Overnight US stocks | The three major indices have mixed movements, with the US dollar index rising.

On Wednesday, the three major indexes showed mixed movements. The minutes of the December meeting of the Federal Reserve revealed that nearly all policymakers believed that the risks of rising inflation were increasing. Federal Reserve officials did not discuss the possibility of raising interest rates in December. Officials believed that if inflation remained high, the Federal Reserve might keep interest rates unchanged or relax monetary policy at a slower pace. US StocksAt the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 106.84 points, or 0.25%, to 42635.20 points; the Nasdaq fell by 10.80 points, or 0.06%, to 19478.88 points; the S&P 500 Index rose by 9.21 points, or 0.16%, to 5918.24 points. Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) and Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) rose slightly, while Novavax, Inc. (NVAX.US) fell by 11.2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index fell by 0.67%, Netease Inc. Sponsored ADR (NTES.US) rose by nearly 3%, and XPeng, Inc. ADR Sponsored Class A (XPEV.US) fell by over 5%. European StocksThe German DAX30 index fell by 22.56 points, or 0.11%, to 20327.57 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose by 3.97 points, or 0.05%, to 8249.25 points; the French CAC40 index fell by 36.93 points, or 0.49%, to 7452.42 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell by 16.67 points, or 0.33%, to 4995.15 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index fell by 10.90 points, or 0.09%, to 11801.00 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose by 164.10 points, or 0.47%, to 35103.00 points. Asia-Pacific Stock MarketsThe Nikkei 225 index fell by 0.26%, the Jakarta Composite Index fell by 0.04%, and the KOSPI index in South Korea rose by 1.16%. CryptocurrencyBitcoin fell by 2.5% to $94,544.82; Ethereum fell by over 2.4% to $3,301.91. GoldSpot gold rose by 0.17% to $2653.27 per ounce, while COMEX gold futures rose by 0.55% to $2680.00 per ounce. Crude OilThe price of WTI crude oil for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $0.93, or 1.25%, to $73.32 per barrel. ForexThe US Dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose by 0.5% to close at 109.090 in the currency market at the end of the day. At the end of the New York currency market, 1 euro was exchanged for $1.0309, lower than the previous trading day's $1.0355; 1 pound was exchanged for $1.2357, lower than the previous trading day's $1.2490. 1 US dollar was exchanged for 158.46 Japanese yen, higher than the previous trading day's 157.78 yen; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 0.9117 Swiss francs, higher than the previous trading day's 0.9086 Swiss francs; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 1.4389 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.4347 Canadian dollars; 1 US dollar was exchanged for 11.1612 Swedish kronor, higher than the previous trading day's 11.1091 Swedish kronor. Macro News Initial jobless claims in the US lower than expected, continuing claims rise. Initial jobless claims in the US unexpectedly dropped last week, indicating a stable labor market at the beginning of the year, despite some difficulties for laid-off workers in finding new jobs. Data from the US Department of Labor on Wednesday showed that initial claims decreased by 10,000 people to 201,000 people after seasonal adjustments, lower than the market's expectation of 218,000 people. Government data released on Tuesday showed an increase in job vacancies in November, with 1.13 job openings per unemployed person (compared to 1.12 in October), highlighting the stability of the labor market. While the layoff rate remains low by historical standards, the pace of hiring has slowed down, leading to long-term unemployment for some laid-off workers. The report showed that in the week ending December 28, continuing claims rose by 33,000 people to 1.867 million people. "Mini-NFP" falls short of expectations, indicating a continued softening labor trend. Private sector hiring in December in the US slowed down, pointing to a continued slowdown in labor demand. Data on Wednesday showed that after adding 146,000 jobs in November, ADP employment increased by 122,000 people in December, the lowest in four months and below market expectations. Employment growth varied among industries, with the largest increases in education and healthcare, construction, and leisure and hospitality. Employment in manufacturing, natural resources and mining, and professional and business services declined. The data indicates that the trend of gradual labor market softening in the US will continue until the end of this year. When Federal Reserve officials decide on the extent of further interest rate cuts in 2025 and beyond, they must strike a balance between this trend and renewed inflation concerns. Wage growth further cooled, with job switchers' wages growing by 7.1% and non-switchers' wages growing by 4.6%, the slowest rate of growth since mid-2021. Federal Reserve meeting minutes: US economy grew steadily last year, foreign economies sluggish in Q4. The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting noted that the US real GDP continued to grow steadily in 2024. Since early 2024, the labor market conditions have improved, but the unemployment rate remains low. Consumer price inflation is slightly higher but remains below the levels of the previous year. Workers believe that strikes and hurricanes in October affected employment growth, but after these effects subsided in November, employment growth was similarly boosted. In the third quarter, foreign economic growth accelerated, particularly in the Eurozone and Mexico. However, recent economic indicators show a significant slowdown in economic momentum in foreign economies in the fourth quarter, with weak manufacturing activity and tepid private consumption. Inflation in foreign economies continues to ease. In most advanced economies, overall inflation rates have slowed to near or below target levels, primarily due to slowing economic growth.It reflects the transmission effects of the earlier decline in energy prices this year. However, in some economies, the inflation rate in the service sector still remains high.Fed Governor Waller: Support further rate cuts this year. Federal Reserve Governor Waller said on Wednesday that inflation should continue to decline by 2025, allowing the Fed to further cut rates, although the pace is still uncertain. Waller said that although inflation "seems to have stalled" above the Fed's 2% target in the last months of 2024, based on market inflation estimates and monthly and short-term inflation readings, he believes that US inflation is continuing to ease. Waller said, "This minimal progress has led to calls for a slowdown or halt in rate cuts. However, I believe that in the medium term, the inflation rate will continue to move towards the 2% target, and further rate cuts will be appropriate." Waller did not disclose how many rate cuts he believes should occur this year, but he noted that the range of Fed officials' views is quite wide, from no rate cuts to as many as five rate cuts. "I still believe that the US economy is on a solid footing," Waller said, "and there is no indication in the data or forecasts that the labor market will weaken significantly in the coming months." US Treasury Secretary Yellen: Rising term premiums and reevaluated rate expectations push up US bond yields. US Treasury Secretary Yellen said that stronger-than-expected economic data has led to a repricing of rate expectations in the market, causing a sell-off in US treasuries. "When we see strong data - indicators of economic performance that exceed expectations, this suggests that the future path of interest rates will be slightly higher than people's forecasts," Yellen said in an interview on Wednesday, in response to a question on what factors led to the recent decline in US Treasury yields and the rise in yields. Yellen also said that term premiums have begun to normalize. US 30-year fixed mortgage rates rise to a six-month high. US mortgage rates rose to slightly below 7% at the start of the year, a measure of mortgage applications fell to its lowest level since February last year, further demonstrating the struggles in the housing market. Data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) on Wednesday showed that 30-year fixed mortgage rates rose 2 basis points to a six-month high of 6.99%. In the past four weeks, the cost of housing financing has risen by nearly one-third of a percentage point. The purchase index fell by 6.6%, while the refinance index rose by 1.5%. US bond yields have surged in the new year due to strong economic data, prospects of fewer rate cuts by the Fed, and concerns about inflation stimulated by the Trump administration. Weak demand at this week's bond auctions and a significant amount of corporate debt issuances have also pushed up yields, suggesting that mortgage rates will continue to rise. This helps explain why investors are feeling pessimistic about the prospects of the real estate industry. The S&P Composite Index of 18 homebuilders has dropped by about 20% since late November, hitting a new low in six months. Biden administration plans to strengthen export controls on AI chips before leaving office. According to foreign media reports, the Biden administration is planning to implement a new round of restrictions on the export of artificial intelligence chips from companies like NVIDIA Corporation before leaving office. According to sources familiar with the matter, the United States hopes to limit the sales of AI chips used in data centers at the national and corporate levels to concentrate AI development in friendly countries and align global enterprises with US standards. At a time of increased demand for AI technology, this move will extend semiconductor restrictions to most parts of the world. Sources said the new regulations will set up three layers of restrictions on chip transactions, and could be released as soon as Friday. As a result, NVIDIA Corporation, AMD, and other companies experienced declines in after-hours trading. Trump advisors reportedly considering reshaping Fed leadership. According to sources familiar with the matter, advisors of US President-elect Trump are considering how to reshape the leadership of the Federal Reserve, including appointing Fed Governor Bowman as the next Vice Chair for Supervision. Earlier, Michael Barr announced on Monday that he would step down as Vice Chair for Supervision while retaining his seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. At the same time, advisors have also begun drafting a list of potential successors to Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May 2026. While Trump selected Powell as Chair during his first term, he has expressed dissatisfaction with this decision repeatedly. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Trump's advisors are currently considering candidates to replace Powell, including Kevin Hassett, who will soon take over as Director of the White House National Economic Council, former officials from the Bush administration Larry Lindsay and Mark Zandy, former World Bank President David Malpass, former Fed official Kevin Warsh, and Bowman. [Stock News] Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) must face cellphone privacy class action lawsuit and a potential trial. Alphabet Inc. Class C failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a privacy class action lawsuit that claims the company collected personal data from users' phones after they clicked on the stop tracking button, paving the way for a potential trial in August. Chief Judge Richard Seeborg of the San Francisco federal court rejected Alphabet Inc. Class C's argument that the search engine company had adequately disclosed how its "web & app activity" settings work and that users consented to being tracked. Alphabet Inc. Class C also argued that its basic logging "does no harm to anyone." Users of both Android and non-Android mobile devices accuse Alphabet Inc. Class C of intercepting and retaining their personal browsing histories without consent, violating their privacy and breaching California's law against unauthorized deceptive access to computers. Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US), Samsung to receive...Receive Matter certification for smart home products. At CES 2025, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) announced that Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc. Class C, and Samsung will all receive certification for their "Works With" program. Apple Inc. has already started accepting test results for Matter devices used with Works With Apple Home from the Alliance Interop Lab, while Alphabet Inc. Class C and Samsung will also take similar measures later this year for their Works With Google Home and Works With SmartThings certifications. This highlights the credibility and reliability of the alliance testing program. This means that device manufacturers do not need to test their devices separately for each platform in order to receive the "Works With" badge. If they receive CSA's Matter Device certification, they can showcase their results to other ecosystems and receive these badges without any further testing.LG and Samsung are adding Microsoft Corporation's Copilot AI assistant to their televisions. At CES 2025, both LG and Samsung have unveiled their 2025 smart TVs, some of which will support Microsoft Corporation's Copilot AI assistant, including shortcuts to Copilot network applications. Samsung stated, "This collaboration will enable users to explore a wide range of Copilot services, including personalized content recommendations." However, LG has not yet clarified how they will utilize these features to change the user experience.