Overnight US stocks | Risk appetite fully returns to the top three indices, SpaceX (SPCX.US) rises 7.7%
The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Wednesday, the steady performance of SpaceX (SPCX.US) and ultra-microcomputer (SMCI.US) strengthened the market's bullish sentiment on artificial intelligence trading. The market risk appetite fully returned. The three major indices rose, the NASDAQ rose more than 1%, and Bitcoin was once close to 85,000 US dollars.
[US stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 360.21 points, or 0.69%, to 52856.09 points; the S&P 500 rose 44.60 points, or 0.58%, to 7757.17 points; and the NASDAQ rose 278.04 points, or 1.05%, to 26702.85 points. SpaceX rose 7.7%, Tesla (TSLA.US) rose more than 3%, and SK Hynix (SKHY.US) and Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose more than 2%. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index closed down 2.35%, Alibaba (BABA.US) down 3.8%, and XPEV.US (XPEV.US) down 5.5%.
[European stocks] The Stoke Europe 600 index rose 0.8%, the German DAX index rose 1.2%, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.2%, the French CAC 40 index rose 0.9%, and the Swiss market index rose 0.4%.
[Foreign Exchange] The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against the six major currencies, rose 0.08% on the same day and closed at 101.780 at the end of the foreign exchange market. As of the end of the exchange market in New York, 1 euro was worth 1.1223 US dollars, lower than 1.1237 US dollars on the previous trading day; 1 pound was worth 1.3384 US dollars, up from 1.3383 US dollars on the previous trading day. 1 US dollar was worth 158.29 yen, up from 158.20 yen on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 0.8254 Swiss franc, higher than 0.8248 Swiss franc on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 1.4052 Canadian dollars, lower than 1.4057 Canadian dollars on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 9.8985 SEK, up from 9.8979 on the previous trading day.
[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin rose more than 2% to $8,4781 as of press release. Ethereum rose more than 1.7% to $2,496.
[Precious Metals] Spot gold rose 0.38% to 4140.73 US dollars/ounce; spot silver fell 0.03% to $57.96 per ounce.
[Crude oil] Light crude futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 67 cents, or 0.68%, to close at $97.15 a barrel; London Brent crude oil futures for December delivery rose 3 cents, or 0.03%, to close at $108.82 a barrel.
[Macro News]
Media: The US recently reduced its military presence at Middle East bases to prevent escalation of operations against Iraq. According to reports, two US officials and two people familiar with the matter revealed that the US military has been quietly reducing its military strength at various bases in the Middle East in recent days, involving military bases in Jordan, Qatar, and Kuwait. Two US officials said that on Wednesday, the heads of various US diplomatic agencies in the Middle East received a notice that the relevant agencies will begin to reduce the size of their personnel. Earlier, the US State Department clarified that the relevant diplomatic withdrawal was limited to Saudi Arabia. The report said that while Trump is considering resuming large-scale military operations against Iran, the further withdrawal of US military personnel from dangerous areas is one of the plans being drawn up by US military officials, and related actions may take place around next month's midterm elections. Before the war broke out in February this year, the US military had withdrawn most of its military presence in the Middle East to prevent Iran from retaliating. Some personnel have since returned to the base and are now likely to be evacuated again. The US side plans to keep a small number of personnel at the relevant bases to be responsible for air defense and security. The US Central Command said that the US military will regularly deploy personnel and equipment to optimize mission preparations, but will not disclose specific deployment details.
Iranian official: If attacks resume, US political targets will be targeted. According to reports, a senior Iranian security official said that Iran believes the US and Israel could launch an attack at any time, and no longer believes in America's diplomatic stance. US Secretary of State Rubio's speech in Athens further deepened Iran's judgment. Iran's political and ideological elites generally believe that America's Middle East policy is dominated by Israel, and Israel will not allow the US to seek diplomatic solutions because US President Trump has always given priority to Israel. Iran now sees itself as being at war with the US, and sees the US economic blockade, maritime blockade, and airspace restrictions as a continuation of military aggression. Internal pressure is rising in Iran to break the blockade through decisive action. The official said that Iran has issued instructions to combat units at various levels: if a new round of large-scale war breaks out, including the assassination of Iranian officials or the killing of civilians, Iran will treat US political targets, participants in the war, and their infrastructure as legal targets.
The US plans to lend about one-third of its heating oil reserves to curb the rise in oil prices. The US Department of Energy said on Wednesday that the Trump administration proposed to lend nearly one-third of America's 1 million barrels of emergency heating oil reserves to curb the sharp rise in oil prices. The composition of heating oil is similar to diesel, and due to supply disruptions in the Middle East caused by the Iran war, the price of diesel has reached a record high of more than $6.50 per gallon. A source from the department said the government will assess whether further heating oil needs to be released from reserves. US Secretary of Energy Wright said the government is “committed to making every effort to reduce energy costs.” The department said it will launch a loan bidding process for fuel retailers and terminal holders to ensure the flow of fuel energy to regions facing shortages.
Bailey defended Trump's attack on Powell. Bank of England Governor Bailey said he was right to act to defend then-Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell from Trump's attacks at the time and would do so again. Bailey said that the reason he and other central bank governors spoke out was because the US president began pointing the finger at Powell “as an individual” rather than at the agency's policies. “I only comment if I think it's an attack on his personal and a friend's personality,” Bailey said. “I regard Jay as a friend; he is an extremely honest person. Saying 'I'm sorry, we'll support our friend' was the right response at the time, and I knew I would do it again.” Bailey has previously said he is “very concerned” about Trump's attacks on Federal Reserve officials, warning that any trend that weakens the independence of central banks could spread to other regions of the world.
In principle, Putin agreed to resume the Russian-American-Ukrainian tripartite peace talks or choose Abu Dhabi. According to reports, the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin told US Special Envoy Witkov on Wednesday that he “agreed in principle” to resume tripartite peace negotiations between Russia, Ukraine, and the US around November 10 to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The location may be in Abu Dhabi. Witkov held three-hour talks with Putin in St. Petersburg on the same day and submitted to them the latest plan to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Trump's Special Envoy Kushner attended the talks via video. Witkov told Putin that progress had been made in the Oslo talks and hoped that the two sides would consider resuming tripartite negotiations between Russia, the US, and Ukraine, and allow technical experts to participate in discussions on specific issues. He also submitted to Putin a number of documents relating to the peaceful resolution of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Furthermore, Putin also proposed to Witkov that he would like to discuss the possibility of Russia playing a mediating role between the US and Iran. Putin said that Russia and Iran have established a special relationship of mutual trust for decades and are willing to help resolve the current crisis.
[Individual Stock News]
IBM's revenue exceeded expectations, delayed orders picked up at an accelerated pace, and the software business grew 8.3%. IBM (IBM.US) reported third-quarter revenue that surpassed analysts' expectations. The company said that most of the infrastructure business orders that were postponed earlier this year have now resumed signing. Financial reports show that for the quarter ending September 30, the company's revenue increased by about 5% year-on-year to reach US$17.1 billion. Revenue from the infrastructure business, including mainframe servers, increased 4% to $3.7 billion, both of which exceeded analysts' average expectations. IBM Chief Financial Officer Kavanaugh said that about two-thirds of the mainframe and related software deals that were postponed earlier this year have now been signed. In July of this year, IBM said that in the context of the shortage of chip and server supply caused by the artificial intelligence boom, customers temporarily switched spending to chips and servers, causing the company's mainframe and software business to be impacted. IBM's much-publicized software business grew 8.3% in the third quarter to reach $7.8 billion, higher than Wall Street's estimate of $7.64 billion. Regarding full-year results, IBM currently expects free cash flow to increase by more than 1 billion US dollars, which is higher than the previous forecast of about 1 billion US dollars.
Tesla's profit declined for two consecutive quarters, and free cash flow did not turn negative. The earnings report released by Tesla (TSLA.US) on Wednesday shows that as the company continues to invest significant resources in autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots, and other emerging technologies, its profits have declined year-on-year for the second consecutive quarter. Tesla said that net profit for the third quarter fell from 1.4 billion US dollars in the same period last year to 787 million US dollars, a decrease of about 44%. Revenue was 28 billion US dollars, which is roughly the same as the same period last year. Market expectations are that the company's net profit for the third quarter will be US$785 million, with revenue of US$27.88 billion. Musk previously warned that as Tesla invests resources in the development of artificial intelligence-driven autonomous driving technology and humanoid robots, the company's profits will be affected. However, at present, the revenue from these new businesses is still very limited. Tesla's free cash flow for the third quarter was positive $1.53 billion, and market expectations were negative $4.921 billion.
According to Meta's capital expenditure, it also has to issue new shares without voting rights of 145 billion US dollars. Meta Platforms (META.US) raised capital expenditure expectations and announced plans to establish a new non-voting stock class. These two initiatives suggest that the social media giant is further increasing its already huge investment in artificial intelligence. When Meta released its quarterly earnings report on Wednesday, it said that capital expenditure in 2026 is expected to reach 135 billion to 145 billion US dollars, compared to the previous forecast range of 130 billion to 135 billion US dollars. Meanwhile, Meta plans to distribute a new class of shares to existing investors in the form of stock dividends. According to the plan, existing shareholders will receive corresponding new shares, and the actual effect is basically equivalent to a stock split of 1 split 2 at a time. Meta said it expects the new shares to begin trading in January next year. The company said the new class of shares will be used to raise capital, employee compensation, and potential acquisition deals. These moves show Meta's confidence that its investment in artificial intelligence will ultimately pay off. Meta's third-quarter revenue was US$64.6 billion, higher than market expectations of US$63.334 billion. Meta also expects its fourth quarter revenue to reach US$73 billion to US$76 billion. Previously, analysts' average expectations were US$73.6 billion.
SpaceX's performance exceeded expectations but raised debt concerns and credit risk indicators continued to rise. SpaceX (SPCX.US)'s net profit for the third quarter reached 4.4 billion US dollars, far exceeding market expectations of 1.88 billion US dollars. Revenue increased 161% year over year, driving its stock price up 12.4% during the session on Wednesday. However, the company said it will continue to invest heavily, causing the market to worry about the expansion of the loan scale in the future. SpaceX's 6.6% coupon spread widened by 9 basis points to 264 basis points; the five-year credit default swap (CDS) price once rose to 232.6 basis points and hit new highs several times this month. SpaceX Chief Financial Officer Brett Johnson said that the company will focus on investing in the superintelligent sector's computing power and Starlink broadband and mobile business, and is in negotiations with various sources of debt capital. The company issued 25 billion US dollars in bonds in June. Earlier, there were other reports that SpaceX is in talks to raise 40 billion US dollars to buy Nvidia chips. Johnson said the company plans to maintain an investment-grade credit rating.