U.S. Stocks Close: US Fed Officials Wave the Flag of Interest Rate Cuts, S&P 500 Rises for Three Consecutive Days Approaching Key Resistance Level

Last night and this morning, as several US Fed officials publicly discussed interest rate cuts, the negative impact of Trump temporarily took a backseat, and the three major US stock indices collectively rose for the third consecutive trading day.

At the close, the S&P 500 Index rose 2.03% to 5,484.77 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 2.74% to 17,166.04 points; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.23% to 40,093.4 points.

(S&P 500 Index daily chart, source: TradingView)

US Fed Governor Christopher Waller stated, if aggressive tariff levels harm the job market, he would support an interest rate cut. Cleveland Fed President Hamack also publicly stated that if clear evidence of economic direction is obtained, the earliest possible rate action could be taken in June. According to public port data, the number of ships arriving at the main ports in Southern California, which handle trade between the US and Asia, will be halved from early May. Based on shipping data extrapolating logistics and the broader economy, the market infers that the US economy is currently at the tipping point of a storm.

Therefore, analysts from UBS and JPMorgan also stated on Thursday, faced with significant economic weakness, the US Fed indeed has the willingness and ability to take action. The risk of economic slowdown will also weigh on the prospects of this round of rebound in US stocks.

Goldman Sachs' capital flow team noted in a report this week, although the stock market has finally found some breathing room, this does not mean that the pressures disrupting the market have disappeared. They analogized: "Just like the 26-degree weather in New York in April, we are not in a hurry to jump into the pool."

Several analysts also pointed out that the S&P's 5,500 points remain a key resistance level to watch.

Piper Sandler's chief market technical analyst, Craig Johnson, noted, unless the bulls break through the 5,500 level, preferably accompanied by an increase in trading volume, the market may continue to oscillate and consolidate. However, once it successfully breaks through 5,500 points, we are likely to see another wave of gains to 5,800 points.

Hot Stock Performance

Tech giants continued to lead the market higher. Apple rose 1.84%, Microsoft rose 3.45%, Amazon rose 3.29%, Nvidia rose 3.62%, Google-A rose 2.53%, Tesla rose 3.5%, Meta rose 2.48%, AMD rose 4.51%, and Intel rose 4.37%.

At the close, the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 0.68%, marking its fourth consecutive day of gains. Alibaba rose 0.27%, JD.com fell 3.25%, Baidu rose 2.27%, Pinduoduo rose 2.83%, Bilibili rose 2.49%, NIO rose 6.36%, NetEase rose 2.12%, Futu Holdings rose 6.35%, EHang Intelligent rose 3.27%, Canadian Solar rose 18.07%, and Pony.ai, which released its latest autonomous driving system, rose 39.41%.

Company News

[After-Hours Earnings Snapshot]

Google's parent company Alphabet's Q1 earnings significantly exceeded market expectations. Revenue was $90.23 billion, up 12% YoY, estimated at $89.1 billion; earnings per share were $2.81, compared to $1.89 in the same period last year, estimated at $2.01; operating profit was $30.61 billion, up 20% YoY, estimated at $28.86 billion. The board authorized the company to repurchase up to $70 billion of Class A and C shares, while increasing the dividend by 5% to $0.21 per share.

As of press time, Alphabet's Class A and C shares both rose more than 4% after hours.

Intel's Q1 revenue was $12.67 billion, down 0.4% YoY, estimated at $12.31 billion; adjusted earnings per share were $0.13, compared to $0.18 in the same period last year, estimated at $0.01; the issue is, the company expects Q2 revenue to be between $11.2 billion and $12.4 billion, well below the market estimate of $12.88 billion. At the same time, Intel lowered its total capital expenditure target for 2025 from $20 billion to $18 billion.

As of press time, Intel fell more than 4% after hours.

[Amazon and Nvidia Executives Unite: AI Data Center Construction Heat Shows No Signs of Slowing]

On Thursday (April 24), at a conference hosted by the Ham US Energy Research Institute, Kevin Miller, Vice President of Global Data Centers at Amazon AWS, said, "There has been almost no significant change, and we continue to see very strong demand."

Earlier this week, Wells Fargo analysts cited industry sources as saying that AWS is suspending some data center lease contracts.

[Apple's AI Head Loses Power Again, Mysterious Robotics Team Transferred to Hardware Head]

According to informed sources, Apple plans to transfer the robotics team from the AI department led by John Giannandrea to the hardware engineering department later this month, to be taken over by John Ternus, Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering. This is the second major project to be stripped from the AI team in nearly a month. Previously, due to poor development progress, the Siri project had been removed from its jurisdiction.

[Meta Confirms Virtual Reality Business Layoffs]

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to the media on Thursday that Reality Labs, responsible for developing virtual reality, augmented reality, and related wearable devices, is undergoing layoffs, affecting the Oculus Studios software development team in the department.