The sell-off in technology stocks pressured U.S. stocks to close lower on Friday, with the market adopting a cautious stance in preparation for potential seasonal challenges in September.
August$Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$Underperformed compared to small-cap stocks in the U.S., while the Chinese concept stock index has risen for four consecutive months. $Alibaba (BABA.US)$ Achieved its best single-day performance since March 2023.
U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Friday, with the 10-year yield rising by 2.3 basis points. Amid rising expectations for an interest rate cut in August, the 2-year yield fell by a cumulative 33 basis points. The U.S. dollar index initially rose before declining, while Bitcoin dropped below the $109,000 mark. A weak dollar supported four consecutive days of gains in gold. Oil prices fluctuated in the short term due to the volatile situation between Russia and Ukraine, retreating from some of their gains on Friday; however, for the month as a whole, concerns about oversupply led to a general decline in oil prices.
Below are the key asset movements:
Before the US stock market opens, the core PCE price index in the US increased by 2.9% year-on-year in July. Following the data release, the US dollar index briefly rose, peaking at 0.27%. Spot gold slightly declined to $3,405. The three major US stock indices opened lower.
In early trading, the major US stock indices further declined, with technology stocks leading the drop. NVIDIA fell over 3%, and Super Micro Computer dropped more than 2%. Alibaba rose over 12%, as the company reiterated its plan to invest 380 billion yuan in AI capital expenditures over the next three years and is preparing a “backup plan” for global AI chip supply and policy changes.
In the domestic futures night market, prices varied at the close, with soda ash falling 2.08% during the night session, and both glass and coking coal dropping at least 1.78%. Caustic soda increased by 1.24%.
During trading hours in the US stock market, the US Dollar Index turned downward, falling 0.29% from its intraday high. Due to concerns over tariffs, the Indian Rupee depreciated by 0.8% against the US dollar, reaching 88.26, becoming the worst-performing currency in Asia this year. A weaker dollar supported gold prices, which rose for four consecutive days, breaking through a key downward trend line, and at one point increased by 1.46% from the intraday low.
In the late trading session of US stocks, a wave of tech stock sell-offs pressured the US market to close lower on Friday, with the Nasdaq declining over 1.1%. The market is adopting a cautious mindset in preparation for potential seasonal challenges in September. In August, the Nasdaq underperformed small-cap stocks, with the S&P accumulating a rise of 1.91%. Tesla fell by 3.50%, leading the decline among the Mag 7 tech giants.
On Friday, the three major US stock indices closed lower, with the Nasdaq down more than 1.1%. In August, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 3%, and small-cap indices rose by 7%. Alibaba closed up 13%, marking its best single-day performance since March 2023. Chagee Holdings fell more than 13% after the company announced its second-quarter financial report.
U.S. benchmark indices:
The S&P 500 Index closed down 41.60 points, a decrease of 0.64%, at 6460.26 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 92.02 points, a decrease of 0.20%, at 45544.88 points.
The Nasdaq closed down 249.606 points, a decrease of 1.15%, at 21455.552 points. The Nasdaq 100 Index closed down 288.031 points, a decrease of 1.22%, at 23415.42 points.
The Russell 2000 Index closed down 0.50%, at 2366.418 points.
The VIX Index closed up 6.58%, at 15.38, with a sharp increase occurring around 22:00 Beijing time.
U.S. sector ETFs:
The semiconductor sector fell by 2.86%, leading the industry ETFs down; the AI sector declined by 1.53%, and consumer discretionary fell by 1.01%, while the S&P industrials decreased by 0.91%.
Mag 7:
The index of the Magnificent 7, the seven major U.S. tech stocks, fell by 1.31% to 187.67 points, with a cumulative decline of 0.06% this week and an increase of 1.25% in August.
Tesla closed down 3.50%, NVIDIA fell by 3.36%, Meta Platforms decreased by 1.65%, Amazon declined by 1.12%, Microsoft fell by 0.58%, Apple was down by 0.18%, while Google A closed up by 0.06%.
In August, Apple rose by 11.97%, Google A increased by 10.95%—marking the fifth consecutive month of gains—while Tesla grew by 8.30%. NVIDIA corrected by 2.07%, Amazon fell by 2.18%, Meta retreated by 4.49%, and Microsoft declined by 4.87%.
Semiconductor stocks:
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed down 0.39%, at 5,696.21 points.
AMD closed down 3.53%, and Taiwan Semiconductor’s ADR fell by 3.11%.
In August, Taiwan Semiconductor’s ADR decreased by 4.45%, following four consecutive months of increases.
Chinese stocks:
The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 1.55%, at 7,912.53 points, with a cumulative decline of 0.10% for the week and an increase of 6.03% in August, marking the fourth consecutive month of rebound.
Among popular Chinese concept stocks, Fangdd saw an initial increase of approximately 54%, Alibaba rose by 13%, Baidu increased by 4.7%, and JD.com, New Oriental, and Tencent rose by over 1%. Chagee Holdings fell by over 13%, following the company’s announcement of its second-quarter financial report.
Other stocks:
Eli Lilly and Co rose by 0.08%, while Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares under Warren Buffett increased by 0.62%.
The property management sector rose against the trend, with Bank of America and JPMorgan both reaching all-time highs.
European stock markets experienced a pullback in August after a rally, with the automotive parts and materials sectors cumulatively rising over 4%. The German stock index fell approximately 0.7% in August, the French index declined about 0.9%, the Polish index dropped 5.3%, while the Italian index increased by over 2.9%.
Pan-European stocks:
The European STOXX 600 Index closed down 0.64% at 550.14 points, with a cumulative increase of 0.74% in August.
The Eurozone STOXX 50 Index closed down 0.83% at 5351.73 points, with a cumulative increase of 0.60% in August. It fell to 5154.83 points on August 1, subsequently rebounding to reach 5510.69 points on August 22, before retracting some of its gains.
National indices:
The German DAX 30 Index closed down 0.57% at 23902.21 points, with a cumulative decline of 0.68% in August.
The French CAC 40 Index closed down 0.76% at 7703.90 points, with a cumulative decline of 0.88% in August.
The UK FTSE 100 Index closed down 0.32% at 9187.34 points, with a cumulative increase of approximately 0.60% in August.
European stock sectors:
In sector performance, the STOXX 600 Automobile and Parts Index rose by 4.82% in August, the Basic Resources Index increased by 4.34%, the Food and Beverage Index climbed by 3.84%, and the Healthcare Index gained 3.53%.
The yields on 2- and 3-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell by more than 30 basis points in August. The fiscal risks for the French government have resurfaced, with the yield on 30-year French bonds rising by over 29 basis points in August.
US Treasuries:
At the end of trading in New York, the yield on the U.S. 10-year benchmark Treasury bond rose by 2.51 basis points to 4.2284%, reflecting a cumulative decline of 14.56 basis points in August.
The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury bond fell by 1.23 basis points to 3.6167%, with a cumulative decline of 34.04 basis points in August.
Eurozone bonds:
At the end of trading in Europe, the yield on Germany’s 10-year government bonds rose by 2.9 basis points to 2.724%, with a cumulative increase of 3.0 basis points in August.
The yield on the UK 10-year government bond increased by 2.2 basis points to 4.722%, reflecting a cumulative rise of 15.2 basis points in August.
The yield on France’s 10-year government bond rose by 3.4 basis points to 3.512%, with a cumulative increase of 16.3 basis points in August.
The US Dollar Index fell approximately 2.2% in August, showing an overall L-shaped long-tail decline. The Japanese Yen appreciated over 2.4% in August.
USD:
In late trading in New York, the ICE Dollar Index fell 0.02% to 97.792 points, after initially rising to 98.134 points following the release of the PCE inflation data favored by the Federal Reserve, and then quickly reversed to decline. It recorded a cumulative drop of 2.18% in August.
The Bloomberg Dollar Index remained roughly flat at 1201.12 points, with a cumulative decline of 1.67% in August, trading within a range of 1224.64 to 1198.45 points.
Japanese Yen:
In late trading in New York, the US Dollar rose 0.07% against the Japanese Yen, trading at 147.04 Yen, with a cumulative increase of 0.06% this week and a cumulative decline of 2.45% in August.
Offshore Renminbi:
At the close in New York, the US dollar was quoted at 7.1223 against the offshore renminbi, down 21 points from Thursday’s close in New York. In August, the offshore renminbi rose a total of 866 points, an increase of 1.20%.
Cryptocurrencies:
At the New York close, the CME Bitcoin futures main contract fell 0.25% compared to Wednesday’s New York close, trading below $112,000.
US CFTC: WTI crude oil bullish sentiment hits an 18-year low. US crude oil futures fell over 6% in August, while UK natural gas futures dropped over 11%.
Crude Oil:
WTI October crude oil futures closed down by $0.59, a decline of over 0.91%, settling at $64.01 per barrel, with a cumulative drop of over 6.14% in August.
Brent October crude oil futures closed down by $0.50, a decline of nearly 0.73%, settling at $68.12 per barrel, with a cumulative drop of over 4.99% in August.
Natural Gas:
NYMEX October natural gas futures rose by 1.80%, settling at $2.9970 per million British thermal units, with a cumulative drop of over 6.37% in August.
Spot gold rose by 0.9% to reach $3,450, with a cumulative increase of 4.8% in August, while the Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index saw a cumulative rise of nearly 22%.
Gold:
At the New York close, spot gold rose by 0.90%, quoted at $3,447.96 per ounce, with a cumulative increase of 4.80% in August.
COMEX gold futures rose by 1.19%, quoted at $3,515.50 per ounce, with a cumulative increase of 5.01% in August.
Silver:
At the New York close, spot silver had a cumulative increase of 8.19%, quoted at $39.7168 per ounce.
COMEX silver futures had a cumulative increase of 9.79%, quoted at $40.305 per ounce; the November contract increased by 9.82%, and the January contract increased by 9.55%.
Other Metals:
At the end of trading in New York, COMEX copper futures rose by 3.62%, closing at $4.5120 per pound; the November contract increased by 3.63%.
Spot platinum increased by 6.00%, priced at $1369.51 per ounce; spot palladium decreased by 7.59%, priced at $1108.29 per ounce, continuing to oscillate downward.
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