On Thursday (April 25), local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed down across the board, with the Dow down 0.98%, the S&P 500 down 0.46%, and the Nasdaq down 0.64%. Analysts said that the US first-quarter GDP data was far worse than expected and inflation grew faster than expected, weighing on stock indexes. The US 10-year Treasury yield rose above 4.7% after the release of GDP data, hitting a five-month high.
In the early morning of April 26, Beijing time, after the U.S. stock market closed, Google's parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, and Intel released their financial reports, and the stock price fluctuated sharply after hours.
The three major stock indexes fell
On April 25, local time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed down across the board. Wind data showed that as of the close, the Dow fell 0.98% to 38,085.8 points, the S&P 500 index fell 0.46% to 5,048.42 points, and the Nasdaq fell 0.64% to 15,611.76 points.
Tech stocks mostly fell, with Google parent Alphabet down 1.94%, Meta down 10.56% and Microsoft down 2.45%.
Bank stocks generally retreated, with Morgan Stanley down 1.35%, Bank of America down 1.07% and Wells Fargo down 1.12%.
Most of the popular Chinese concept stocks rose, with Good Future up 8.81%, Structure Biotech up 7%, and Gaotu Group up 6.82%. China's new energy vehicle stocks were mixed, with NIO down 0.49%, Xpeng up 0.07%, and Li Auto down 1.68%.
In terms of commodities, international gold and silver prices collectively closed higher. COMEX gold futures rose 0.27% to $2,344.6 an ounce, and COMEX silver futures rose 0.44% to $27.465 an ounce, according to Wind data. International oil prices also rose across the board on April 25.
Shares of some big tech companies fell after they reported their earnings. Social media giant Meta Platforms closed down more than 10% on Thursday. The company posted a disappointing second-quarter revenue guidance. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on an earnings call that "investments in AI will take a long time to pay off," raising concerns about the prospects for monetizing AI technology.
On the economic data front, U.S. economic growth in the first quarter released on Thursday fell to a two-year low. The government's preliminary data showed that GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter. Personal spending, the engine of economic growth, rose by 2.5 percent, lower than expected.
In addition, the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis showed that the "core" personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.7% year-on-year in the first quarter, higher than expectations of 3.4% and significantly higher than the 2% increase in the previous quarter.
This is the first quarterly rise in a year as the Fed's preferred measure of inflation. Analysts noted that while U.S. GDP growth was slower-than-expected, the details of consumer spending showed growth in the services sector and a decline in the goods sector, suggesting that household domestic spending remained healthy. However, the annualized growth rate of service prices was as high as 5.4%, indicating that inflationary pressures persist, posing a challenge to the Fed. The combination of slowing economic growth and a rebound in inflation is the last thing the Fed wants.
The three giants released their earnings reports, and the stock price fluctuated sharply after hours
In the early morning of April 26, Beijing time, after the U.S. stock market closed, Google's parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, and Intel released their financial reports, and the stock price fluctuated sharply after hours.
Google's parent company, Alphabet, beat analysts' expectations in revenue and profit in the first quarter, and announced plans to buy back up to $70 billion in shares. The company's stock price rose sharply after hours, up nearly 12% as of press time.
Microsoft's revenue for the third fiscal quarter of fiscal 2024 (ending March 31, 2024) increased 17% year-over-year to $61.9 billion, and net profit increased 20% year-over-year to $21.9 billion. The company's stock price also rose sharply after hours, up nearly 5% as of press time.
Intel's fiscal 2024 first-quarter revenue of $12.72 billion beat analysts' expectations, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.18 beat analysts' expectations of $0.13. However, Intel's outlook for the fiscal second quarter fell short of analysts' expectations. The company expects revenue and earnings per share for the fiscal second quarter to fall short of analysts' expectations. The company's stock price fell sharply after hours, falling nearly 8% as of press time.
Reviewer: Wang Chao Editor: Li Ruoyu Zhang Lijing Proofreader: Ya Wenhui Signed: Fei Yangsheng