NASDAQ Composite Index fell 1%, WeWork plunged 38% to a new low, US oil at a nine-month high, European natural gas jumped 40% intraday.

Investors are waiting for the release of US July CPI consumer inflation data on Thursday, expecting core inflation to cool slightly from previous levels but still well above the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The market consensus is that there will be no rate hike at the September FOMC meeting.

US stocks fell for two consecutive days, with the S&P and Nasdaq hitting a four-week low, and WeWork plummeting a staggering 38% to a new low, while Chinese stocks narrowed their losses in the final trading session.

On Wednesday, August 9th, US stocks opened slightly higher, but turned lower within the first hour of trading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, along with the Russell small-cap stocks, fell more than 1% before noon, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 250 points.

The Dow briefly turned positive in the final trading session, but ultimately US stocks fell for two consecutive days. The S&P 500 and Russell small-cap stocks hit a four-week low since July 11th, and the Dow Jones came close to erasing last Friday's gains. The Nasdaq hit its lowest level since July 10th, and both the S&P and Nasdaq fell for the sixth consecutive trading day:

The S&P 500 fell 31.67 points, or 0.70%, to 4,467.71. The Dow Jones fell 191.13 points, or 0.54%, to 35,123.36. The Nasdaq fell 162.31 points, or 1.17%, to 13,722.02. The Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1%, the Russell 2000 fell 0.9%, and the "fear index" VIX fell 0.13% to 15.97.

Most of the 11 sectors of the S&P closed lower, with the information technology/tech sector down 1.5%, telecommunications services and consumer discretionary down 1.2%, and the energy sector up 1.2%.

Tech giants fell across the board. "Metaverse" company Meta fell more than 2% to a two-week low, Amazon fell 1.5% further away from its one-year high, Apple fell nearly 1% to a two-month low, Netflix fell more than 2% to a monthly low, Microsoft fell more than 1% to a two-and-a-half-month low, Google A fell 1.3%, and Tesla fell 3%, marking a four-day decline to a six-week low.

Chip stocks fell across the board, with Nvidia leading the decline. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell nearly 2% to a one-month low, AMD and Intel both fell more than 2%, reaching monthly lows; Nvidia fell 5.7% and closed down 4.7% to a one-month low, after yesterday's release of the super chip GH200 Grace.

AI concept stocks experienced a significant pullback. C3.ai fell nearly 9%, marking a six-day decline to a six-week low, Palantir Technologies fell more than 10%, marking a six-day decline since November 2021, BigBear.ai fell more than 10% to a four-and-a-half-month low, but SoundHound.ai rebounded more than 3%, ending a five-day decline and moving away from a four-month low. Popular Chinese concept stocks fell in the afternoon, with significant narrowing of losses in the late session. ETF KWEB rose nearly 1%, CQQQ almost erased a 0.7% decline, and the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC) nearly erased a 0.9% decline, hitting a two-week low since July 27.

Among the Nasdaq 100 constituents, JD.com fell 1%, Baidu fell 0.7%, and Pinduoduo fell 0.3%. Among other individual stocks, Alibaba and Tencent ADRs rose over 0.6%, while Bilibili fell 0.9%. NIO and XPeng Motors fell over 4%, Ideal Motors fell nearly 2%, further distancing themselves from the historical high set on Monday. Missfresh fell nearly 27%, after rising nearly 285% last Friday and 32% on Monday, but falling nearly 19% on Tuesday.

Banking stocks all fell more than 1.4%, reaching at least a two-week low. The industry benchmark KBW Bank Index (BKX) hit a three-week low, reaching the lowest level since October 2020. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index (KRX) hit a two-week low, reaching the lowest level since November 2020. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) hit a two-week low, reaching the lowest level since October 2020.

The "Big Four" banks in the United States all fell more than 1%. Among key regional banks, PacWest Bancorp, Western Alliance Bancorp, and Zions Bancorporation fell more than 2%, while Keycorp fell more than 3%. The market continued to digest the latest news that Moody's downgraded the ratings of 10 small and medium-sized banks in the United States due to concerns about their profitability.

Other stocks with significant changes include:

US ride-hailing company Lyft fell 10%, after rising 14% in after-hours trading on Tuesday. It achieved profitability in EBITDA in the second quarter, contrary to market expectations of a loss. Its revenue met expectations, but the guidance for the fourth quarter was not optimistic, as the strong demand for rides came from price promotions, leading to a decline in per active rider revenue.

The giant in shared office space, WeWork, fell more than 38%, with a stock price of $0.13, hitting an all-time low and a market value of less than $300 million, far below the $40 billion valuation it received from SoftBank years ago. The company stated that it seriously doubts whether it can continue to operate and does not rule out bankruptcy or debt restructuring.

US superconductor, which fell more than 13% yesterday, fell nearly 2% again, reaching the lowest level since July 27. The Korean Superconductivity and Cryogenics Society stated that there is no confirmed result of "LK-99" superconductivity, and institutions such as the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have not observed room temperature superconductivity.

Decibel Therapeutics, a biotechnology company specializing in hearing disorders, surged over 80%, with its stock price reaching a 11-month high of $5. Reports indicate that Regenesis Pharmaceuticals will acquire the company for $4 per share in cash. Regenesis Pharmaceuticals rose 0.7%.

Roblox, the "number one metaverse company" and the world's largest sandbox game company, fell nearly 22% to a seven-month low, marking the largest decline since February last year. Its second-quarter revenue and profits were below expectations, with a larger loss per share compared to the same period last year.

Eli Lilly and Company rose nearly 1%, hitting a new all-time high for several consecutive days. It completed the acquisition of immune biotechnology company DICE Therapeutics and was upgraded by Jefferies. The positive outlook is based on the latest research on Wegovy, a weight loss drug developed by Novo Nordisk.

Rivian, a rival to Tesla and an electric truck manufacturer, fell nearly 10% to a five-week low. Its second-quarter loss was lower than expected, and it raised its annual car production guidance to 52,000 vehicles, more than double the production volume of last year. However, Wall Street believes that the path to profitability will be relatively long.

European stocks rose, with the Italian stock index leading the national index by rising more than 1%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.43%, with the oil and gas sector leading the market by rising more than 2%. The tourism and leisure sector fell nearly 1%. The Italian banking sector, which fell more than 7% yesterday, rebounded by 3.7%. The Italian government has partially relaxed the imposition of a one-time "windfall tax" on banks, boosting market sentiment.

Short-term US Treasury yields rise, long-term yields fall, European bond yields stabilize after a double-digit drop yesterday

The two-year US Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to monetary policy, rose 5 basis points to 4.80%, still not far from the three-week low since July 20. The 10-year benchmark bond yield briefly fell 3 basis points, approached flat at midday, and rose back above 4%, hovering around the low for the month.

Short-term US Treasury yields rise, long-term yields fall

The safe-haven buying triggered by the "windfall tax" plan in the Italian banking industry was short-lived, and European bond yields stabilized after a double-digit drop the previous day.

The 10-year benchmark German bond yield in the eurozone rose 3 basis points, hovering around 2.50%. It had fallen 12 basis points on Tuesday, marking the largest decline since late June. The two-year yield rebounded 4 basis points from a nearly two-month low.

The 10-year benchmark Italian bond yield, which has a higher debt burden than peripheral countries, rose 2 basis points after falling 12 basis points yesterday. The two-year yield also rose slightly, briefly touching a nearly two-month low and approaching 3.60%. UK bond yields were down by less than 2 basis points across the board.

US Oil Surges Over 2% Intraday to Nine-Month High, Brent Crude Hits New High Since January, European Natural Gas Jumps 40%

Market attention is focused on the prospect of reduced supply from OPEC+ and the continued stimulus policies in China, which are driving hopes for an oil recovery and causing oil prices to rebound.

WTI September crude oil futures closed up $1.48, or 1.78%, at $84.40 per barrel, reaching a nine-month high since November last year, and rising over 2% at one point during the trading session. Brent October futures closed up $1.38, or 1.60%, at $87.55 per barrel, marking a new high since January 2023. Oil prices have risen for six consecutive weeks.

Last week, the official EIA data showed an increase in US crude oil inventories of 5.85 million barrels, more than double the expected increase of 2.3 million barrels, and a sharp decrease from the previous value of 17 million barrels, which was the largest weekly decline in history. Gasoline inventories unexpectedly dropped by 2.66 million barrels, but crude oil production reached its highest level since March 2020.

At the close, the European benchmark TTF Dutch natural gas futures surged over 25%, reaching the highest level since March last year, and at one point, it rose over 40%, breaking through the 40 euro/megawatt-hour mark. ICE UK natural gas rose over 26%, reaching a high of over 41% during the trading session and briefly surpassing 110 pence/therm, both marking the highest level in two months since mid-June.

Some analysts have suggested that strikes may occur at some factories in Australia, increasing the risk to liquefied natural gas supplies. This has triggered a wave of short selling, as investors had previously bet on European gas storage facilities nearing full capacity, leading to a continuous accumulation of short positions in natural gas. On Wednesday, this change also caused US natural gas futures to rise by a maximum of 8.7% and briefly surpass $3 per million British thermal units.

US Dollar Slides But Hovers at One-Month High, Offshore Renminbi Rises Over 300 Points to Break 7.21 Yuan, Ruble at Nearly 16-Month High

As safe-haven demand recedes, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.2% to 102.30, but it is still not far from the near one-month intraday high set last Thursday. Analysts believe that the time for profit-taking in the US dollar has come before the release of inflation data on Thursday.

The US dollar erases the decline after the release of US non-farm payrolls in July.

The euro rose 0.3% against the US dollar and approached the 1.10 level again, while the pound slightly declined against the US dollar but remained above 1.27. The yen fell slightly against the US dollar and remained below 143, close to the one-month low set last Thursday.

The offshore renminbi briefly rose above 7.21 yuan, reaching a high of 300 points above the previous day's closing price, and moving away from the near five-week low of 7.25 yuan set yesterday. The Russian central bank has suspended foreign exchange purchases for the year, causing the ruble to rise in the short term, approaching the 100 level, the highest level since March last year.

The Russian ruble has risen sharply in the short term, reaching its highest level since March last year.

Mainstream cryptocurrencies have mixed gains and losses. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 1% and once again dropped below the $30,000 mark after reaching a two-week high. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, fell slightly and hovered around the $1,850 level.

Spot gold falls below $1,920, copper rebounds from four-week lows, wheat sees deepest decline this month

The strengthening of the US dollar has put pressure on precious metal prices. COMEX gold futures for September closed down 0.46% at $1,921.90 per ounce, while October futures closed down 0.46% at $1,931.50 per ounce. Silver futures fell 0.3% and remained below $23 per ounce.

Spot gold fell the most, down 0.5% and dropping below the $1,920 level, hitting a one-month low since July 10. Some analysts believe that gold can only sustain its recovery if there is an increase in certainty about a US interest rate cut in 2024.

Most London industrial metals closed higher, as the market hopes for increased stimulus policies in China to boost demand prospects:

The "Copper Doctor," an economic indicator, rose 0.6% to nearly $8,400, ending a three-day decline and moving away from a one-month low.

London aluminum, which fell more than 1% yesterday, fell slightly again to a three-week low, but London zinc, which fell 1.6% yesterday, rose nearly 1% and moved away from a two-week low. LME spot zinc rose to a premium of $30.25 per ton over three-month futures, the highest since the end of April, highlighting recent supply tightness.

London lead, which fell 0.6% yesterday, rose slightly, moving away from a three-week low. London nickel, which fell more than 1% yesterday, fell another 1.4%, and London tin, which fell 1.6% yesterday, fell slightly, all hitting their lowest levels in over a month since July.

Chicago wheat futures fell more than 3%, marking the worst single-day performance since July 31. A marine insurance company believes that Russian ports are "safe." The Bloomberg Grains Index fell nearly 1%, with corn futures down 0.7% and soybean futures up 0.2%.