Preview of US Stock Market | The three major stock index futures rose together. Will tonight's CPI support "stagflation" in the United States?

1. Before the U.S. stock market opens on Wednesday, the futures of the three major U.S. stock indexes are all rising. As of the time of writing, Dow futures are up 0.58%, S&P 500 index futures are up 0.78%, and Nasdaq futures are up 0.92%. 2. As of the time of writing, the Germany DAX index is up 1.84%, the UK FTSE 100 index is up 0.55%, the France CAC 40 index is up 1.36%, and the Europe Stoxx 50 index is up 1.46%. 3. As of the time of writing, WTI crude oil is up 1.01%, trading at $66.92 per barrel. Brent crude oil is up 0.66%, trading at $70.22 per barrel. Market News Tonight, will CPI confirm "stagflation" in the U.S.? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the February CPI report on Wednesday. Economists predict that after a significant increase in January, inflation in the U.S. may still be high in February, further proving that progress in containing prices has stalled. After rising 0.5% at the beginning of the year, CPI is expected to increase by 0.3% in February. According to surveys, core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy categories, is also expected to increase by 0.3% month-on-month. Year-on-year, CPI is expected to increase by 2.9%, and core CPI by 3.2%, both down 0.1% from January. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. joins the bearish sentiment on U.S. stocks, lowering its year-end target for the S&P 500 index. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. strategists have lowered their year-end target for the S&P 500 index from 6500 points to 6200 points, citing increased policy uncertainty, particularly regarding tariffs, and concerns about economic growth prospects. The further downgrade of U.S. stock index targets by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. reflects growing skepticism about the outlook for the world's largest economy. The forecast downgrade also takes into account the decline in technology giants' stocks. They state that the sharp decline in the index was largely driven by a 14% drop in the so-called technology giants, whose price-to-earnings ratio dropped from 30 times to 26 times. As political uncertainty intensifies with GEO Group Inc, more Wall Street banks express concerns about economic growth, with Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. joining the chorus. Analysts from Citigroup and HSBC also lowered their views on the U.S. stock market this week, citing concerns about the economy. Ignoring the slump in U.S. stocks! Trump denies recession, downplays market turmoil. U.S. President Trump downplayed the significant selloff in markets triggered by fears that his tariff agenda would lead to an economic recession, saying he expects the U.S. to avoid a recession. Trump made these statements as the market experienced three weeks of volatility. Trump had originally planned to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum products to 50% on Wednesday, but this decision dramatically reversed in less than six hours. White House chief trade adviser Peter Navarro said in a media interview on Tuesday afternoon that Trump no longer plans to implement this tariff adjustment. Before the recent sharp drop, President Trump and government officials had warned that using tariffs to rebalance trade flows and significantly reduce federal government spending and labor could put the U.S. economy in trouble. Trump refused to rule out the possibility of an economic recession in an interview on Sunday. Trump's heavy taxes on steel and aluminum took effect today, and U.S.-EU tariff "showdown" escalates: EU retaliatory measures amounting to 26 billion euros take effect. On March 12th local time, the European Commission announced retaliatory measures against the U.S. steel and aluminum tariff policy, planning to impose tariffs on 26 billion euros (approximately $28.3 billion) worth of U.S. goods. It is understood that President Trump's policy of imposing a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports of steel and aluminum, promised to take effect on March 12th, marks a significant escalation in the trade war between the two longtime allies. The European Commission said in a statement that it will take "swift and appropriate" measures. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic went to Washington last month in an attempt to find a friendly solution with senior members of the Trump team, including U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Individual Stock News Waterdrop, Inc. ADR Class A company (WDH.US) announced a full-year revenue of 2.772 billion yuan in 2024, achieving profitability for 12 consecutive quarters. Waterdrop, Inc. ADR Class A company's net operating income was 687 million yuan, with operating expenses accounting for 45.1% of revenue in Q4, and a net profit attributable to the parent company of 99.62 million yuan, achieving profitability for 12 consecutive quarters. For the full year 2024, net operating income was 27.72 billion yuan, and net profit attributable to the parent company was 368 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 119.8%. Since announcing the initiation of a stock repurchase plan in September 2021, Waterdrop, Inc. ADR Class A company has repurchased approximately $100 million worth of shares from the open market, buying back around 52.1 million ADS (American depositary shares). With approval from the board of directors, Waterdrop, Inc. ADR Class A company also announced the commencement of a new round of cash dividends to be distributed to shareholders, sharing the value creation of the company. Hello Group Inc. Sponsored ADR (MOMO.US) reported a 12.2% year-on-year decrease in net revenue in Q4, with the number of paying users on Momo dropping to 5.7 million. Hello Group Inc. Sponsored ADR Q4 net revenue was 2.6365 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 12.2%, with a net profit attributable to the company of 187.2 million yuan, compared to 452.5 million yuan in the same period last year, resulting in diluted earnings per ADS of 1.05 yuan, compared to 2.32 yuan in the same period last year. Non-GAAP net profit attributable to the company was 230.5 million yuan; diluted earnings per ADS were 1.30 yuan. In December 2024, the monthly active users of the Tantan application were 10.8 million, down from 13.7 million in the same period last year, and the number of payingThe number of users is 900,000, compared to 1.2 million in the same period last year. In the fourth quarter, the total number of paid users of the Momo application was 5.7 million, compared to 7.4 million in the same period last year. Looking ahead, the company expects total net revenue in the first quarter of 2025 to be between 2.4 billion to 2.5 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 6.3% to 2.4%.EHang Holdings Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A (EH.US) annual total revenue hit a record high. The total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year is expected to be around 900 million yuan. In the full year of the 2024 fiscal year, EHang Holdings Ltd. Sponsored ADR Class A EH216 series unmanned aerial vehicle sales and deliveries reached 216 units, an increase of 315.4% from 52 units in 2023; total revenue was 456.2 million yuan, a historical high, an increase of 288.5% from 2023; net profit after adjustment under non-US GAAP was 43.1 million yuan, and the company achieved profitability for the first time in a full fiscal year after adjustment under non-US GAAP. It is reported that the company expects total revenue for the 2025 fiscal year to be around 900 million yuan, an increase of approximately 97% year-on-year. VNET Group, Inc. Sponsored ADR (VNET.US) releases 2024 Q4 and annual financial report: annual net revenue was 8.26 billion yuan, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year. VNET Group, Inc. Sponsored ADR's financial and operational data maintained strong growth last year. In the fourth quarter of 2024, net revenue reached 2.25 billion yuan, an increase of 18.3% year-on-year; adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was 721.3 million yuan (98.82 million USD), an increase of 63.8% year-on-year, including a one-time gain on the disposal of some assets of the E-JS02 data center, approximately 87.7 million yuan (12 million USD). Net profit was 3.45 million yuan, compared to a loss of 2.42 billion yuan in the same period of 2023. Annual net revenue was 82.6 billion yuan, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year. Net profit increased by 2.85 billion yuan to 2.484 billion yuan (34.03 million USD) year-on-year, compared to a net loss of 2.6 billion yuan in the same period of 2023. US chip industry to undergo changes? Reports suggest that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) will take over Intel Corporation's (INTC.US) production factories with the help of three giants. According to sources, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has proposed to invest in a joint venture with NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), AMD (AMD.US), and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) to operate Intel Corporation's wafer plant. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's stake in the joint venture will not exceed 50%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR will be responsible for the operation of Intel Corporation's wafer foundry department, which specializes in producing chips tailored to customer needs, but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's stake will not exceed 50%. Sources also revealed that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR has also made a similar investment proposal to Qualcomm. In response to the reports, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR commented that the company does not comment on rumors. Musk and Trump support each other! Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) plans to double US production capacity to promote "reshoring of manufacturing in the US." The world's richest person, xAI founder and CEO of Tesla, Inc., Elon Musk, announced that Tesla, Inc. plans to double the production capacity of electric vehicles in the US in the next two years. Musk's move not only demonstrates his confidence in the future development of the US electric vehicle industry, but also expresses strong support for former US President Donald Trump's "reshoring of manufacturing in the US" policy, as well as mutual support for Trump's recent budget cuts in the Department of Efficiency of the US Government and his public endorsement of Tesla, Inc. Important economic data and events forecast: 20:30 Beijing time: US February CPI annual rate ex-food and energy (%). 22:30 Beijing time: US EIA crude oil inventory change by March 7th week (thousand barrels). 23:00 Beijing time: US February IPSOS primary consumer sentiment index PCSI. Next day at 04:30 Beijing time: US API crude oil inventory change by March 7th week (thousand barrels). Next day at 00:00 Beijing time: EIA monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report. Performance forecast: Thursday morning: Adobe (ADBE.US) Thursday pre-market: Futu (FUTU.US), Weibo Corp. Sponsored ADR Class A (WB.US), uCloudlink Group, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (UCL.US)