On Thursday (January 23, Beijing time), spot gold trading was around 2755.26. Gold prices surged to a near three-month high on Wednesday, trading slightly below historical highs, driven by the weakening of the US dollar and unclear policy plans from US President Trump. Investors are concerned that Trump's policies may trigger trade tensions and exacerbate market volatility; US crude oil traded around $75.24 per barrel, and oil prices fell to a week low on Wednesday. The market is considering how the tariffs proposed by US President Trump will affect global economic growth and energy demand.

The S&P 500 index closed up 0.61% on Wednesday at 6086.37 points. The Nasdaq index rose 1.28% to 20009.34 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.30% to 44156.73 points.

equity market

The US stock index rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index hitting a historic high during trading, as investors were pleased with the quarterly report of streaming video provider Netflix and President Trump's private sector AI infrastructure investment plan.

The technology sector rose 2.5%, the largest increase among the 11 major industry indices in the S&P 500 index, with AI heavyweight companies Nvidia and Microsoft providing the biggest boost.

Netflix is the company with the largest increase in the S&P index, rising 9.7%. Previously, the company reported a new high in user numbers during the holiday quarter, which allowed it to raise prices for most service plans.

Investors are betting on the prospects of artificial intelligence. The day before, Trump announced a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure from private sectors including Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank, but the source of funding is still unclear.

However, among the 11 major industry sectors, only technology and communication services recorded intraday gains, with the latter rising 1.1%, while the utility sector, which experienced the largest decline, saw a daily decline of 2.2%.

Irene Tunkel, Chief US Equity Strategist at BCA Research, said that when it comes to the limited number of rising sectors, it's just excitement about technology investment, and nothing else can compete with it.

Oracle's stock price rose by 6.8%, while the US stock price of ARM, a chip technology supplier in which SoftBank holds about 90% of the shares, rose by 15.9%. Server manufacturer Dell rose 3.6%.

Matt Stucky, Chief Portfolio Manager of Stocks at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, said, "Today, only large tech stocks have a market trend, while all other stocks remain unchanged." He believes that most of Wednesday's gains, especially in chip stocks, are attributed to the announcement of the artificial intelligence plan. At least in the early stages, the direct beneficiaries will be the semiconductor industry, "he pointed out, noting that the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index performed outstandingly, closing up 1.7%.

However, due to the lack of a clear source of funding, Stucky described this news as "more like a pie in the sky investment story".

Recently, strong economic data, cooling inflation, and Trump's more moderate attitude towards tariffs since taking office on Monday have boosted investors' risk appetite than people had feared. However, due to inflation concerns, investors are still cautiously monitoring the president's trade plan.

Barclays analysts say that Trump has ordered federal agencies to complete a comprehensive review of a range of trade issues before April 1, and the market should pay attention to this date.

gold market

Gold prices surged to a nearly three-month high on Wednesday, trading slightly below historical highs, driven by the weakening of the US dollar and unclear policy plans from US President Trump. Investors are concerned that Trump's policies may trigger trade tensions and exacerbate market volatility.

Spot gold rose 0.4% to $2755.2 per ounce, reaching its highest level since hitting a historic high of $2790.15 on October 31st. US gold futures closed up 0.4% at $2770.90.

Ryan McIntyre, Senior Portfolio Manager at Sprott Asset Management, said, "There is uncertainty about proposed tariffs and other things, and when there is a lot or even moderate uncertainty in the market, gold usually performs well, which is an asset that people naturally tend to lean towards

Gold is often seen as a safe haven during periods of economic and geopolitical turmoil, but Trump's proposed policies are widely seen as stimulating inflation and may force the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates for a longer period of time to curb price pressures.

Trump did not provide many details about his proposed tariffs, which has led investors to speculate about the degree of aggressiveness of the measures and the depth of their potential impact.

Spot silver remained stable at $30.86, but hovered around the one month high set on January 16th. Platinum rose 0.8% to $950.50; Palladium rose 3% to $987.41.

Oil market

Oil prices fell to a one week low on Wednesday as the market considers how the tariffs proposed by US President Trump will affect global economic growth and energy demand. Brent crude oil futures fell 0.4% to close at $79.00 per barrel, while US crude oil futures fell 0.5% to close at $75.44 per barrel. This marks the first consecutive fifth day of decline for Brent crude oil since September last year, and the first four consecutive days of decline for US crude oil since November last year. These two indicators of crude oil futures closed at a new low since January 9th for the second consecutive day.

Analysts from Ritterbusch and Associates, an energy consulting firm, said in a statement, "The possible sanctions measures that the new Trump administration may take are still unclear, and the tariffs that may be imposed on Canada and Mexico now seem to be the number one uncertainty facing traders

Trump also vowed to impose tariffs on European imports, but did not provide further details, and threatened to impose new tariffs on Russia if it does not reach an agreement to end the Ukraine war.

Trump also stated that his administration is "likely" to stop purchasing oil from Venezuela, which is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) under US sanctions.

The latest data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that in the first 10 months of 2024, the US imported approximately 200000 barrels per day of oil from Venezuela, higher than the average of 100000 barrels per day in 2023.

Iran is another OPEC member country that has been sanctioned by the United States. On Wednesday, a message of reconciliation was sent to Western leaders in Davos, with a senior official denying that Iran wants to possess nuclear weapons and proposing an opportunity for negotiations. In other news from OPEC, Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports in November surged to the highest level in eight months.

foreign exchange market

The US dollar index rose slightly by 0.01% to 108.14 on Wednesday, hitting 107.75 in early trading, the lowest since January 6th. Investors continue to wait for specific measures from US President Trump's tariff plan. He also promised to impose tariffs on European imported goods, but did not provide further explanation.

Brad Bechtel, Global Head of Foreign Exchange at Furui, said, "We should have made some kind of correction, but in fact, we didn't see any major tariff impact on the first day, which somewhat triggered profit taking. The market doesn't have a lot of tariff premiums, and that's what's being stripped out of the market now, but many trends are actually more about expectations for the Federal Reserve and interest rate differentials

EUR/USD fell 0.08% to $1.0421. Several decision-makers from the European Central Bank supported further interest rate cuts on Wednesday, indicating that next week's rate cut is almost a foregone conclusion, and even if the Federal Reserve adopts a more cautious attitude, the euro may further decline.

According to data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the market believes that the likelihood of the European Central Bank cutting interest rates by at least 25 basis points at next week's policy meeting is about 96%.

Trump signed a wide-ranging trade memorandum on Monday, ordering federal agencies to complete a comprehensive review of a range of trade issues by April 1, which many market participants believe will be a key date for announcing tariff plans.

Trump said on Wednesday that if Russia does not reach an agreement to end the Ukraine war, he will add new tariffs to the threat of sanctions against Russia, and added that these tariffs may also apply to "other participating countries". The ruble rose 0.25% to 99.246 rubles against the US dollar at the end of trading in New York.

USD/JPY rose 0.66% to 156.50 yen. The market expects an 88.3% chance that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points at its meeting on Friday.

The pound fell 0.22% to $1.2327. The UK Office for National Statistics stated that the December budget deficit was higher than expected due to the impact of debt interest and one-time purchases of military homes, highlighting the financial pressure faced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves.

The USD/CAD fell 0.33% to CAD 1.44, hitting a nearly five-year low of CAD 1.4515 on Tuesday, as data showed a cooling of inflation in Canada in December, adding pressure to the CAD.

Deutsche Bank analysts have stated that they believe the USD/CAD is one of the most undervalued forex crosses in the midst of forex trade tensions. The Mexican peso rose 0.83% to 20.466 pesos against the US dollar.

international news 

Trump signs executive order to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States through the southern border

On January 22nd local time, the White House issued a statement stating that President Trump signed an executive order to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States through the southern border. Trump authorized and instructed the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice and the State Department to take all necessary actions to immediately repatriate and expel foreigners illegally crossing the southern border of the United States. The statement said that illegal immigration affected the lives of all Americans. Trump has stated that illegal immigration harms American workers, increases the burden on American taxpayers, undermines public safety, puts enormous pressure on local schools, hospitals, and communities, and causes billions of dollars in losses to the United States every year. Therefore, he will take all legal actions to address this crisis.

Wooden Sister "bets on Trump's agenda to revive US IPOs

Founder of Ark Fund, Cathie Wood, is betting that Trump's regulatory and growth agenda will revive the US IPO market. She said in an interview on Wednesday, "Regulatory reform will greatly help restore the public market. I understand why companies want to maintain privatization. There are indeed many frictions in the regulatory difficulties they face when entering the public market." After a small rebound in new stock issuances in 2024, Wall Street has been waiting for a greater recovery in IPOs. Wood said, "What the new government is doing is using optimism to change fear. People have seriously underestimated the importance of relaxing regulations in unleashing instincts. We are very excited about this. Our strategy is starting to stand out

Rare winter storm has caused at least 9 deaths in the United States

According to US media reports, the rare winter storm Enzo began sweeping through multiple southern states of the United States on the 21st, bringing severe cold weather to most parts of the country. As of the morning of the 22nd, this winter storm has caused at least 9 deaths across the United States. According to CNN, 9 people have died nationwide due to severe car accidents caused by cold weather and icy roads.

Trump: If Russia does not negotiate with Ukraine, the US may impose sanctions on Russia

US President Trump said on the 21st that if Russia refuses to hold talks with Ukraine on ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the US "may" impose sanctions on Russia. Trump made the above statement at the White House on the 21st, but did not elaborate on possible sanctions measures. Trump also said that the new US administration is studying the issue of military aid to Ukraine, and European countries should do more to support Ukraine. Trump said, "We are in dialogue with (Ukrainian President) Zelensky, and we will soon be in dialogue with (Russian President) Putin

South Korea's weak economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year and political crisis hit consumer confidence

The South Korean economy still performed poorly in the fourth quarter of last year, and Yoon Seok yeol's martial law turmoil further hit consumer confidence, which was already weak due to a slowdown in export growth. The Bank of Korea announced on Thursday that its GDP for the fourth quarter increased by 0.1% month on month, lower than the 0.2% estimated by economists. From a year-on-year perspective, the economic growth rate was 1.2%, which is also lower than the predicted 1.4%. South Korea's economy will grow by 2% for the full year of 2024, lower than the expected 2.1%.

Putin: Russia's deficit rate for 2024 is 1.7%

On the 22nd local time, Russian President Putin stated that Russia's national economy will develop smoothly in 2024, with a fiscal deficit of 1.7% of GDP, which is within an acceptable range. In addition, oil and gas revenue increased by 26%, contributing 25.6 trillion rubles to the government's finances, exceeding government expectations by approximately 800 billion rubles. This means that Russia is reducing its dependence on changes in the external resource market and is forming a foundation for obtaining stable income. (CCTV)

French President Macron Meets with German Chancellor Scholz, Calls for European Unity and Autonomy

On January 22nd local time, French President Macron met with German Chancellor Scholz. Macron called on France and Germany to take on their respective roles to make Europe stronger, united, and autonomous. Macron stated that Europe should ensure its own interests and uphold its own values in the face of the challenge posed by the new US President Trump. (CCTV)

Domestic news

During the Spring Festival, inbound travel orders increased by over 200%

With the relaxation of China's visa free policy, "China Travel", also known as "China Travel", continues to heat up. Data shows that inbound tourism orders during the Spring Festival period increased by 203% year-on-year, with the main source countries being South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the United States, and others. In addition, on the home stay platform, the number of keyword searches such as "Spring Festival", "Chinese New Year", "folk customs" and "intangible cultural heritage" increased by three times year-on-year, of which the number of foreigners booking home stay increased by 2.3 times year-on-year. (CCTV)

The expansion of "national subsidy" brings good news to the mobile phone industry chain

Starting from January 20th, consumers who purchase products such as mobile phones, tablets, and smartwatches can enjoy national subsidies. Industry experts say that the expansion of "national subsidies" to industries such as mobile phones has a positive guiding effect, which will stimulate consumers' desire to replace their phones, boost product sales of mobile phone manufacturers, and bring benefits to mobile phone industry chain companies. Institutions believe that the implementation of the "national subsidy" policy, coupled with factors such as AI and functional innovation, is expected to further release consumer demand for machine replacement, benefiting brand manufacturers and component companies.