On October 24, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices had mixed results, demonstrating narrow fluctuations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell for the fourth consecutive trading day, while the Nasdaq climbed by 0.76%, buoyed by a nearly 22% surge in Tesla’s shares. Conversely, IBM saw a drop of more than 6%.
By the end of the trading session, the Dow was down 0.33%, closing at 42,374.36 points. The Nasdaq increased by 0.76%, finishing at 18,415.49 points, and the S&P 500 rose by 0.21%, closing at 5,809.86 points.
Among popular Chinese concept stocks, most experienced declines. The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell by 0.82%. Xpeng Motors dropped over 6%, while Global Data fell by more than 4%. NIO was down nearly 4%, and both Hutchison China MediTech and Melco Resorts experienced declines exceeding 3%. On the upside, Zai Lab jumped over 14%, Zeekr rose more than 4%, and TAL Education increased by over 2%.
Banking stocks generally saw increases, with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo each rising by over 1%. Morgan Stanley climbed 0.76%, Bank of America added 0.71%, and JPMorgan Chase was up 0.7%. Citigroup, however, dipped by 0.17%.
In the semiconductor sector, most stocks experienced gains. GlobalFoundries, Micron Technology, and Intel each rose by over 1%. Qualcomm increased by 0.9%, while Nvidia was up 0.61%. AMD rose by 0.35%, ASML was up 0.31%, but Broadcom and TSMC saw declines exceeding 1%.
The technology sector largely finished positively, with Tesla leading the way with a remarkable 21.92% increase, followed by Amazon’s 0.9% gain, Facebook’s 0.73% rise, and Nvidia’s 0.61% boost. Microsoft saw a slight increase of 0.03%, while Google and Apple dropped by 0.04% and 0.08%, respectively.
Focusing on Tesla, the company’s shares skyrocketed nearly 22%, marking the largest single-day increase since May 2013, closing at $260.48 per share. Tesla’s latest earnings report revealed a net profit of $2.2 billion for Q3, up 17% year-over-year, with revenues reaching $25.2 billion, representing an 8% increase. The Financial Times noted that Tesla’s quarterly profit exceeded analyst expectations, indicating a rebound for the company after several disappointing quarters amid concerns regarding a slowdown in global electric vehicle demand. Since reaching its peak in November 2021, the stock price had nearly halved.
During the earnings call, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk shared his “best expectations” for next year, projecting a vehicle growth rate of 20% to 30%, primarily driven by “lower-cost vehicles” and the advancement of “autonomous driving.”
Regarding economic data, the U.S. Department of Labor reported a decrease in initial jobless claims. For the week ending October 19, first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 15,000, totaling 227,000, compared to an expected 242,000. The previous week’s figure was revised from 241,000 to 242,000. Additionally, another report indicated that new home sales in September surged to a more than one-year high, supported by builders offering more incentives and a decline in mortgage rates.
International oil prices fell as well. By the end of the trading day, the price for December delivery of light crude oil futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped by 58 cents, settling at $70.19 a barrel (down 0.82%). Similarly, December delivery of Brent crude oil futures fell by 58 cents to close at $74.38 per barrel, reflecting a decrease of 0.77%.
The U.S. dollar index also declined, with the index measuring the dollar against six major currencies dropping by 0.36% and closing at 104.058. By the end of trading in New York, one euro was trading at $1.0823, up from the previous day’s $1.0781; one pound was exchanging for $1.2973, higher than $1.2923 from the prior session.
In Europe, three major stock indices experienced slight gains. The FTSE 100 Index in the UK closed at 8,269.38 points, up 0.13%. The CAC 40 Index in France finished at 7,503.28 points, rising 0.08%, while Germany’s DAX Index closed at 19,443.00 points, reflecting an increase of 0.34%.
