U.S. major stock indices closed slightly higher, with international gold prices reaching new highs! Gold stocks rose across the board. Bitcoin ETFs surged by over 10%, with well-known Wall Street firms and large institutional investors buying a significant amount of Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter. International oil prices fell across the board, while Chinese assets continued to rise.
The three major U.S. stock indices closed slightly higher, with the Nasdaq achieving seven consecutive days of gains.
On August 17th, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed slightly higher. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.24%, to 40,659.76 points; the S&P 500 index increased by 0.2%, to 5,554.25 points; the Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.21%, to 17,631.72 points, marking seven consecutive days of gains. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 2.94%, the S&P 500 index by 3.93%, and the Nasdaq Composite by 5.29%.
Technology stocks fluctuated, with Apple rising by 0.59%, Amazon falling by 0.3%, Netflix rising by 1.64%, Google increasing by 1.03%, Facebook dropping by 1.84%, and Microsoft falling by 0.61%.
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Bank stocks collectively rose, with JPMorgan Chase increasing by 1.15%, Goldman Sachs by 1.05%, Citigroup by 1.45%, Morgan Stanley by 0.78%, Bank of America by 0.78%, and Wells Fargo by 1.37%.
International gold prices reached new highs! Gold stocks rose across the board. On August 16th, Eastern Time, influenced by a variety of factors including a weakening dollar, expectations of a Federal Reserve rate cut in September, and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, international gold prices set a new historical record. The spot gold price broke through the significant milestone of $2,500 per ounce for the first time.
The highest increase in London spot gold reached 2.20%, reaching $2,509.72 per ounce, and closed at $2,506.84 per ounce, up 2.08%.
International precious metal futures generally closed higher. COMEX gold futures rose by 2.16%, to $2,546.2 per ounce, setting a historical record, with a weekly increase of 2.94%; COMEX silver futures increased by 2.35%, to $29.085 per ounce, with a weekly gain of 5.43%.
The new high in gold prices led to strong performance in gold stocks. Harmony Gold rose by 5.23%, Gold Fields by 3.84%, AngloGold Ashanti by 3.55%, Barrick Gold by 3.49%, Cordelion Mining by 3.22%, Kinross Gold by 2.92%, and Iamgold by 2.47%.
Bitcoin ETFs surged.
(Note: The translation provided is a direct translation of the original text, and it does not include any additional commentary or analysis.)On August 16th Eastern Time, Bitcoin ETFs saw a significant surge. The 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF once rose by 10.23%, closing the day at $27.868, up 9.63%.
Prominent Wall Street firms and large institutional investors have been heavily purchasing spot Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter, indicating an increasing acceptance of Bitcoin as an asset class within the traditional financial sector. According to filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the number of funds holding Bitcoin spot ETFs increased by 701 in the second quarter, bringing the total number of funds holding such ETFs to 1,950.
Goldman Sachs' 13F filings reveal that the bank holds positions in 7 out of 11 Bitcoin spot ETFs in the U.S., with a scale exceeding $400 million. Additionally, numerous quantitative hedge funds such as Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Renaissance Technologies, Millennium Management, Capula Investment Management, and Schonfeld Strategic Advisors are also increasing their holdings in Bitcoin ETFs.
Furthermore, pension funds are also accelerating their entry into the market, with the Michigan state pension fund purchasing $6.6 million worth of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the second quarter.
International oil prices fell across the board.
On August 16th Eastern Time, international oil prices fell across the board. The September U.S. oil contract once plummeted by 3.21%, closing down by 1.95% at $75.49 per barrel, down 1.76% for the week; the October Brent oil contract fell by 1.7%, reporting $79.66 per barrel, with the weekly line flat.
Goldman Sachs lowers U.S. GDP growth forecast.
Goldman Sachs has revised down its forecast for U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter from 2.6% to 2.4%. Goldman Sachs noted that the earlier announced U.S. industrial production for July fell by 0.6% month-on-month, which was greater than the 0.1% decline it had expected, mainly reflecting the negative impact of Hurricane Beryl on production in some areas.
Goldman Sachs also stated that the third-quarter vehicle assembly data was below expectations, falling by 12.4% to 9.8 million units, the lowest level since October 2023. In addition, business equipment spending fell by 0.2% month-on-month, further increasing pressure on GDP.
U.S. consumer confidence index higher than expected.On the macro front, the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index for August was initially recorded at 67.8, higher than the expected 66.9 and the July final value of 66.4.
Federal Reserve official Goolsbee stated that when the balance in the labor market begins to shift, it often deteriorates rapidly; some leading recession indicators are sending warning signals; the Gross Domestic Product remains quite strong, and there are some robust sectors within the economy. He hopes that the job market can stabilize, expressing concern about further weakening.
Chinese assets continue to rise, with popular Chinese concept stocks continuing to rise broadly, and the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index increased by 1.92%. I-Mab Biopharma Inc. rose by 9.09%, JD.com rose by 8.48%, Tuya Inc. rose by 7.53%, leading the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index constituent stocks.
Li Auto Inc. rose by 6.93%, Dada Nexus Limited rose by 6.87%, Silvercorp Metals Inc. rose by 6.45%, and Alibaba Group Holding Limited rose by 4.54%.
Chinese concept electric vehicle stocks rose collectively, with NIO Inc. rising by 3% and XPeng Inc. rising by 1.32%, in addition to Li Auto Inc.