Overnight U.S. Stocks | Three Major Indices Rise Bullish First Day of Listing Closed Up 83.78%

According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Wednesday, the three major indices rose, with the S&P 500 index setting a closing record for the second consecutive trading day.

[U.S. Stocks] At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 463.66 points, an increase of 1.04%, to 44,922.27 points; the Nasdaq rose 31.24 points, an increase of 0.14%, to 21,713.14 points; the S&P 500 index rose 20.82 points, an increase of 0.32%, to 6,466.58 points. Bullish (BLSH.US) closed up 83.78% on its first day of trading, while Coreweave (CRWV.US) closed down 20.83%. Stablecoin giant Circle (CRCL.US) fell 6.15%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 2.08%, with Bilibili (BILI.US) up 6.61% and iQIYI (IQ.US) up 5.41%.

[European Stocks] The German DAX 30 index rose 123.09 points, an increase of 0.51%, to 24,173.21 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose 15.14 points, an increase of 0.17%, to 9,162.95 points; the French CAC 40 index rose 51.55 points, an increase of 0.66%, to 7,804.97 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 51.43 points, an increase of 0.96%, to 5,387.40 points; the Spanish IBEX 35 index rose 128.21 points, an increase of 0.86%, to 15,007.81 points; the Italian FTSE MIB index rose 228.58 points, an increase of 0.55%, to 42,164.00 points.

[Asia-Pacific Stock Markets] The Nikkei 225 index rose 1.3%, the South Korean KOSPI index rose 1.08%, and the Indonesian Composite Index rose 1.3%.

[Crude Oil] As of the close of the day, the price of light crude oil futures for September delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by 52 cents, closing at $62.65 per barrel, a decrease of 0.82%; the price of Brent crude oil futures for October delivery fell by 49 cents, closing at $65.63 per barrel, a decrease of 0.74%.

[Metals] Spot gold rose 0.23%, closing at $3,355.91. Traders have fully priced in a 25 basis point rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose nearly 1.9%, closing at $122,387.5; Ethereum rose 2.9%, closing at $4,724.39.

[Macroeconomic News]

Sources: Trump's list of candidates for Federal Reserve Chairman expands to 11, including veteran Wall Street strategists. According to reports, two unnamed government officials revealed that the Trump administration is considering 11 candidates to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May next year, including three who have never been publicly nominated before. These new members include Jefferies Chief Market Strategist David Zervos, former Federal Reserve Governor Larry Lindsey, and BlackRock Global Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer Rick Rieder. They are included in the consideration list along with the eight candidates previously confirmed by CNBC, which include Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller, and Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson Officials also confirmed that the candidate list includes Mark Zandi, who served as an economic advisor in the Bush administration, Dallas Federal Reserve President Logan, and former St. Louis Federal Reserve President Bullard. Officials described a "review process," in which Treasury Secretary Basant will meet with all candidates, narrow down the list, and present the final list to the president for a decision. The scale of the list and the described process indicate that the decision is not imminent and may take quite some time. However, officials were reluctant to provide a timeline.

Federal Reserve's Goolsbee: More evidence of inflation improvement needed; action possible at every meeting. Chicago Federal Reserve President Goolsbee stated on Wednesday that he cannot confidently believe that tariffs will not push up inflation, nor is he certain that the U.S. labor market is deteriorating—two reasons cited by some colleagues in support of rate cuts. However, he also left the door open for a shift in stance before the Federal Reserve policy meeting on September 16-17, stating that if the job market deteriorates significantly, a rate cut would be inevitable; and it is entirely possible to cut rates first and then pause or reverse the policy path based on new data. Goolsbee noted, "All meetings this fall could be windows for policy adjustments." He emphasized the need to see several months of improving inflation data to be confident that inflation is returning to the 2% target, thereby supporting a rate cut. He pointed out that there are currently only two months of moderate data, while the latest CPI data shows a concerning rise in service inflation.

U.S. ethics agency warns of conflicts of interest regarding Basant's financial asset divestiture. According to The New York Times, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics warned this week that Treasury Secretary Basant failed to comply with an agreement requiring him to divest financial assets. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics sent a letter on August 11 to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Michael D. Crapo, reminding Basant of violations regarding the fulfillment or modification of the agreement. The issue of conflicts of interest arises as Basant leads Trump's agenda on tax, trade, and financial deregulation. Basant is a millionaire who previously served as a hedge fund manager. He committed to divesting from dozens of funds, trusts, and farmland investments before his confirmation hearing in January. Trump cabinet officials are required to sell certain assets and investments within 90 days of confirmation to avoid potential conflicts of interest, and most members have completed their compliance agreements, but Basant has not yet fulfilled this commitment.

Bank of Canada considered rate cut in July but leaned towards waiting for more data. The Bank of Canada discussed a 25 basis point rate cut at its July meeting, but ongoing trade disputes with the U.S., the resilience of the Canadian economy, and rising inflation risks ultimately led the Bank of Canada to maintain the policy rate at 2.75% for the third consecutive meeting. The minutes from the Bank of Canada meeting stated, "It is still too early to assess how tariffs and trade restructuring will affect Canadian economic activity and inflation. Committee members unanimously agreed that if the economy continues to weaken and core inflation pressures diminish, they need to wait for clearer information before drawing a definitive conclusion about whether there is more room for easing." [Stock News]

Bridgewater Fund significantly increased its holdings in Nvidia in Q2, liquidating Alibaba and other Chinese concept stocks. Bridgewater Fund announced its Q2 holdings report as of June 30 this year, significantly increasing its stake in Nvidia (NVDA.US) by approximately 4.39 million shares (an increase of 154.37%), adding 2.56 million shares of Google (GOOG.US) (an increase of 84.08%), and 910,000 shares of Microsoft (MSFT.US) (an increase of 111.88%). Additionally, the company established new positions in Arm (ARM.US), Lyft (LYFT.US), and other stocks, while liquidating its positions in Alibaba (BABA.US), Pinduoduo (PDD.US), Baidu (BIDU.US), JD.com (JD.US), and other Chinese concept stocks. As of June 30 this year, Bridgewater Fund's total scale was $24.8 billion, a quarter-on-quarter increase of 14.81%.

Apple (AAPL.US) plans to enter the fields of AI robots, home security, and smart displays. Apple is planning to make a comeback in the artificial intelligence field with a series of ambitious new devices, including robots, a simulated version of Siri, smart speakers with displays, and home security cameras. According to insiders, a desktop robot serving as a virtual companion is at the core of the AI strategy, with a target launch in 2027. Meanwhile, smart speakers with displays are expected to hit the market next year, as part of Apple's entry into entry-level smart home products. Home security is seen as another huge growth opportunity. The new cameras will be integrated into Apple's security system, automating home functions. Insiders say this approach should help enhance the appeal of Apple's product ecosystem to consumers.

Oracle (ORCL.US) lays off employees in its cloud infrastructure department to cope with the impact of AI spending. According to foreign media reports, Oracle is laying off employees in its highly watched cloud computing department, becoming the latest company to take measures to control costs amid massive investments in AI infrastructure. Insiders revealed that affected employees were informed this week that their positions had been eliminated. Two insiders mentioned that some layoffs were related to performance issues, although the department continues to hire. An Oracle spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests for comment from reporters. The full extent of the cuts is currently unclear. Recently, many tech giants have chosen to cut spending in other areas of their business to cope with the rising costs brought about by AI. This year, Microsoft has laid off about 15,000 employees, and Amazon and Meta have also conducted layoffs.

Tesla (TSLA.US) job postings suggest it may enter the New York ride-hailing market. According to foreign media reports, Tesla is hiring personnel to test its driver assistance technology on the streets of New York City, indicating that the automaker may wish to expand its ride-hailing service to the largest metropolitan area in the U.S. In its new job postings for the Autopilot department, Tesla is seeking a driver to operate prototype vehicles, collecting data for up to 8 hours a day. This full-time position is located in Queens and requires applicants to be familiar with the autonomous driving system, with an hourly wage potentially exceeding $30. After a limited pilot launch of its autonomous taxi service at its headquarters in Austin, Tesla is seeking to expand the service nationwide The company recently launched some ride-hailing services in San Francisco, with human safety monitors sitting in the driver's seat, and plans to expand the service to areas such as Nevada and Arizona. Although the new recruitment information does not explicitly state its connection to the autonomous taxi business, data collection is typically the first step in launching autonomous ride-hailing services.

Amazon (AMZN.US) will offer same-day delivery of fresh groceries in 3,300 cities. According to foreign media reports, Amazon currently provides same-day delivery of fresh groceries in over 1,000 cities and plans to expand this service to more than 2,300 cities by the end of this year, marking a significant expansion amid resilient demand for food delivery. The company stated in a release on Wednesday that customers can order perishable items including fruits, vegetables, dairy products, meat, seafood, baked goods, as well as frozen foods and household items. The company noted that in most cities, Amazon Prime members can enjoy free same-day delivery of fresh groceries for orders over $25. For non-members, this service incurs a fee of $13 regardless of order size. As a result, the stock prices of chain supermarkets such as Kroger (KR.N) and Walmart (WMT.N) fell.

【Major Bank Ratings】

Standard Chartered Bank: Raises year-end Ethereum price expectation to $7,500. On Wednesday, Standard Chartered raised its year-end target price for Ethereum from $4,000 to $7,500, citing improved industry participation and an increase in Ethereum holdings in recent months. This new target price represents a nearly 60% premium over Ethereum's recent high of $4,700, the highest in over three and a half years, reached on Wednesday. As the second-largest cryptocurrency globally, Ethereum has become the preferred choice for investors seeking higher returns. Unlike Bitcoin, which relies solely on price appreciation, Ether can be used for staking—holders lock up tokens to support the Ethereum network in exchange for rewards. Over the past four weeks, driven by the passage of the "Genius Act," the price of Ether has surged over 50%. This act aims to establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins pegged to the dollar, and the market expects this will enhance their acceptance, thereby driving up the prices of crypto assets, including Ether. Geoff Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered, stated, "We expect the stablecoin industry to grow about eightfold by the end of 2028, which will have a significant direct impact on the fees of the Ethereum network." Most stablecoins are issued and traded on the Ethereum blockchain, increasing the demand for Ether to pay transaction fees