Overnight US stocks | The three major indices are mixed, with AMD (AMD.US) rising by 9.4%. Spot gold has broken through $4200.

On Wednesday, the three major stock indices showed mixed movements. The U.S. stock market was volatile today, with the Dow turning lower in the afternoon after reaching a high of 422.88 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 index saw an intraday increase of up to 1.2%, while the Nasdaq saw an intraday high of 1.4%. The U.S. government shutdown entered its third week, exacerbating the current uncertainty. [US Stocks] At the close, the Dow fell 17.15 points, or 0.04%, to 46253.31 points; the Nasdaq rose 148.38 points, or 0.66%, to 22670.08 points; the S&P 500 index rose 26.75 points, or 0.40%, to 6671.06 points. AMD (AMD.US) rose 9.4%, NVIDIA (NVTS.US) rose 20%, Western Digital Corporation (WDC.US) rose over 6%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 1.7%, New Oriental Education & Technology Group, Inc. Sponsored ADR (EDU.US) rose 10%, and Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. Sponsored ADR (YMM.US) rose 3.5%. [European Stocks] The German DAX30 index fell 25.96 points, or 0.11%, to 24210.98 points; the UK FTSE 100 index fell 28.02 points, or 0.3%, to 9424.75 points; the French CAC40 index rose 176.63 points, or 2.23%, to 8096.25 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 62.42 points, or 1.12%, to 5614.47 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 6 points, or 0.04%, to 15592.4 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 168.76 points, or 0.4%, to 41906.9 points. [Crude Oil] Light crude oil futures for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 43 cents to close at $58.27 per barrel, down 0.73%; while Brent crude oil futures for December delivery fell 48 cents to close at $61.91 per barrel, down 0.77%. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose by 0.14% to $110945.15, while Ethereum fell by 0.48%, falling below $4000. [US Dollar Index] The U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.25% on the day, closing at 98.794 in the forex market. At the close of the New York forex market, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1633 USD, higher than the previous trading day's 1.1605 USD; 1 pound exchanged for 1.3383 USD, higher than the previous trading day's 1.3327 USD. 1 USD exchanged for 151.33 Japanese yen, lower than the previous trading day's 151.77 Japanese yen; 1 USD exchanged for 0.7975 Swiss francs, lower than the previous trading day's 0.8010 Swiss francs; 1 USD exchanged for 1.4052 Canadian dollars, higher than the previous trading day's 1.4036 Canadian dollars; 1 USD exchanged for 9.4855 Swedish kronor, lower than the previous trading day's 9.5397 Swedish kronor. [Precious Metals] Spot gold rose by 1.56%, closing at 4208.44, hitting an intraday high of 4218.27, a historic high. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon made a rare statement saying that holding gold is "reasonably rational" and predicting that the price of gold could easily rise to $5000 or even $10000 in the current environment. [Macro News] Federal Reserve Beige Book: Economic conditions relatively unchanged, uncertainty rising could drag down the economy. The Federal Reserve Beige Book noted that since the last report, overall economic activity has remained relatively unchanged, with slight to moderate growth in economic activity reported in three regions, no change in economic activity reported in five regions, and a slight slowdown reported in four regions. Overall consumer spending, especially on retail goods, has seen a small decline in recent weeks, but strong demand for electric vehicles has boosted auto sales in some regions before the expiration of federal tax credits at the end of September. During the period covered by the report, demand from international tourists for leisure and hotel services further decreased, while domestic consumer demand remained largely unchanged. Despite this, spending on travel and accommodation by higher-income groups at Deluxe Corporation remained strong. Several reports emphasized that in the face of rising prices and increasing economic uncertainty, low- and middle-income households continue to seek discounts and promotions. Manufacturing activity varies by region, with most reports indicating challenging conditions due to higher tariffs and weak overall demand. Agriculture, energy, and transportation activities in the regions covered by the report have generally declined. The conditions of the financial services industry and other interest-sensitive industries (such as residential and commercial real estate) are mixed; some reports indicate an improvement in corporate lending in recent weeks due to lower interest rates, while others continue to emphasize sluggish activity. The outlook for future economic growth varies by region and industry. Some regions have seen improved sentiment, with some expecting an increase in demand in the next 6 to 12 months. However, many other regions continue to expect that rising uncertainty will drag down economic activity. One report highlighted the downside risks to economic growth from the long-running government shutdown. Trump says he may attend Supreme Court tariff case arguments. U.S. President Trump said on Wednesday that he may attend oral arguments in a major tariff case at the Supreme Court, which may determine the future direction of his protectionist trade agenda. Trump said, "If we lose this case, we will be in financial trouble for many years to come." He noted that he has not personally attended other major case hearings before. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the tariff case on November 5, titled V.O.S. Selections v. Trump. The core of the case is whether the laws Trump used to implement tariffs against specific countries, including so-called retaliatory tariffs and fentanyl-related tariffs, actually grant the president the authority to carry out these trade actions. 50BP rate cut coming? Traders bet on major Fed action by year-end. Traders are reportedly betting that the Federal Reserve will make a significant rate cut before the end of the year, believing that the policy may be more aggressive than what other market observers currently expect. Options trading activity linked to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) shows that the market is increasing bets on a half-point rate cut, which could happen at a later meeting this month or the December meeting. This expectation exceeds the two 25-basis-point rate cuts already factored into the current rate swap. With key employment and other economic data releases delayed due to the long government shutdown, a large amount of data will emerge once the deadlock is resolved, revealing the latest changes in economic conditions. Some expect that this data may further show economic weakness, supporting further rate cuts. U.S. judge temporarily halts firing federal employees during government shutdown. A U.S. judge has reportedly ordered the Trump administration to pause its plans to lay off thousands of federal employees during the government shutdown, while a union challenges the action. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco made the ruling. This means that if the projects mentioned in the lawsuit involve members of the union who have brought the lawsuit, more than twenty federal agencies mentioned in the case cannot issue new layoff notices. While the government must pause action on already issued notices, as the judge weighs whether to implement a longer-term injunction, the order is not a final decision on the substantive issue of the case. Since last week, more than 4,100 federal employees have received layoff notices. Yellen: U.S. buying more Argentine pesos and planning to create a tool to invest in the country's debt. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that the United States is once again buying Argentine pesos on the open market and added that the Treasury Department is working with private investment funds to create a $20 billion tool to invest in Argentine sovereign debt. Yellen said the mechanism will operate alongside the $20 billion currency swap facility set up by the United States for Argentina, providing a total of $200 billion in support to the third-largest economy in Latin America. Yellen also clarified that regardless of the outcome of Argentina's parliamentary elections later this month, as long as President Milei's government pursues "good policies," the United States will continue to financially support Argentina. [Individual Stock News] Meta plans to build new gigawatt-level data center in Texas. Meta Platforms (META.US) is reportedly building a new gigawatt-scale data center in El Paso, Texas, to advance its efforts in artificial intelligence, the latest in a series of major investments by the company as it aims to stay competitive in the fiercely competitive AI industry. The company announced on Wednesday that it will spend over $1.5 billion on the new facility in El Paso, Texas. The data center is expected to have a capacity of 1 gigawatt and will power high-end computing chips for artificial intelligence projects. A company spokesperson said that this is expected to be operational by 2028.