Overnight US stocks | S&P 500 hits new high, Chinese stocks up nearly 11% to a two-year high, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI.US) dropped 12%

On Thursday, the major US stock indexes rose, with the S&P 500 index hitting a new historical closing high, marking the 42nd record closing of the year. China's assets continued their "Super Thursday" overnight, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closing up 10.9%, reaching a new high since September of last year. Earlier, the market was active as data showed resilience in the US economy and strong signals of policy easing in China. Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) provided strong forecasts driven by demand for artificial intelligence, pushing US stock indexes higher. Now, traders are waiting for the next set of catalysts that may provide clues about the economy and future actions by the Federal Reserve. These indicators include inflation measures favored by the Federal Reserve and consumer demand indicators. US Stocks The Dow Jones Index closed up 260.36 points, or 0.62%, at 42,175.11 points; the S&P 500 Index closed up 23.11 points, or 0.40%, at 5,745.37 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 108.09 points, or 0.60%, at 18,190.29 points. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 10.9%, with gains of more than 20% for KE Holdings, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (BEKE.US), 10% for Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US), 14% for JD.com, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (JD.US), and 15% for Bilibili, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class Z (BILI.US). European Stocks The DAX30 Index in Germany closed up 323.15 points, or 1.71%, at 19,246.25 points; the FTSE 100 Index in the UK closed up 15.37 points, or 0.19%, at 8,284.07 points; the CAC40 Index in France closed up 176.47 points, or 2.33%, at 7,742.09 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 Index closed up 112.96 points, or 2.30%, at 5,029.85 points; the IBEX35 Index in Spain closed up 160.32 points, or 1.36%, at 11,952.92 points; and the FTSE MIB Index in Italy closed up 549.46 points, or 1.62%, at 34,390.00 points. Asia-Pacific Stock Market The Nikkei 225 Index rose 2.79%, the Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia rose 0.05%, and the VN30 Index in Vietnam rose 0.31%. Gold At the New York session, spot gold rose 0.58% to $2,672.38 per ounce, previously rising to $2,685.58 per ounce, hitting a new historical high. Spot silver rose 0.67% to $32.0180 per ounce. COMEX December gold futures rose 0.41% to $2,695.7 per ounce at the close, briefly breaking above $2,700 during trading, setting another historical high. COMEX December silver futures rose 1.1% to $32.370 per ounce at the close, briefly reaching $33 per ounce during trading. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin rose by 2.2%, trading at $64,870 per coin; Ethereum rose by 2.9%, trading at $2,655 per coin. Oil WTI November crude oil futures fell by $2.02, or nearly 2.90%, to $67.67 per barrel. Brent November crude oil futures fell by $1.86, or 2.53%, to $71.60 per barrel. Metals London metals generally rose, with zinc and aluminum up over 3%, copper up over 2%, and lead and tin up over 1%. Macro News US Second Quarter Real GDP Annualized Growth Final Value at 3% exceeds expectations. After the latest revision, the overall trend of US GDP has been in a strong recovery since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. A comprehensive annual update by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis shows that from the second quarter of 2020 to the end of 2023, the average growth rate of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) adjusted for inflation is 5.5%. Compared to the previously announced growth of 5.1%, the revised figure is significantly more optimistic. For the US Second Quarter Real GDP Annualized Growth Final Value, the optimistic growth rate of 3% announced recently is maintained, with the rebound from the previous quarter mainly reflecting accelerated growth in US consumer spending, inventory investment, and business spending, meaning that the US Q2 economic output continues to show strong growth. According to revised US government statistics, the momentum of the US economy rebounding from the short-term recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is much stronger than expected by economists and previously announced by the US government, mainly due to the significant boost in consumer spending growth by US consumers in 2022 and 2023. US Initial Jobless Claims fall to a 4-month low. US initial jobless claims fell to 218,000, reaching a 4-month low. Despite the rising unemployment rate and slowing job creation in recent months, initial jobless claims have remained low. Economists say this is because workers eligible for such benefits have not been unemployed. Although weekly layoff applications remain low, several large companies have announced or implemented layoff plans this month. Paramount Global conducted a second round of layoffs on Tuesday. General Motors Company announced last week that it would temporarily lay off two-thirds of workers at a Kansas assembly plant until mid-2025. If layoffs increase in the coming months and more Americans find themselves unemployed, Federal Reserve officials may consider cutting interest rates at a faster pace than currently expected. US Congress urgently passes temporary spending bill to prevent government shutdown, debt limit crisis looming on January 1st next year. The US Congress passed a temporary spending bill in both houses on Wednesday to avoid a partial government shutdown next week. The bill has been sent to President Joe Biden for signature.It is worth noting that the next round of struggle will be staged later this year. Democrats and Republicans will have to negotiate on the full-year government appropriations. The more critical deadline is January 1st next year, when they will either raise the national debt ceiling or face the risk of defaulting on the federal government's debt of over 35 trillion dollars. The bill passed the House with 341 votes in favor and 82 against, and the Senate with 78 votes in favor and 18 against. The current funding expires at midnight on Monday, and this short-term funding bill will maintain the government's annual discretionary funding level at around $1.2 trillion until December 20th, ensuring federal employees continue working and government services continue until the November 5th election.Saudi Arabia shifts from "production cuts to maintain prices" to "increasing production to maintain market share, sources: OPEC+ will continue to push forward the production increase plan in December. Two sources from OPEC+ stated that OPEC+ will continue to push forward the oil production increase plan in December, because the impact of increasing production will be minimal if some member countries reach agreements to implement larger scale production cuts in September and the following months to compensate for excess production. OPEC+ plans to increase daily production by 180,000 barrels in December as part of the plan to lift production cuts. In addition, Iraq and Kazakhstan have committed to extra cuts of 123,000 barrels per day in September and further cuts in the coming months to compensate for production levels exceeding agreed levels. One source mentioned that increasing production will be allowed as the compensation plans and production data for September become clearer, as the impact of the increase will be negligible. Libyan officials sign agreement to end dispute over the central bank, UN: Libyan eastern government has committed to lifting oil blockade. United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) chief Stephanie Turco stated that the Libyan eastern government has committed to lifting the oil blockade. However, there is still a long way to go for the restart of oil fields. Turco made this comment after representatives from two legislative bodies in Libya agreed to appoint a new leader for the central bank. A dispute over the leadership of the central bank led to the announcement of an oil blockade by the eastern government on August 26. However, the agreement still faces difficult obstacles in implementation. An industry source stated, "There are still many negotiations to be done." The restart of closed oil fields will ultimately need approval from the Libyan National Army (LNA) based in the east of the country. According to the agency Argus, current crude oil production in Libya, an OPEC member, is around 500,000 barrels per day, while the normal level is 1.2 million barrels per day. Boosted by China's economic stimulus policies, Chinese assets surge comprehensively. Chinese concept stocks index rises nearly 11%, popular Chinese concept stocks rise across the board; KE Holdings, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (BEKE.US) surges over 20%, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) rises 10%, JD.com, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (JD.US) rises 14%, Bilibili, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class Z (BILI.US) rises 15%. Offshore Renminbi strengthens against the US dollar by nearly 600 points, stabilizing above the 7 level, at 6.97. Morgan Stanley predicts that the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index will continue to rise by 10% in the short term. The stimulus measures announced by China earlier this week were "extremely positive," and the market stabilization measures taken were "unprecedented." Morgan Stanley also pointed out that the market support measures by the People's Bank of China were "absolutely positive actions," equivalent to about 3% of the free float market capitalization of A shares when quantified, and the first phase of 800 billion yuan (about 113 billion US dollars) was roughly 1.3 times the total amount of purchases by the "national team." Individual stock news Reportedly, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI.US) faced investigation by the US Department of Justice, closing down 12%. The company denied the claims made by the short-selling firm Hindenburg Research in a report earlier this month, stating that the report contained "false or inaccurate statements" about this server manufacturer. In August this year, Hindenburg revealed a short position in Super Micro Computer, Inc. and alleged that Super Micro had "accounting manipulation" due to undisclosed related party transactions and non-compliance with export controls. AI wave sparks storage demand! Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) Q4 performance and guidance exceed expectations, closing up over 14%, leading the market. Thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices, Micron Technology, Inc. announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter performance and guidance. Data shows that for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 ending on August 29, 2024, Micron Technology, Inc. revenue increased by 93% year-on-year to $7.75 billion, surpassing market expectations of $7.66 billion; EPS excluding certain items was $1.18, also exceeding the market expectation of $1.12. By business segment, Micron Technology, Inc. DRAM revenue in the fourth quarter increased by 93% year-on-year to $5.3 billion, accounting for 69% of total revenue; NAND revenue increased by 96% year-on-year to $2.4 billion, accounting for 31% of total revenue. With new performance guidance having "surprises," Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV.US) rose over 5%. Southwest Airlines Co. provided an update to its performance guidance ahead of an investor day event late Thursday. The company expects unit revenue (RASM) per available seat mile in the third quarter to increase by 2% to 3% year-over-year, compared to the previous forecast of flat or a 2% decrease; it expects economic fuel costs per gallon to be $2.50 to $2.60, compared to the previous forecast of $2.60 to $2.70. Third-quarter capacity is expected to increase by 2% year-over-year, with full-year capacity expected to increase by about 4%. Southwest Airlines Co. expects to have 802 aircraft in operation by the end of this year. The company continues to plan to receive about 20 Boeing Company 737-8 aircraft in 2024 and retire 35 aircraft, including 31 Boeing Company 737-700 and 4 Boeing Company 737-800.The actual mass production time of Meta's AR glasses Orion is expected to be later. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo pointed out that Meta Platforms' internal product roadmap shows that AR glasses Orion may be mass produced as early as 2027. However, since the EMS/NPI manufacturer has not yet been decided and considering various technical issues, the actual mass production time is expected to be later. Before mass production of Orion, Meta may release a lower specification version (such as using LCoS instead of Micro LED). Meta's strategy is to continuously test and collect market feedback to quickly improve the product, rather than waiting until the product is perfect before release. The positioning of Orion is to replace mobile phones and tablets, with a key selling point of integrating AI and spatial computing.The favorite retailer of the American middle class, Costco (COST.US), reported profits for the last quarter that exceeded expectations but revenue fell short of expectations, causing the stock to drop more than 1% after hours. Costco's fourth-quarter revenue growth slowed more than expected, with sales increasing by less than 1% compared to the previous quarter's growth of over 9%. EPS growth also slowed to 8.8%, still strong than expected. Comparable store sales growth slowed to 5.4% for the quarter, with customer traffic increasing by 6.4%, but customer spending amount decreased by 0.9%. The renewal rate for American and Canadian members was nearly 93% in the fourth quarter, before the first increase in membership fees in seven years began this month.