Thanks to automobile sales and large online promotional activities, U.S. retail sales achieved comprehensive growth in July, indicating that consumer spending has increased in recent months. Following the release of U.S. retail data, U.S. Treasury yields rose briefly, with the 2-year Treasury yield turning upward, currently reported at 3.740%. The U.S. dollar index rose more than 10 points, currently reported at 97.96.
According to Xinhua News Agency, Russian President Putin and U.S. President Trump are scheduled to hold a one-on-one meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, on the 15th, marking the first face-to-face meeting between the Russian and U.S. leaders since June 2021. International public opinion generally believes that this meeting may alleviate tensions between Russia and Ukraine to some extent, but there are still significant differences in positions on many key issues among the parties involved.
On Friday, August 15, U.S. stock futures and European stock trends diverged, U.S. Treasury yields narrowed their decline, and gold rose slightly. The performance of core assets is as follows:
<blockquote>
U.S. stocks opened mixed, with the Dow up 0.6%, the S&amp;P 500 index up 0.1%, and the Nasdaq down 0.01%.
European stocks were mixed, with the pan-European index basically flat, German stocks flat, French stocks up over 0.5%, and British stocks down over 0.1%.
U.S. Treasury yields narrowed their decline, with the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield down more than 2 basis points, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield down less than 1 basis point, and turning upward after the retail sales data was released.
The U.S. dollar index fell more than 0.3%, briefly rising more than 10 points after the retail sales data was released. The Japanese yen rose about 0.6%, and the euro rose over 0.4%.
Spot gold rose over 0.2%. Spot silver fell over 0.4%.
U.S. oil fell over 0.6% to below $63.60, and Brent oil fell over 0.5% to around $66.50.
</blockquote>
Among individual U.S. stocks, UnitedHealth rose over 10% in pre-market trading, as previously mentioned by Wall Street Watch, with investment giants like Buffett, Renaissance, and David Tepper all buying the stock in the second quarter.
Applied Materials fell over 14% in pre-market trading due to the company's forecast of fourth-quarter revenue and profit below expectations.
Intel rose over 3% in pre-market trading.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/5d05f1c4-cf56-40ea-8852-a13f3bd26ab4.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/5d05f1c4-cf56-40ea-8852-a13f3bd26ab4.png"/>
In European stocks, defense and military stocks performed poorly, with Kongsberg Gruppen down 1.5%, Saab down 2.0%, and Thales, Renk Group, and QinetiQ all down over 1%
U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly across the board, with the policy-sensitive two-year Treasury yield dropping 2 basis points to 3.72%.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/f61e4064-1318-4c55-a67b-a28f266df7ca.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/f61e4064-1318-4c55-a67b-a28f266df7ca.png"/>
Spot gold fluctuated narrowly, currently up 0.24% to $3,343.39 per ounce.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/5eee5804-6884-42a1-ac13-c8f91df95b38.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/5eee5804-6884-42a1-ac13-c8f91df95b38.png"/>
International crude oil fell more than 0.6% during the day.
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/78e744cc-de56-4b86-bca5-c754afa9845c.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://wpimg-wscn.awtmt.com/78e744cc-de56-4b86-bca5-c754afa9845c.png"/>

Before the US stock market opens, UnitedHealth's stock is up over 10%. Wall Street Journal previously mentioned that investment giants like Warren Buffett, Renaissance, and David Tepper have been buying the stock at the bottom in the second quarter. Applied Materials' stock is down over 14% before the market opens, as the company forecasts fourth-quarter revenue and profit below expectations. Intel's stock is up over 3% before the market opens

- In July, U.S. retail sales saw comprehensive growth due to increased automobile sales and major online promotions, indicating a rise in consumer spending.  
- Following the retail data release, U.S. Treasury yields rose, with the 2-year yield at 3.740%, while the dollar index increased by over 10 points to 97.96.  
- On August 15, U.S. stock futures showed mixed results, with the Dow up 0.6% and S&P 500 up 0.1%, while gold prices rose slightly and oil prices fell below $63.60.

The market awaits the "Putin-Trump meeting," U.S. stocks open mixed, European stocks fluctuate, UnitedHealth surges over 10%