Meta surges 4.5% to one-year high after launching AI assistant Muse

Local time September 24 — U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on Tuesday, as a renewed surge in Treasury yields weighed on market sentiment.

Market Overview

All three major indexes opened lower but recovered during the session, closing with mixed results. According to Wind Data:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31% to 51,349.98 points
• S&P 500 edged down 0.02% to 7,704.13 points
• Nasdaq Composite closed higher (specific figure not provided)

Big Tech Stocks Show Divergence

The "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks index rose 0.28%, with notable divergence among major names:

• Meta surged 4.5%, driven by the launch of its personal AI assistant "Muse." The stock has been on a sustained uptrend, with its market capitalization approaching the $2 trillion mark, hitting a one-year high.
• Google rose 1.2%
• Amazon, Tesla, and Microsoft fell 0.53%
• Nvidia declined 0.41%
• Apple (specific change not provided)

Semiconductor and Storage Stocks Under Pressure

The semiconductor index fell 0.33%, with declines across key players including Intel, AMD, TSMC, Qualcomm, Broadcom, and ASML.

Storage chip and optical communications sectors broadly weakened:

• Storage: Western Digital, SanDisk, SK Hynix
• Communications: Marvell Technology, Corning

Chinese Stocks Mixed

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.67%, while the Wind China Tech Leaders Index dropped 0.43%. Notable movers included:

• Maisi Intelligent Semiconductor fell over 5%
• Declines also seen in Zai Lab, Baidu, TAL Education, and New Oriental

Treasury Yields Continue to Climb

According to Wind Data, as of September 24:

• 10-year Treasury yield briefly rose to 5.223%, the highest since July 2007
• 30-year Treasury yield touched 5.499%
• 2-year Treasury yield reached 4.941%

The sharp rise in yields has fueled expectations of further interest rate hikes by central banks. The CME FedWatch Tool indicated increased market pricing for tighter monetary policy.

Oil Prices Rise; Precious Metals Decline

Oil: According to Xinhua News Agency, as of the close on September 24:

• WTI crude oil (November delivery) rose $2.45 to $94.61 per barrel, up 2.66%
• Brent crude (November delivery) gained $3.52 to $106.60 per barrel, up 3.41%

Precious metals: Industry analysts noted that growing divergence within the Federal Reserve over the rate path, along with rising rate expectations and a stronger U.S. dollar, are putting short-term pressure on precious metals. However, continued gold purchases by global central banks and a shift toward medium- to long-term allocations by private investors are building a solid floor for gold prices.

On the oil front, repeated tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and other factors continue to disrupt markets. A tight supply-demand balance is unlikely to change in the near term, suggesting oil prices may continue to rise.

(Charts and data sourced from Wind; article originally published by China Securities Journal)