Overnight US stocks | Three major indices show mixed trends. Beyond Meat (BYND.US) surged more than 78% in after-hours trading.

The U.S. stock market closed near flat on Tuesday, as inflation and other economic data may reveal the possible timing of a Fed rate cut. With the end of earnings season for companies, investors are once again focusing on economic data and the possible direction of U.S. interest rates. For the past few weeks, the U.S. stock market has been bouncing back like crazy, driven mainly by enthusiasm for AI-related stocks, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching record levels. With the latest employment report not due until next week, the market's focus is on Thursday's January Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), which is the Fed's preferred inflation indicator. If the PCE reading is similar to recent inflation readings for consumers and producers, it may force the Fed to keep rates at current levels longer than the market expects. [US Stocks] As of the close, the Dow Jones fell 96.82 points, or 0.25%, to 38,972.41; the Nasdaq rose 59.05 points, or 0.37%, to 16,035.3; the S&P 500 rose 8.65 points, or 0.17%, to 5,078.18. Apple (AAPL.US) closed up 0.8%, Coinbase (COIN.US) up 2.7%, MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) up over 9%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 2.1%, with Ideanomics (LI.US) continuing to rise, closing up 11.8%, close to the historical high set in November 2020. BEIGENE (BGNE.US) rose 12%, NetEase (NTES.US) rose 5%. Beyond Meat (BYND.US) surged over 78% after the US market closed, with the company reporting fourth-quarter net revenue of $73.7 million, exceeding analysts' expectations of $66.8 million. [Euro Stocks] Major European stock indices closed higher, with Germany's DAX30 up 0.78%, the UK's FTSE 100 up 0.02%, France's CAC40 up 0.29%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 up 0.46%. [Asia-Pacific Stock Market] South Korea's KOSPI index fell 0.83%, Indonesia's Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.02%, Vietnam's VN30 index rose 1.18%, and Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 0.44%. [Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin prices rose over 4%, briefly breaking $57,000; Ethereum rose over 2% to $3,252.35. [Gold] Spot gold prices rose 0.3% to $2,035.92 per ounce; US gold futures rose 0.3% to $2,044.10 per ounce. [Oil] WTI crude oil futures for April delivery rose $1.29, or 1.7%, to $78.87 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures for April delivery rose $1.12, or 1.36%, to $83.65 per barrel. [Metals] London metals rose, with copper up 0.32%, nickel up over 2%, aluminum up 0.78%; zinc down 0.23%. [Macro News] US President, Vice President, and Congressional leaders hold meeting on emergency security spending bill. On February 27th, local time, US President Biden, Vice President Harris, and four Congressional leaders held a meeting on the emergency security spending bill to discuss providing additional assistance to Ukraine and avoiding government partial shutdown related expenses. White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre and leaders of both parties stated that the meeting on the government partial shutdown was "productive." According to the Congressional Hill, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries participated in the meeting, and the divisions between the two parties on Ukraine and border security remain significant, but they expressed optimism about avoiding a government shutdown. US February consumer confidence drops for the first time in four months. The US consumer confidence index for February dropped for the first time in four months, as Americans' views on economic prospects, the job market, and financial conditions deteriorated. Data on Tuesday showed that the US February Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell from a revised 110.9 in January to 106.7, the Present Situation Index fell to 147.2, and the Expectations Index declined to 79.8 (an Expectations Index below 80 usually signals an imminent recession). Consumers' expectations for the average inflation rate over the next 12 months continue to slow, remaining at their lowest level since 2020. Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said, "While overall inflation remains a major concern for consumers, their concerns about food and gasoline prices have eased, as prices for both have fallen in recent months. They are more concerned about the labor market and the political environment in the US." Fed bank supervision chief: Wall Street should take more measures to monitor counterparty risk. Randal Quarles, vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, said Wall Street banks must take additional steps to monitor the risk posed by companies they do business with, and that the Fed will increase its oversight of counterparty risk. Banks should optimize ways to assess the credit risk and leverage of trading partners. He also cited Archegos Capital Management as an example, whose collapse led to losses at several banks totaling over $10 billion. Quarles said that such events could recur if banks do not fully understand their risk exposure. Fed regulatory agencies must also use their own tools, including annual stress test results, to assess how such risks could threaten the banking system. The Fed's annual stress test scenarios this year will include more comprehensive hypothetical shocks. Goldman Sachs CEO: Uncertainty exists in the outlook for a soft landing of the US economy. Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said that weak consumer spending has raised questions about his expectation that the US economy would avoid a recession. Solomon said at a conference organized by UBS on Tuesday that the world is preparing for a soft landing, but he personally has some uncertainty about a soft landing. Solomon said that corporate leaders told him that they were prepared for a soft landing but he remained uncertain.He complained that with prices still high, the spending of "moonlight tribe" has become tight. He said, "I think the current situation is not bad, it's just that the economic uncertainty is higher than the market expected." In order to curb the soaring inflation, interest rates are raised at the fastest pace in forty years in 2022 and 2023. Now, with price pressures easing, the economy remains strong, and Federal Reserve officials are prepared to lower interest rates at a slower, or potentially less regular, pace.Source: Informants: OPEC+ will consider extending voluntary production cuts until the second quarter or the end of this year. OPEC+ informants stated that OPEC+ will consider extending the voluntary production cut agreement until the second quarter to provide additional support to the market. Two informants mentioned that the production cut agreement may continue until the end of this year. In November last year, OPEC and its allies led by Russia agreed to voluntarily cut production by around 2.2 million barrels per day in the first quarter of this year, with Saudi Arabia leading the way in extending its voluntary cut. This year, due to the Houthi armed attack on Red Sea shipping and escalating geopolitical tensions, oil prices have been supported, despite concerns about high interest rates affecting oil prices. Informants also stated that OPEC+ has not formally discussed this issue. The decision to extend the production cuts is expected to be made in the first week of March, and countries are expected to announce their decisions. [Stock News] Apple (AAPL.US) cancels car production plans, focuses on AI. According to Apple whistleblower Mark Gurman, Apple has canceled its ten-year electric car plans, abandoning one of the company's most ambitious projects. Informants stated that this news, disclosed internally by Apple on Tuesday, came as a surprise to the nearly 2000 employees involved in the project. According to sources, COO Jeff Williams and VP Kevin Lynch made this decision together. These executives informed employees that the project will gradually be reduced, with many employees working on car development being reassigned to the artificial intelligence department. These employees will focus on the development of AI projects, which have become increasingly important priorities for the company. Apple's car team also includes hundreds of hardware engineers and car designers, who may also apply for other positions within Apple. The company will be laying off employees, but the exact number of layoffs is currently unclear. US Senator Warren: Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) should be split, Amazon (AMZN.US) should be prohibited from operating large language models. US Democratic Senator Warren stated in an interview that the US is entering a new phase where antitrust enforcement will prevail. She noted that several judges have openly considered breaking up some tech giants; it is time to split up giant companies like the Justice Department split IBM. She argued that Google should be split into search and browsing businesses; Amazon should not be allowed to dominate in a new area, and should be prohibited from operating large language models. NetEase (NTES.US) briefly rose more than 6%, Morgan Stanley expects the stock to continue to rise in the next 60 days. NetEase ADR briefly rose more than 6.5%, reaching a high of $114.50 since late November 2023, with a rebound of 31.5% since December 22, 2023. Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Poon released a strategic report on NetEase, stating that the company's stock price is expected to continue to rise in the next 60 days. Poon wrote, "We expect the start of NetEase's new product cycle in 2024 to drive the expected upward revision cycle of EPS; 'Shediao' will start public testing on March 28; 'Yong Jie Wu Jian Mobile Game' will be released in the second quarter of 2024 after obtaining the license on February 27." It is expected that NetEase's fourth-quarter profit will exceed expectations when announced on February 29; the rating for NetEase is 'Buy', with a target price of $150.