China ** newspaper reporter Guo Minjun.
Good morning, everyone! Last night and this morning, a lot of big things happened.
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher across the board.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said interest rates have peaked but there is no rush to cut them.
Popular Chinese concept stocks are generally **, and Aptorum Group soared 46826%。
JD.com's performance is improving, announcing dividends and share repurchase plans, and its stock price soared by nearly 40 billion yuan overnight!
The three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher across the board.
On March 6, Eastern time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed up across the board. As of **, the Dow Jones rose 02% at 3866105 o'clock. The S&P 500 rose 051% at 5104At 76 points, the Nasdaq rose 058% at 1603154 points.
Chip stocks across the board**, TSMC rose 49%, Qualcomm rose 403%, ASML rose 363%, Nvidia rose 323%, Intel rose 313%, Chaowei Semiconductor rose 268%, Microchip Technology rose 253%。
Powell: Interest rates have peaked but there is no rush to cut them
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at a House Financial Services Committee hearing as scheduled that while inflation is still above the 2% target, inflation has slowed and there has been no significant rise in unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) expects that lowering the interest rate target range will not be appropriate until confidence in inflation is sustainably moving towards 2%.
"The Fed remains focused on our dual mission of promoting maximum employment and price stability for the American people," Powell said. Over the past year, the economy has made considerable progress in achieving these goals. ”
He said that while inflation is still above the FOMC's 2% target, it has fallen sharply and the slowdown in inflation has not seen a significant rise in unemployment. As labor market tightness eases and inflation continues to progress, the risks to achieving employment and inflation targets are leveling off.
At the same time, he pointed out that even so, the committee remains highly concerned about inflation risks and is acutely aware of the enormous difficulties that high inflation can bring, especially for those who are least able to afford the higher costs of necessities such as food, housing and transportation. The FOMC is firmly committed to returning inflation to its 2% target. Restoring **stability is critical to achieving sustained strong labor market conditions for the benefit of all.
Regarding the current economic situation and outlook, Powell said that economic activity has expanded at a strong pace over the past year. For the whole of 2023, the gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 31%, which was supported by strong consumer demand and improved conditions. Activity in the housing sector has been weak over the past year, mainly reflecting high mortgage rates. High interest rates also appear to be putting pressure on corporate fixed investment.
Powell pointed out that the U.S. labor market is still relatively tight, but the supply and demand situation continues to maintain a good balance. Since the middle of last year, jobs have added an average of 239,000 jobs per month, and the unemployment rate remains near record lows of 37%。While creating a large number of jobs, there has been an increase in workers**, especially those aged 25 to 54, and a continued strong pace of immigration. Job openings have declined, and nominal wage growth has been slowing. Although the gap between employment and workers has narrowed, the demand for labor still exceeds the number of available workers. The strong labor market over the past two years has also helped to close the long-standing employment and income gap between different demographic groups.
He said inflation had come down significantly over the past year. In the 12 months to January, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) totalled 24%。Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the core PCE***28%, a significant slowdown from 2022, which is prevalent in goods and services**. Long-term inflation expectations appear to remain solid, as reflected in extensive surveys of households, businesses and individuals, as well as measures of financial markets.
Regarding monetary policy, Powell said: "After sharply tightening its monetary policy stance since the beginning of 2022, the FOMC has maintained the target range for the federal ** rate at 5-1 4% to 5-1 2% since its July meeting last year. We also continue to shrink our balance sheet at a rapid pace. Our restrictive stance on monetary policy is putting downward pressure on economic activity and inflation. ”
"We believe our policy rate could peak in this tightening cycle," he said. If the economy develops as broadly as expected, it may be appropriate to start reducing policy restrictions sometime this year. However, the economic outlook is uncertain and continued progress towards the 2% inflation target is uncertain. Reducing policy restrictions too early or too much could lead to a reversal of the progress we have seen on inflation and ultimately require tighter policy to bring inflation back to 2%. At the same time, reducing policy restrictions too late or too little could undermine economic activity and employment too much. When considering any adjustments to the target range for the policy rate, we will carefully assess the upcoming data, the changing outlook and the balance of risks. The FOMC expects that lowering the interest rate target range will be inappropriate until confidence in inflation is sustainably moving towards 2%. ”
"We remain committed to bringing inflation down to our 2% target and keeping long-term inflation expectations stable," he said. In the long run, restoring price stability is essential to achieving maximum employment and price stability. ”
JD.com soared nearly 40 billion yuan overnight
On March 6, JD.com released the "Fourth Quarter and Annual Results, Annual Dividend and Share Repurchase Plan Announcement", which pushed up the stock price with many benefits.
On March 6, Eastern time, JD.com's U.S. stocks opened higher and moved higher, with the highest increase of 1973%。As of **, JD.com rose 1618% to 2491 US dollars, with a market value of 39.6 billion US dollars, soared by 5.4 billion US dollars (about 38.9 billion yuan) overnight.
JD.com announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that its revenue in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 306.1 billion yuan, an increase of 36%；Net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of the Company was RMB3.4 billion, compared to RMB3.0 billion in the same period last year. Diluted earnings per ADS were 213 yuan, compared to 1 yuan in the same period last year91 RMB.
JD.com's full-year cash dividend for 2023 is 0US$38, or US$0 per ADS$76, and the total dividend will be about $1.2 billion.
According to the announcement, the company also announced the adoption of a new share repurchase program, which allows the company to repurchase shares worth up to US$3 billion (including American depositary shares) in the next 36 months ending in March 2027.
Popular Chinese concept stocks are generally **Aptorum Group Hurricane 46826%
Popular Chinese concept stocks are generally **, and the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 196%。
Aptorum Group Hurricane 46826%, Huaying Holdings rose 13500%, Yangang Pearl rose 4731%, leading the rise of Chinese concept stocks.
Dada Group rose 2995%, JD.com rose 1618%, Dingdong Grocery rose 108%, iQIYI rose 826%, Daqo New Energy rose 816%, GDS rose 693%, Jinshan Cloud rose 643%, Bilibili rose 64%, BOSS Zhipin rose 587%。
China's new energy vehicle stocks collectively **, Weilai Automobile rose 516%, Xpeng Motors rose 486%, Li Auto rose 029%。
Editor: Huang Mei Review: Muyu.