US PPI unexpectedly drops, S&P Nasdaq hits new highs for four consecutive days, Apple surpasses Microsoft in market value, US bond yields at a ten-week low

Before the midday break, the US stock indexes collectively turned lower, with Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, TSMC, Qualcomm, Broadcom, Micron Technology, etc., hitting new highs, driving the S&P, Nasdaq, and chip stocks to break records again. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) fell for the third consecutive day, dropping 300 points at the opening. CrowdStrike and Oracle reached new highs, while Tesla rose by 7.8% before closing up by 2.9%. Positive earnings reports boosted Broadcom by over 12%, and Adobe rose by around 17% after hours. The Chinese concept stock index opened higher by over 1% before closing slightly up, with Bilibili rising over 13% before closing up by 7.7%. Nio opened higher by 3.6% before turning lower. Expectations of interest rate cuts pushed US bond yields to a ten-week low, while safe-haven demand widened the yield spread between French and German bonds to a seven-year high. Oil futures rose for the fourth consecutive day but accelerated lower after the close, still posting gains for the week and hovering near a two-week high. Following the Producer Price Index (PPI) release, the US dollar initially fell, then surged back above 105, approaching a four-week high, while the euro traded at a six-week low. The Japanese yen fluctuated around 157 ahead of the central bank decision. After the PPI release, spot gold briefly turned higher, then dropped by 1% and briefly fell below $2300, while London nickel fell by over 2% to a ten-week low, and copper, zinc, and tin all fell by at least 1.1%