Overnight U.S. Stocks | Federal Reserve Lowers Economic Growth Forecast, Three Major Indices Close Lower

According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Thursday, the three major indices closed slightly lower. The market continues to assess the monetary policy outlook of the Federal Reserve. Yesterday, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, lowered its economic growth forecast for this year, while raising its inflation estimates. According to the median estimate in the "dot plot," officials continue to expect a half-percentage point rate cut this year, which means two rate cuts of 25 basis points each.

【U.S. Stocks】 As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.43 points, a decrease of 0.03%, closing at 41,953.20 points; the Nasdaq Composite fell 59.16 points, a decrease of 0.33%, closing at 17,691.63 points; the S&P 500 index fell 12.41 points, a decrease of 0.22%, closing at 5,662.88 points. Google (GOOGL.US) closed down 0.67%, Apple (AAPL.US) fell 0.53%, Amazon (AMZN.US) fell 0.3%, Microsoft (MSFT.US) fell 0.25%, Tesla (TSLA.US) closed up 0.1%, Meta (META.US) rose 0.33%, and Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose 0.86%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed down 3.84%.

【European Stocks】 The German DAX 30 index fell 1.24%, the UK FTSE 100 index fell 0.05%, the French CAC 40 index fell 0.95%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1.02%.

【Asia-Pacific Stock Markets】 The Nikkei 225 index fell 0.25%, the South Korean KOSPI index rose 0.32%, and the Indonesian Composite Index rose 1.11%.

【Foreign Exchange】 The U.S. dollar index fell 0.02%, closing at 103.781.

【Cryptocurrency】 Bitcoin fell 3.21%, trading at $84,239.

【Gold】 Spot gold fell 0.08%, trading at $3,045.38 per ounce, while COMEX gold futures fell to $3,032.80.

【Crude Oil】 WTI rose 1.6%, closing above $68 per barrel for the first time in over two weeks. Brent crude climbed to $72 per barrel.

【Macroeconomic News】

The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. rose slightly last week, indicating a stable job market. Data released on Thursday showed that the number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 15 was 223,000, slightly lower than the market expectation of 224,000 but slightly higher than the previous value of 220,000. The slight increase in initial jobless claims indicates that the job market remains stable. However, against the backdrop of escalating trade tensions and significant spending cuts and layoffs by the Trump administration, the employment outlook seems to be dimming.

The Bank of England kept interest rates unchanged as expected, with more officials taking a cautious stance on rate cuts. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 8 to 1 to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.5%, in line with market expectations. Notably, the number of members supporting a cautious stance was higher than economists had anticipated. The guidance from the Bank of England seems to indicate that the increasingly bleak global economic backdrop has not yet affected its plans for a "gradual and cautious" easing of monetary policy. Bank of England Governor Bailey stated in a statement, "There is a lot of uncertainty in the economy at the moment. We still believe that interest rates are on a gradually declining trajectory." We will closely monitor the development of the global and domestic economy.”

The EU's countermeasures against Trump's "unreasonable" tariffs may take effect in mid-April. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis stated on Thursday that the countermeasures announced by the EU on March 12 against U.S. tariffs are likely to take effect in mid-April. Dombrovskis noted in a statement: “In light of the recent announcement by the U.S. to impose additional tariffs on April 2, we are currently considering coordinating the implementation timing of two sets of EU countermeasures, so that we can consult with member states on both lists simultaneously.” Dombrovskis further revealed that the European Commission has initiated a new procedure to formulate more countermeasures in response to the U.S. expanding the scope of tariffs under Section 232, which affects EU export goods worth €18 billion.

Lagarde warns: Trade uncertainty intensifies, ECB cannot commit to interest rate path. Although the anti-inflation process is still “proceeding smoothly,” Lagarde told European lawmakers in Brussels that the Eurozone is particularly vulnerable to tariff changes, which undermines confidence in the ECB's forecasts. Lagarde stated: “Especially in the current environment of rising uncertainty, we will adopt a data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach to determine the appropriate monetary policy stance. We will not pre-commit to a specific interest rate path.”

Consumer pessimism drags down, U.S. leading economic indicators further decline in February. The Conference Board stated on Thursday that due to increasing consumer pessimism about the economy, the leading economic growth index for February declined again. The leading economic index (LEI) fell by 0.3% in February, following a revised decline of 0.2% in January. However, over the past six months, the index has decreased by 1%, less than half of the 2.1% decline in the previous six months. The report indicates that consumers continue to express concerns about the future health of the economy.

【Stock News】

Micron Technology raises optimistic sales forecast due to strong AI demand, data center business becomes the strongest growth engine. Micron Technology (MU.US) raised its sales forecast due to strong AI demand, with the data center business becoming the strongest growth engine. Benefiting from the AI infrastructure frenzy, Micron, headquartered in Boise, Idaho, reported a significant year-on-year revenue increase of 38% to $8.05 billion for the second fiscal quarter ending in February, surpassing analysts' average forecast of $7.91 billion. Excluding certain items, the adjusted (Non-GAAP) diluted earnings per share rose to $1.56, far exceeding the approximately $0.42 from the same period last year and surpassing the analysts' average expectation of $1.43. Total revenue for the third fiscal quarter of 2025, ending in May, is expected to be around $8.8 billion (with an expected fluctuation of $200 million), significantly higher than the average expectation of $8.55 billion from Wall Street analysts. Excluding certain items, Micron's management expects adjusted (Non-GAAP) diluted earnings per share to be around $1.57 (with an expected fluctuation of $0.10), also higher than the analysts' average expectation of approximately $1.48 Tariff pressure and declining consumer confidence hit Nike, which expects a double-digit revenue decline in Q4. Nike (NKE.US) reported third-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, with a net profit of $794 million, or $0.54 per share, compared to $1.17 billion, or $0.77 per share, in the same period last year, while the market expected $0.29. Sales fell to $11.27 billion, down about 9% from $12.4 billion in the same period last year, with market expectations at $11.01 billion. However, the company warned that due to the longer-than-expected recovery plan for the sneaker giant, along with challenges from new tariffs and declining consumer confidence, it expects a double-digit percentage decline in sales for the fourth quarter.

Tariff gloom looms, as logistics giant FedEx (FDX.US) lowers full-year expectations. Affected by the Trump administration's tariff policy on trade partners, global logistics giant FedEx announced on Thursday that it is lowering its full-year profit and revenue expectations, raising deep concerns in the market about the U.S. economic outlook. The financial report showed that FedEx's third-quarter revenue was $22.2 billion, up from $21.7 billion in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 2.3%, while analysts expected $21.91 billion; net profit was $910 million, up from $880 million in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 3.4%; diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $3.76, compared to $3.51 in the same period last year. In terms of guidance, FedEx had already lowered its earnings per share expectation for fiscal year 2025 from $20-22 to $19-20 last December, and this time further narrowed it to $18-18.60. Revenue expectations were also adjusted from "flat with last year" to "flat or slightly down," reflecting the lagging impact of tariff policies on cross-border trade.

Apple (AAPL.US) adjusts its artificial intelligence department's executive team in a bid to turn around Siri's development challenges. Sources revealed that Apple is making a rare adjustment to its executive team aimed at getting its troubled artificial intelligence business back on track after months of setbacks. CEO Tim Cook has lost confidence in the product development capabilities of AI department head John Giannandrea, and has appointed another executive, Mike Rockwell, the creator of Vision Pro, to take over. Sources indicate that Rockwell will be responsible for the Siri voice assistant. Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi, and Siri will be completely removed from Giannandrea's oversight, with Apple expected to announce personnel changes this week