Overnight U.S. Stocks | Gold plummeted over 5% overnight! The three major U.S. stock indexes had mixed results, with Apple hitting a new intraday high

According to Zhitong Finance APP, on Tuesday, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with corporate earnings pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a new high, while uncertainty in trade prospects weighed on technology and small-cap stocks, leading to a decline in the Nasdaq and a barely flat close for the S&P 500.

[U.S. Stocks] As of the close, the Dow rose 218.16 points, an increase of 0.47%, closing at 46,924.74 points; the Nasdaq fell 36.88 points, a decrease of 0.16%, closing at 22,953.67 points; the S&P 500 index rose 0.22 points, closing at 6,735.35 points. Apple (AAPL.US) rose for three consecutive days, reaching a new intraday high. Google (GOOGL.US) closed down 2.37%, Tesla (TSLA.US) fell 1.08%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) dropped 0.81%, while Meta (META.US) and Microsoft (MSFT.US) rose by up to 0.17%. Coca-Cola (KO.US) rose 4%, and meme stock Beyond Meat (BYND.US) surged 146%, with a cumulative rise of about 600% over three days.

[European Stocks] The Eurozone Stoxx 50 index closed up 0.10%, closing at 5,686.83 points, setting a new closing historical high; the German DAX 30 index closed up 0.29%, closing at 24,330.03 points; the French CAC 40 index closed up 0.64%, closing at 8,258.86 points; the UK FTSE 100 index closed up 0.25%, closing at 9,426.99 points.

[Crude Oil] WTI November crude oil futures closed up $0.30, an increase of 0.52%, closing at $57.82 per barrel; Brent December crude oil futures closed up $0.31, an increase of 0.51%, closing at $61.32 per barrel.

[Cryptocurrency] Spot Bitcoin rose 0.7%, closing at $111,811; spot Ethereum fluctuated widely, closing at $3,995.

[U.S. Dollar Index] The ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.34%, closing at 98.922 points, with an intraday trading range of 98.507-98.979 points.

[Precious Metals] Profit-taking and technical corrections drove precious metals to plummet. Gold fell over 5.7%, recording the largest single-day decline since 2013, while silver fell even more, dropping nearly 8%. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index closed down 9.57%, closing at 283.99 points.

[Macroeconomic News]

Trump says he does not want a meaningless meeting with Putin, and the second summit between the two may face uncertainties. This is the latest sign that the planned second summit between the two leaders may be shelved. Trump stated that he has not yet decided to cancel the meeting, but he reiterated his idea of freezing the current front lines as part of a ceasefire agreement. This proposal has been rejected by the Kremlin. Trump expressed that he still holds hope for a ceasefire, but his overall assessment of the conflict is rather pessimistic, suggesting that his expectations for a quick resolution may be diminishing. A few hours earlier, a White House official stated that Trump has no plans to meet with Putin in the near future.

The U.S. government will purchase 1 million barrels of crude oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at low oil prices. The Trump administration plans to purchase 1 million barrels of crude oil for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to replenish reserves that were previously depleted, taking advantage of low oil prices According to an official, the U.S. Department of Energy plans to announce on Tuesday that it seeks to procure crude oil for delivery in December this year and January next year, using part of the $171 million allocated for purchasing crude oil in President Donald Trump's signature tax and spending law. The U.S. benchmark oil price—West Texas Intermediate (WTI)—has fallen about 30% since peaking in mid-January. It traded around $58 per barrel on Tuesday, close to its lowest level since 2021. Trump has vowed to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The maximum capacity of the SPR is about 700 million barrels, with the current reserve size at approximately 408 million barrels, but the government has limited funds for additional purchases.

The U.S. government has been shut down for three weeks, and there are no new negotiation plans between the two parties. On October 21, local time, Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated that the Republican Party would continue to push for the funding bill passed by the House of Representatives and demanded that the Democrats "agree to reopen the government first." Thune also mentioned that there are currently no plans for new negotiations with the Democrats, believing that the Democrats should propose a plan first. The Democrats insist that the issue must be resolved through negotiations. Senator Cory Booker pointed out that as healthcare costs rise, public pressure increases, stating, "Only bipartisan cooperation can solve the problem."

Gold and silver face severe sell-offs, with their record-high gains abruptly halted. Gold and silver experienced one of the most severe sell-offs in years on Tuesday, as investors locked in profits amid concerns that recent historic gains had led to overvaluation. After technical indicators suggested that previous gains might have been excessive, spot gold prices fell by as much as 6.3%, marking the largest drop in over 12 years, while spot silver dropped by as much as 8.7%. "Today's historic pullback in gold is due to the combined effect of several strong technical indicators," said Frank Monkam, head of macro trading at Buffalo Bayou Commodities. He believes there is strong support in the $4000-$4050 range and expects prices to rise again after retreating from overbought levels.

Trump criticizes Powell, saying he will "be leaving soon." Trump stated in a speech at the White House that "the Federal Reserve has a truly rigid person," referring to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump added, "He will be leaving soon."

【Individual Stock News】

Disappointing earnings outlook signals that Texas Instruments (TXN.US) indicates a slowdown in chip recovery. Texas Instruments provided a disappointing earnings outlook for the current quarter, further intensifying concerns that the semiconductor industry's recovery is stalling. In terms of third-quarter performance data, Texas Instruments reported a 14% year-over-year revenue increase to $4.74 billion, achieving earnings of $1.48 per share. In contrast, Wall Street analysts had previously expected revenue of about $4.65 billion and earnings of about $1.49 per share, so revenue was slightly above expectations, but earnings per share fell short. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to range from $4.22 billion to $4.58 billion, with the midpoint of that range below the approximately $4.5 billion average expectation of Wall Street analysts. Additionally, the chip giant expects the median earnings per share for the period to be about $1.26 (with an expected range of $1.13 to $1.39), while Wall Street's average expectation was $1.39 Brazil's tax impact, Netflix (NFLX.US) Q3 earnings fall short of expectations. The tax dispute between Netflix and Brazil affected its third-quarter earnings, casting a shadow over what was originally a performance report in line with Wall Street expectations. The company's financial report showed a quarterly operating profit of $3.24 billion, about $400 million lower than the company's own forecast and analysts' estimates. However, the company's outlook for the current quarter (fourth quarter) is generally consistent with Wall Street predictions. This dispute stems from Netflix's payment of approximately $619 million to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with Brazilian tax authorities that has persisted since 2022. Although the company had previously indicated potential risks in earlier documents (but did not mention them in the earnings guidance) and stated that it could have exceeded expectations without this expenditure, the matter still weighed on performance. Future related payment amounts are expected to decrease.

Ally West Bank (WAL.US) performance exceeds expectations, easing market tensions further. Ally West Bank's third-quarter profit grew by over 27% year-on-year, surpassing the expectations of most Wall Street analysts, which undoubtedly relieved investors. The bank achieved a net profit of $250.2 million for the three months ending September 30, or $2.28 earnings per common share. Net interest income (the difference between bank loan income and deposit interest expenses) increased by 7.7% year-on-year to $750.4 million, exceeding analysts' average expectation of $737 million. Ally West Bank set aside $31.1 million for bad loan impairments, close to the market estimate of $30 million; future credit loss reserves increased to $80 million, nearly double analysts' expectations. The bank's financial report did not reveal any new adverse news, and combined with overall strong performance, it alleviated the market's tension from last week.

Apple's giant foldable iPad faces engineering challenges, release date may be delayed. Apple is attempting to redefine the iPad by introducing an ultra-large foldable screen, but the project has encountered technical difficulties during development, which may lead to a delay in the release date. According to insiders, Apple has been planning this device, which is targeted to be priced around $3,000, for several years, originally intending to launch it in 2028. However, due to engineering challenges related to weight, functional design, and display technology, the release date may be pushed back to 2029 or even later. It is reported that Apple is collaborating with Samsung Display Co. to develop a foldable screen of approximately 18 inches. This panel aims to minimize the common crease issues found in current foldable screens, and this technology will also be used in the foldable iPhone that Apple is developing.

OpenAI launches AI browser ChatGPT Atlas, directly competing with Google (GOOGL.US). OpenAI has released its first AI-driven web browser, marking a competitive move against Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, on a new front. The browser, named ChatGPT Atlas, aims to create a more personalized online experience for users and can perform tasks such as booking flights and editing documents on behalf of users. Whenever users visit a webpage, an option to "Ask ChatGPT" appears, allowing them to interact with the page content in the sidebar For example, users can ask ChatGPT to summarize a movie review after opening it, or request ChatGPT to assist in ordering ingredients online while browsing a recipe