceeded expectations, which may help alleviate financial market concerns about a sharp economic slowdown, which were exacerbated by the rise in unemployment rates. The data released showed a 1.0% increase in retail sales last month, with June's sales revised downward by 0.2%. The lack of signs of demand collapse may prompt financial markets to lower expectations of a 50 basis point rate cut next month. With moderate inflation rising in July, the possibility of a 25 basis point rate cut remains high.

US Homebuilder Confidence Index Declines for the Fourth Consecutive Month. The US August homebuilder confidence index declined for the fourth consecutive month, falling to a yearly low, as high loan rates and home prices put pressure on builders and buyers Data shows that the August builder confidence index fell 2 points from the revised July level to 39. The median expectation of surveyed economists is 43. The data indicates a pessimistic view on the current situation but a more optimistic view on the outlook. Both potential buyer traffic and current sales indicators hit new lows for the year, while the index measuring sales expectations for the next six months rose 1 point to 49. NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz suggests that this may reflect expectations of a decline in mortgage rates. Given that current inflation data points to a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, and mortgage rates significantly dropped in the second week of August, buyer interest and builder confidence are expected to improve in the coming months.

Fed's Mester: Risks more balanced, rate cut timing approaching. Federal Reserve's Mester believes that the timing for a rate cut by the Fed is approaching. Mester stated that he now sees inflation returning to a path that leads back to the Fed's 2% target and that the labor market no longer poses a risk to inflation. In his view, the risks facing the mission seem more balanced in both directions, therefore, as the upcoming meetings approach, the timing may be right for a modestly restrictive policy adjustment. This statement aligns Mester with several other Fed officials, hinting at their proximity to supporting a rate cut at the FOMC meeting on September 17-18.

Powell to enter window for setting tone for September rate cut next Friday. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell is scheduled to speak on the economic outlook next Friday night Beijing time, marking the first full day of the annual economic symposium held by the Kansas City Fed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This global central bank annual meeting provides Powell with an opportunity to make the latest assessment of the U.S. economic trajectory and monetary policy outlook between the Fed's July and September policy meetings. Last month, he indicated that if inflation and the labor market continue to cool, the Fed may consider a rate cut at the next meeting.

US money market fund assets hit record high. After global risk asset sell-offs last week led investors to cash out, assets in U.S. money market funds hit a record high as funds further flowed into quality assets. According to data from the Investment Company Institute, in the week ending August 14, around $28.4 billion flowed into U.S. money market funds, pushing total assets to a historic high of $6.22 trillion. Retail investors have been pouring into money funds since the Fed began one of its most aggressive tightening cycles in decades in 2022. So far, the inflow of funds continues, despite investors expecting the Fed to start cutting rates soon.

Goldman Sachs suggests shorting Swiss franc against British pound as Swiss National Bank may cut rates. Goldman Sachs recommends shorting the Swiss franc against the British pound, citing the possibility of the Swiss National Bank cutting rates or intervening directly to prevent the franc from rising too quickly due to safe-haven flows. Goldman Sachs forex strategists Michael Cahill and Lexi Kanter suggest going long on the pound against the franc, with a target of 1.16 and a stop loss at 1.10. Based on the Swiss National Bank's sight deposit data and "clues from past Swiss National Bank behavior," the SNB may have intervened to curb the rapid rise of the franc. With the Fed potentially needing to cut rates faster and more aggressively to stabilize economic growth, policymakers in Switzerland and Japan may need to adjust policy strategies to counter the impact of a strengthening safe-haven currency [Stock News]

UK selects Amazon (AMZN.US) and five other projects to trial drone delivery and emergency services. The UK aviation regulator announced on Thursday that it has selected six projects, including one from e-commerce giant Amazon, to test the use of drones for delivery, infrastructure inspection, and emergency services. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had earlier expressed its desire to allow more drones for such purposes. Currently, drone users in the UK can only conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations under strict restrictions. These projects include Amazon's drone delivery service Prime Air, Airspection for offshore wind farm inspections, and Project Lifeline for transporting medical supplies. The trials are expected to assist the regulator in its policy and regulatory development work to fully integrate drone operations with other airspace users. Sophie O'Sullivan, Director of the CAA, stated, "Our goal is to make Beyond Visual Line of Sight drone operations a safe and routine reality."

Chevron (CVX.US) to pay $550 million settlement to Richmond, California. Chevron announced that it will pay $550 million to the Richmond City Council in California over 10 years to settle a dispute, with the council withdrawing a proposed ballot measure to tax the oil giant's Richmond refinery. The company will make annual payments from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2035. Previously, the city of Richmond planned to seek voter approval to tax the refinery, which processes about 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day, believing Chevron should pay its fair share to the community where it has operated for over a century.

SoftBank's AI chip collaboration talks with Intel (INTC.US) fail, shifts focus to TSMC (TSM.US). According to British media reports, SoftBank had negotiations with Intel to produce an AI chip to compete with Nvidia (NVDA.US), but the plan failed as the American chipmaker could not meet SoftBank's requirements. Sources revealed that the collaboration talks with Intel will accelerate SoftBank's efforts to combine Arm's chip design with the production expertise of Graphcore, a recent acquisition, to create a product that competes with Nvidia's market-leading AI chips. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son plans to invest billions of dollars to position the group at the center of the AI boom. He has presented ambitious plans to major tech companies, including chip production, software, and providing power to data centers to accommodate its processors. The talks with Intel broke down in recent months, and SoftBank is currently focusing on negotiations with TSMC.

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