Overnight US stocks | S&P 500 index, Nasdaq hit all-time highs Broadcom (AVGO.US) rose more than 7%

On Friday, the U.S. stock market rose, with the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq closing at record highs. Technology stocks surged as artificial intelligence continued to be in demand, and the decline in U.S. Treasury yields further supported tech stocks. U.S. StocksAt the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 90.99 points, or 0.23%, to 39,087.38 points; the Nasdaq rose 183.02 points, or 1.14%, to 16,274.94 points; the S&P 500 index rose 40.81 points, or 0.80%, to 5,137.08 points. Most popular tech stocks rose, with Broadcom (AVGO.US) up over 7%, AMD (AMD.US) up over 5%, NVIDIA (NVDA.US) up nearly 4%, Qualcomm (QCOM.US) up over 3%, and Meta (META.US) up over 2%. For the week, the Dow Jones fell 0.11%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.95%, and the Nasdaq rose 1.74%. In Friday's trading, the S&P 500 index rose to a high of 5,140.33 points, and the Nasdaq rose to a high of 16,302.24 points, both hitting intraday record highs. European StocksMajor European indices rose, with the Germany DAX30 index up 0.32%, the UK FTSE 100 index up 0.69%, the French CAC40 index up 0.09%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index up 0.35%. Asia-Pacific Stock MarketThe Jakarta Composite Index in Indonesia fell 0.06%, the Vietnam VN30 Index rose 0.1%, and the Straits Times Index in Singapore fell 0.19%. CryptocurrencyBitcoin rose over 2% to $62,417, while Ethereum rose over 2.7% to $3,433.81. GoldCOMEX Gold futures rose 1.80% to $2,091.60 per ounce; COMEX Silver futures rose 2.01% to $23.345. Crude OilWTI Crude Oil futures rose 1.98% to $79.81 per barrel; Brent Crude Oil futures rose 1.78% to $83.37. MetalsMost London metals closed higher, with nickel down 0.71%, aluminum up 0.54%, copper up 0.37%, and zinc up 0.21%. Macro News U.S. consumer confidence in February declined for the first time in three months. The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index in February declined for the first time in three months due to deteriorating views on the current and future economy. The final reading for the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index in February decreased from 79 in January to 76.9. Despite the decrease in market sentiment, the economy has not suffered significant damage over the past two years as inflation has fallen, leading to an overall improvement in market sentiment. Consumer sentiment is often sensitive to changes in gas prices, which rose significantly last month. Joanne Hsu, the survey director, stated in a release, "Since the beginning of the new year, consumers have perceived little change in economic conditions, suggesting a continued belief that inflation will follow a healthy trajectory." U.S. manufacturing activity in February accelerates contraction. An indicator of U.S. manufacturing activity shrank at a faster rate in February, with orders, output, and employment all contracting, indicating the manufacturing sector is struggling to gain momentum. Data released on Friday showed that the U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI in February fell 1.3 points from January's 15-month high to 47.8, below market expectations. After the New Orders Index recorded the largest monthly increase in over three years, demand softened in February. Both the Output and Employment Indexes fell to their lowest levels since July of last year. The latest data dampened the spirits of U.S. purchasing and supply managers, who had been optimistic that the manufacturing sector, which had been in contraction since the end of 2022, was on the brink of expansion. The ISM data also showed that factory inventories shrunk at a faster rate last month compared to the beginning of the year, indicating that business inventories remain at low levels. Federal Reserve Semiannual Monetary Policy Report: Inflation is "clearly" slowing but remains above the 2% target level. The Federal Reserve released its semiannual monetary policy report on Friday, which showed that due to robust labor demand, employment and income disparities based on gender, race, ethnicity, and education have narrowed, but significant disparities still exist among different groups. The Fed stated that inflation is "clearly" slowing but remains above the 2% target level. Despite easing labor demand, the labor market remains "relatively tight." The Fed also said that the banking system is sound and resilient, but bank closures last year exerted significant pressure, and several risk areas should still be monitored. BofA: U.S. debt increases by $1 trillion every 100 days, bullish for assets like bitcoin. Strategists at Bank of America stated that U.S. government debt increases by $1 trillion every 100 days, which helps explain why assets like gold and bitcoin are close to historic highs. Strategists led by Michael Hartnett stated in a report on Friday that the pace of debt expansion is accelerating. They estimate that the debt rose from $34 trillion to $35 trillion in just 95 days. BofA said that for the market, the consequence is that trading related to "bond devaluation" has proven attractive as gold and bitcoin have recently risen. The report cited reasons for the debt increase, including economic stimulus to combat the pandemic and recession, and funding for wars overseas, with a budget deficit over the past four years equivalent to 9.3% of GDP. The Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) warned in a report this week that there is a risk of fiscal extravagance leading the U.S. debt market back to the situation of the 1980s. PIMCO warned, "Deficits are likely to continue increasing." Apollo analyst: The Fed will not cut rates in 2024. Torsten Slok, Chief Economist at Apollo Management, stated that the reacceleration of the U.S. economy, along with the rising potential inflation rate, will prevent the Fed from cutting rates in 2024. Slok stated on Friday, "The Fed will be fighting inflation for most of 2024." He pointed out that after the Fed shifted to a more accommodative monetary policy in December, U.S. economic growth expectations "jumped significantly," financial conditions have eased, and the Fed will continue to stay put this year. HeIt also pointed out that the labor market is tight, wage inflation is stable, and manufacturing, service, and leasing data are also on the rise. "Entering 2024, the market expects the Fed to cut interest rates six times, but the reality is that the US economy has not slowed down at all."Individual Stock News US media: Boeing (BA.US) is in negotiations to acquire struggling supplier Spirit AeroSystems. According to reports, Boeing is in talks to acquire the air structure company Spirit AeroSystems. The company, a troubled aircraft fuselage supplier split off from Boeing twenty years ago, has been at the center of quality issues with the 737 MAX jet. Sources revealed that Spirit has hired bankers to explore strategic options and has had preliminary discussions with their former parent company. The negotiations may not result in an agreement. The company is also exploring selling its operations in Ireland, which produces components for Boeing's main competitor, Airbus. Spirit AeroSystems, with a market value of approximately $3.3 billion, has been closely watched due to manufacturing issues that have impacted Boeing's production. Last fall, the company dismissed its CEO and hired a former Boeing executive to run the company. Musk sues OpenAI and its CEO Altman. Tesla (TSLA.US) CEO Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday night. Musk claims in the lawsuit that Altman and OpenAI violated an agreement made when the artificial intelligence research company was founded, which was to develop technology for the benefit of humanity rather than for profit. Musk alleges that OpenAI's recent relationship with tech giant Microsoft has compromised the company's original commitment to public, open-source general artificial intelligence. Li Auto (LI.US): Plans to invest at least 6 billion yuan in building 5C supercharging stations in the next few years. During the Li Auto Spring 2024 launch event, Li Auto founder and chairman Li Xiang revealed that in the next few years, Li Auto will invest at least 6 billion yuan to build over 5000 direct-operated 5C supercharging stations, allowing the stations to cover 95% of the nation's highways and important roads. City charging stations using a franchise model will also be widely implemented in 2024. New York Community Bank (NYCB.US): Loan reserves have already accounted for significant deficiency issues and no additional provisions are needed. New York Community Bank stated that their disclosure of "significant deficiencies" in their risk tracking method does not require additional provision for loan losses. "Our credit loss reserves already account for these deficiencies, and we do not anticipate any adjustment," said Alessandro DiNello, who took over as CEO this week, in a statement. "The company's liquidity is strong, deposit base is stable, and I believe we will execute our restructuring plan to enhance shareholder value." The bank also appointed George F. Buchanan as Chief Risk Officer and Colleen McCullum as Chief Audit Executive. The bank significantly cut dividends in late January and made substantial provisions for loan loss reserves, leading to a crisis that resulted in a sharp drop in its stock price in the months prior, with their former executives resigning.