Overnight US Stocks | S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq closed at record highs, AMD (AMD.US) closing market value surpassing 310 billion US dollars

Boosted by technology stocks related to artificial intelligence, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices closed at record highs on Thursday. Thursday was the last trading day of February, with the Dow rising 2.21% for the month, the Nasdaq rising 6.12%, and the S&P 500 rising 5.17%. This marks the fourth consecutive month of gains for the three major indices. On the US Stock Market, the Dow rose 47.37 points, or 0.12%, to close at 38,996.39 points; the Nasdaq rose 144.18 points, or 0.90%, to close at 16,091.92 points; and the S&P 500 rose 26.51 points, or 0.52%, to close at 5,096.27 points. Nvidia (NVDA.US) closed up 1.8%, Arm (ARM.US) rose 5%, AMD (AMD.US) rose 9%, with a closing market value exceeding $310 billion. Marathon Digital (MARA.US) closed down 16%, MicroStrategy (MSTR.US) rose over 6%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.2%, XPeng Motors (XPEV.US) rose 7.9%, Nio (NIO.US) rose 5%, and Li Auto (LI.US) rose over 1%. New York Community Bancorp (NYCB.US) fell 21% after hours, with the company reporting significant deficiencies in internal controls. In Europe, major indices closed with mixed results, with the German DAX30 rising 0.44%, the UK FTSE 100 rising 0.07%, the French CAC40 falling 0.34%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 falling 0.12%. In Asia-Pacific markets, the South Korean KOSPI fell 0.37%, the Indonesia Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.17%, the Vietnam VN30 rose 0.03%, and the Singapore Straits Times Index rose 0.09%. Bitcoin fell over 2.7% to $60,814.6, while Ethereum fell over 1.5% to $3,334.41. COMEX April gold futures rose 0.59% to $2,054.7 per ounce, while COMEX May silver futures rose 1.1% to $22.885 per ounce. WTI April crude oil futures settled at $78.26 per barrel, down 28 cents, while Brent crude oil futures for April delivery settled at $83.62 per barrel, down 6 cents. London metals rose, with nickel and aluminum rising over 1.5%, copper rising 0.42%, and zinc rising 0.35%. Macro News: The Fed's favorite inflation indicator meets expectations. The Fed's favored measure of potential inflation, Core PCE, rose in January at the fastest pace in nearly a year, supporting the cautious approach of Fed policymakers towards rate cuts. Data released on Thursday showed that the Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy components, rose 0.4% month-on-month in January, in line with expectations and up from 0.1% in December. Compared to a year ago, the Core PCE rose 2.8%, also in line with expectations but slightly lower than December's figure. US existing home sales index in January recorded the largest decline since August last year. Due to rising mortgage rates suppressing housing demand, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the US existing home sales index unexpectedly dropped 4.9% to 74.3 in January, the largest decline in five months, after hitting an eight-month high in December. NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement, "The current economic conditions favor homeownership. However, consumers are demonstrating extra sensitivity to changing mortgage rates during this cycle, impacting home sales." A brief drop in mortgage rates below 7% temporarily boosted new home sales and last month's resale. However, the Fed emphasizes there is no rush to cut rates, and in recent weeks, expectations of sustained high rates have increased housing financing costs. Earlier this week, an index measuring US mortgage applications for home purchases fell for the fifth consecutive week, nearing its lowest level since 1995. Atlanta Fed President Bostic reiterates that a rate cut in the summer may be appropriate this year. Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Bostic reiterated his view that, based on his outlook for inflation, a rate cut by the Fed starting in the summer may be appropriate. Bostic made the comments before a report showed that the core inflation index favored by the Fed posted its biggest increase in nearly a year in January. "Recent inflation dataone released todaysuggests that this won't be an unstoppable journey to 2% immediately but that it will be a bit bumpy along the way," Bostic said at a banking conference at the Atlanta Fed on Thursday. "That gradient is tipping down," he said. "I think that, if things go as I expect, starting to cut rates in the summer may be appropriate." San Francisco Fed President says the decision-makers are "ready" to cut rates when data warrants it. San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Daly said that Fed policymakers are ready to cut rates when necessary, but she stressed that a robust economy means there is no urgent need for cuts. "There isn't an imminent risk in the economy," Daly told David Westin, citing data on the labor market, consumer spending, and economic growth. "We stand ready to act and adjust based on the data requirements." Daly stated that Fed officials aim to avoid keeping rates at current levels until inflation reaches 2%, pointing out that doing so could lead to unnecessary economic downturns. EIA: US oil demand expected to stay near four-year highs through 2024. US oil demand hit a four-year high in 2023 and is expected to remain near this level throughout 2024. Data released on Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed domestic fuel consumption reaching 20.23 million barrels per day last year. The agency expects US demand to continue strengthening this year to an average of 2Oil production is currently at 39 million barrels per day, slightly lower than the level in 2019. Market participants are closely watching oil demand forecasts as the global market is moving towards oversupply. In recent years, the EIA has been criticized for underestimating US demand in weekly reports, but significantly revising it upward in monthly data. In Thursday's report, the EIA raised its December jet fuel demand forecast by 5%. The agency also revised up end-of-year gasoline and diesel consumption data.Individual Stock News Electronic Arts (EA.US) announced a 5% layoff and the cessation of development for multiple games. The American game publisher Electronic Arts announced a 5% layoff on Wednesday, affecting approximately 670 employees, due to changing customer demands and company repositioning. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson told employees in a memo that the company will also stop developing unspecified games and scale back its real estate assets. He added that the company will "no longer develop what we believe will not be successful in the constantly changing industry future authorized IP." With rising game development costs in a saturated market, Sony, Microsoft, Tencent's Riot Games, and other top game companies have also been laying off employees. Shell (SHEL.US) has initiated the sale of its American CECEP Solar Energy business assets. According to a marketing document and industry sources, Shell's American CECEP Solar Energy business Savion has sold about a quarter of its assets. Under the leadership of CEO Wael Sawan, the oil giant has accelerated its pace in reducing ownership of renewable energy projects. The document shows that investment bank J.P. Morgan is responsible for this transaction, selling assets that are currently under development or partially developed CECEP Solar Energy generation and storage assets, with a total capacity of up to 10.6 GW. These assets are located in the Northeast, Southeast, and Western United States, with the exact value still unclear. The valuation of projects usually depends on the electricity prices at the project's location. Nvidia (NVDA.US) insiders increase selling pressure. As the stock price of the chipmaker continues to soar, insiders at Nvidia have increased their selling pressure. According to a Form4 filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by the company, Nvidia directors sold 99,000 shares last week after the financial report was released, reaching a new monthly high since September, with a total value of approximately $80 million.