Preview of US Stocks | The three major stock index futures are mixed, with Federal Reserve officials speaking intensively: interest rates may be cut two to three times this year.

1. Before the market opens on March 1st (Friday), the futures of the three major US stock indexes are mixed. As of the time of writing, Dow futures are down 0.12%, S&P 500 futures are down 0.09%, and Nasdaq futures are up 0.06%. 2. As of the time of writing, the Germany DAX index is up 0.63%, UK FTSE 100 index is up 0.68%, France CAC40 index is up 0.05%, and Europe Stoxx 50 index is up 0.28%. 3. As of the time of writing, WTI crude oil is up 1.60% at $79.51 per barrel. Brent crude is up 1.54% at $83.17 per barrel. Market News Unafraid of inflation pressure rebound! Federal Reserve officials speak out: expect two to three rate cuts this year. Several Federal Reserve officials have made speeches intensively, releasing significant signals and maintaining their stance that the Fed will cut rates two to three times this year. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic stated that he is still concerned about the long-term trend and reiterated his view that if the economy develops as he expects, he believes the Fed will begin cutting rates in the "summer". Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester stated that policymakers still have more work to do in cooling price pressures, and this will not change her expectation of three rate cuts by the Fed this year. Similarly, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee does not see January's inflation data as a setback in the progress of inflation. He believes that the effects that last year's supply chain improvements and increased labor supply from immigration had in suppressing inflation have a "significant chance" of continuing into this year. Forget cash, beware of US stocks... Fund giant shouts out: US bonds are the real treasure! Chief Market Strategist at Franklin Templeton, Stephen Dover, stated that investors should sell cash and hold fixed-income products for a certain period. He mentioned that inflation may not be as low as the market expects, and interest rates may not be as low as expected, presenting an opportunity, especially in the fixed-income market, to slightly increase yields. While many have shifted from cash to the stock market, Dover issued a warning. Franklin Templeton's inflation forecast is more conservative than the Fed's. The investment firm expects the core personal consumption expenditures (Core PCE) price index to drop to 2.7% by the end of this year, while the Fed's forecast is 2.4%. Dover stated that the market's "biggest problem" is the $6 trillion held in money market funds. Facing the hovering US stocks at high levels, Barclays offers intervention strategies: use call options to "bet big with small size". In a heavy research report called "Barclays Global Pulsation" released by international bank Barclays this Tuesday, analysts recommend investors to "cautiously" buy large technology stocks in the US stock market near historical highs and said that profits from these stocks are too high, hence there are concerns that the upward trend may stagnate or even experience unexpected pullbacks. Facing the US stock market near historical highs, Barclays analysts suggest buying call options for ETFs (SPY.US) that track the S&P 500 index, "in a risk-controlled manner" to intervene with these "narrow leading forces". Bridgewater founder: US "Seven Sisters" stocks are somewhat bubbly, but two giants are still "cheap". Hedge fund Bridgewater founder and billionaire Dalio stated that stocks of the "Fabulous Seven" tech giants are "somewhat bubbly, but not completely bubbly", with Alphabet (GOOGL.US) and Meta (META.US) still "somewhat cheap", and Tesla "somewhat expensive". Dalio posted an analysis of the US stock market on LinkedIn on Thursday, aiming to determine if there is a price bubble during a continuing market rise. Dalio's conclusion is that considering factors such as current prices, new buyers, bullish sentiment, and leverage, the US stock market overall "doesn't seem too bubbly." Dalio wrote, "the market value of the 'Fabulous Seven' has basically grown in sync with earnings." However, Dalio admitted that his confidence in the "Fabulous Seven" has diminished due to uncertainty surrounding the impact of artificial intelligence. JP Morgan pours cold water on the bitcoin frenzy: post-halving hype will cool down and prices will fall. Analysts from JPMorgan Chase stated that one of the most anticipated catalysts for further upward movement of bitcoin, the halving event, could ultimately cause prices to fall. Bitcoin will undergo a "halving" update in April, reducing the number of tokens issued daily by half, to about 450. Bitcoin supporters believe this will lead to a shortage of supply. The approval of a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) in January has driven a significant increase in demand for bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency has surged by about 45% this year to reach around $62,000. Historically, bitcoin prices have continued to rise after a halving event, with the so-called mining production cost being the asset's price floor. JPMorgan strategists stated that the average production cost of bitcoin is currently $26,500 per coin, which will "mechanically double" to $53,000 after the halving. Giants start to lay out "humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation"! Nvidia, Amazon, and other leading investors lead the startup Figure AI with an estimated valuation of $2.6 billion. The startup company Figure AI, manufacturing humanoid Siasun Robot&Automation, confirmed on Thursday that it has raised $675 million from investors including Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon's $1 billion industry innovation fund, OpenAI venture fund, Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Align Ventures, and ARK Invest. The company stated that...The valuation of this new investment is $2.6 billion. Earlier this month, there were reports that Bezos and Nvidia participated in this round of financing. Figure AI's goal is to "develop a general humanoid Siasun Robot & Automation that has a positive impact on humanity, creating a better life for future generations".o DeNapoli)(Joseph Ficalora) Individual stock news AI boosts Dell! Dell's Q4 performance and guidance exceed expectations. Dell Technologies' Q4 revenue was $22.3 billion, down 11% year-on-year, slightly higher than the market's expected $22.2 billion; earnings per share excluding certain items were $2.20, up 22% year-on-year, better than the market's expected $1.72. Personal computer sales fell by 12% year-on-year to $11.7 billion, exceeding the market's expected 10% decline, reflecting the continued weakness in the personal computer market. Enterprise sales fell by 11% to $9.56 billion, while consumer sales fell by 19% to $2.15 billion. Looking ahead, Dell expects its revenue to reach $91-95 billion in its fiscal year ending February 2025, compared to the market's average expectation of $92.1 billion. Following the financial report, CFO Yvonne McGill said on a conference call that earnings per share excluding certain items would be $7.50, with a fluctuation of 25 cents. "AI leader" Zscaler raises industry concerns, stock price drops despite raised guidance. Network security company Zscaler's stock fell by 7% in pre-market trading. Zscaler's adjusted earnings per share for Q2 2024 were $0.76, with revenue of $525 million, up 106% and 35.4% year-on-year respectively. Analysts had previously forecast earnings per share of $0.58 and revenue of $506.83 million. Key revenue indicators saw a 27% increase in cumulative orders to $627.6 million, surpassing the expected $610.5 million; deferred revenue increased by 35% to $1.5 billion. As for Zscaler's guidance, the company currently expects full-year revenue in FY 2024 to be around $2.118-2.122 billion, compared to the previous estimate of $2.09-2.1 billion and the general expectation of $2.1 billion. Price war heats up! Tesla offers limited-time car purchase discounts in China, with up to a maximum of $34,600 off. On Friday, Tesla announced new incentives, including insurance subsidies, to attract consumers in China. In China, the US electric car giant is engaged in a prolonged price war with various car companies. Tesla's official statement mentioned limited-time discounts on the Model 3 and Y, with a maximum discount of $34,600 for a month. Specifically, the limited-time car purchase incentives include insurance subsidies, designated car paint benefits, and low-interest financing policies. The insurance subsidy offers a maximum discount of $8,000, while the designated car paint benefit offers a maximum of $10,000, and the low-interest financial policy offers an annual rate as low as 1.99%. The Model Y has a maximum discount of $16,600, totaling $34,600 in discounts. Adding insult to injury! General Motors' autonomous driving division's valuation is halved as `Apple Car Dream` shatters. Cruise, General Motors' self-driving car company, saw its internal stock price drop by more than half within a quarter, as the impact of an accident last October continues to pressure the autonomous driving company. According to an email, Cruise employees were informed that third-party estimates of its stock price were $11.80. This is lower than the estimated $24.27 from a quarter earlier. A source said that Cruise's valuation was adjusted downward following Apple's announcement this week to cancel its decade-long electric car development plan. Cruise CEO Craig Glidden wrote in an email, "We cannot ignore that this estimate is much lower than what we have seen before, and this will have an impact on all of us in real life." Refusing to pay! Meta cuts back on news operations in multiple countries. Meta Platform, Facebook's parent company, announced that it will not enter into new business agreements for traditional news content in Australia, France, and Germany. Meta stated in a release: "In order to ensure that we continue to invest in products and services that drive user engagement, we will not be entering into new business agreements for traditional news content in these countries, nor will we be providing new Facebook products to news publishers in the future." Additionally, Meta announced that it will disable Facebook News in the US and Australia in early April. Disagreements between Meta and Australian authorities regarding payment for news content have been frequent. The government is seeking input from the Treasury Department and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on next steps. Xiaopeng Motors releases February delivery numbers. In February, XPeng Motors delivered a total of 4,545 smart electric cars. Since its IPO two months ago, XPeng has delivered nearly 4,000 X9s, with 1,448 deliveries in February 2024, leading the market in pure electric MPVs and pure electric three-row car models. Li Auto delivered a total of 20,251 new cars, up 21.8% year-on-year. Since deliveries began, Li Auto has delivered a total of 684,780 cars. NIO delivered 8,132 cars in February, including 4,765 high-end smart electric SUVs and 3,367 high-end smart electric sedans. As of February 29, 2024, NIO has delivered approximately 467,800 cars. Revealing internal control deficiencies and CEO changes, New York Community Bank sees another large drop. New York Community Bank announced revisions to its fourth-quarter performance, increasing disclosures regarding its internal risk management. The bank stated in a filing with the SEC, "As part of management's evaluation of the company's internal controls, management has identified significant deficiencies in the company's internal controls related to oversight, risk assessment, and monitoring activities with respect to the internal loan review." Additionally, the bank announced that its Executive Chairman Alessandro DeNapoli will succeed Joseph Ficalora as CEO. Ficalora will continue to serve as chairman.DiNello) will serve as President and CEO, effective immediately. The stock plummeted 25% in pre-market trading.Upcoming important economic data and events: 22:00 Beijing Time: US January Dallas Fed PCE Index (%). 22:45 Beijing Time: US February Markit Manufacturing PMI Final. 23:00 Beijing Time: US January Construction Spending MoM (%), US February ISM Manufacturing PMI, US February University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index Final. Early morning the next day at 00:00 Beijing Time: Global February Manufacturing PMI Seasonally Adjusted. Early morning the next day at 02:00 Beijing Time: US Total Rig Count as of March 2nd. 21:30 Beijing Time: 2024 FOMC Voter, Richmond Fed President Barkin, will be interviewed on CNBC. 23:00 Beijing Time: 2025 FOMC Voter, Chicago Fed President Evans, will be interviewed on CNBC. 23:15 Beijing Time: Fed Governor Waller and Dallas Fed President Kaplan will speak on US monetary policy. Early morning the next day at 01:15 Beijing Time: 2024 FOMC Voter, Atlanta Fed President Bostic, will speak on economic outlook and real estate. Early morning the next day at 02:30 Beijing Time: 2024 FOMC Voter, San Francisco Fed President Daly, will speak. Early morning the next day at 04:20 Beijing Time: Fed Governor Quarles will speak on the Fed's dual mandate. Early morning the next day at 04:30 Beijing Time: CFTC will release the weekly Commitments of Traders report, and Fed Governor Quarles will speak on the Fed's dual mandate.