On Tuesday (October 31st), most European and American stock markets closed higher, with the Dow up 0.38%, the S&P 500 up 0.65%, and the Nasdaq up 0.48%. Gold continued to decline, with US gold falling below the $2000/ounce mark.
The Federal Reserve is currently holding a two-day November interest rate meeting, and the results of the meeting will be announced early Thursday. Market data shows that the probability of maintaining interest rates unchanged is 98.4%, which means that the market generally believes that there will be no interest rate hikes in November.
Majority pullback in Chinese concept stocks
On Tuesday, the US Nasdaq achieved a triple positive streak, led by gains in technology and banking stocks.
Most US technology stocks rose overnight: Boeing, AMD, Ericsson, and Intel rose more than 2%, while Tesla, Oracle, Asmac, and Qualcomm rose more than 1%.
The market is betting that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates in November, and US bank stocks are generally up. As of the close, Bank of America rose 2.57%, Citigroup rose 1.41%, JPMorgan Chase rose 1.17%, Goldman Sachs rose 0.85%, Wells Fargo rose 0.84%, and Morgan Stanley rose 0.33%.
Pharmaceutical stocks collectively rose, with Moderna up 2.55%, Geely Scientific up 0.99%, Novavax Pharmaceuticals up 2.15%, BioNTech up 0.31%, and AstraZeneca up 0.46%.
However, most of the popular Chinese concept stocks fell, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index falling 1.69% and ending the day with three consecutive positive days.
In terms of individual stocks, Global Mofei fell 21.46%, Yixian E-commerce fell 10.35%, Shanda Technology fell 9.83%, Manbang Group fell 8.38%, and Qudian fell 7.14%. Futu Holdings fell by over 4%, while Ctrip, iQiyi, Kingsoft Cloud, and Bilibili fell by over 3%.
The stock price of sharing office giant WEWORK has plummeted by over 12%, and the stock price continues to plummet by nearly 45% after hours.
In terms of macro data, Red Book commercial retail sales in the United States increased by 5.3% year-on-year in the week of October 28th, compared to a previous 5% increase. The FHFA housing price index rose 0.6% month on month in August, with an expected increase of 0.5%.
Debon Securities analysis suggests that the Federal Reserve is expected to not raise interest rates at its November interest rate meeting held early Thursday in Beijing time. However, strong US GDP data will strengthen the FOMC statement's description of the economy, and Federal Reserve Chairman Powell is not expected to confirm that the Fed has stopped raising interest rates. Currently, market traders continue to bet that there will be no interest rate hikes in November, with the last rate hike expected to be postponed to January next year, and the rate cut expected to remain in June 2024.
The dust of the 2023 automotive industry strike in the United States has settled, and the union organization UAW has hinted that it will target Tesla in the future. China concept stock "Weixiaoli" fell across the board, with Weilai Automobile falling 3.06%, Xiaopeng Automobile falling 2.88%, and Ideal Automobile falling 3.73%.
Gold and silver prices collectively decline
In terms of commodities, gold and silver prices have collectively declined, and the situation in the Middle East has eased.
A few days ago, the main contract price of COMEX gold futures, which reached the $2000 level, fell, with the main contract closing 0.64% lower at $1992.7 per ounce; The COMEX silver futures main contract missed the $23 mark at $22.96 per ounce.
International oil prices fell across the board, with the December contract for American Oil falling 1.17% to $81.35 per barrel. The oil distribution contract for January next year fell 1.1% to $85.40 per barrel. In October, the December contract of Meiyou fell by 10.38%, while the January contract of Buyou fell by 7.35%.
India has lowered the crude oil windfall tax from 9800 rupees per ton to 9050 rupees, lowered the diesel windfall tax from 4 rupees per liter to 2 rupees, and lifted the windfall tax measures on aviation fuel.
Goldman Sachs said it expects Brent crude oil to rise to $100 per barrel by June next year as the stock market slightly declines. However, Brent crude oil prices are unlikely to continue to exceed $105 per barrel in 2024, which is the upper limit of the OPEC "sweet spot" range of $80-105.
In terms of domestic commodities, crude oil contracts closed 1.52% lower at 646.4 yuan/barrel. Shanghai Gold closed 0.35% lower at 477.28 yuan/gram, while Shanghai Silver closed 1.7% lower at 5790 yuan/kilogram.
The night market closed with gains and losses, with liquefied gas and low sulfur fuel oil rising by more than 2%, fuel oil, iron ore, styrene rising by more than 1%, and PTA, coking coal, threaded steel, and other small gains; Rapeseed meal, soda ash, glass, etc. have slightly declined.
The Central Financial Work Conference was held in Beijing from October 30th to 31st. The meeting emphasized that finance is the lifeblood of the national economy and an important component of a country's core competitiveness. It is necessary to accelerate the construction of a strong financial country, comprehensively strengthen financial supervision, improve the financial system, optimize financial services, and prevent and resolve risks.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has resulted in over 10000 deaths
On October 31st, the Palestinian health department in the Gaza Strip stated that since the outbreak of the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 8525 people have died in the Gaza Strip. In addition, 110 people have died in the West Bank of the Jordan River. According to Israeli media quoting the Israeli Ministry of Health, over 1400 people have died in the current round of conflict. The number of deaths between Israel and Palestine in this round of conflict has exceeded 10035.
On October 31st local time, the Israeli Defense Forces stated that they continued their military operations in the Gaza Strip on the same day, engaging in fierce battles with Hamas militants. The Israeli army launched attacks on multiple targets such as Hamas checkpoints and strongholds, killing at least 50 Hamas militants and occupying Hamas military strongholds west of Jebaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, including underground tunnels Rocket launch sites and weapon and ammunition depots.
On the evening of October 31st, the armed faction of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), the Qassam Brigade, announced another rocket attack on Israel in response to Israel's attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip.
According to Israeli media reports, air defense alerts for rocket attacks were sounded that night in several places in Israel, including Tel Aviv, Bunebrak, Ramatgan, and Horon. According to the Associated Press, the Israeli city of Ashdod was hit by a rocket attack that afternoon, injuring at least four people.
On October 31st, World Health Organization spokesperson Lindmayer warned that a "public health disaster" was imminent in the Gaza Strip due to overcrowding, large-scale displacement, and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure. At the same press conference, UNICEF spokesperson Erd stated that due to the current water supply in the Gaza Strip being only about 5% of normal conditions, infant dehydration has become an increasingly serious threat.