Global Headlines | The three major U.S. stock indices all closed lower, with the S&P 500's inclusion of new constituents drawing attention

【U.S. Stock Indexes】

On March 6 (Friday) Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indexes all closed lower. The S&P 500 dropped 1.33% to 6,740.02; the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.95% to 47,501.55; and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.59% to 22,387.68.

【U.S. Treasuries】

On March 6, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was 4.15%, and the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield—the most sensitive to Federal Reserve policy rates—was 3.56%.

【Popular U.S. Stocks】

Among popular U.S. stocks, Nvidia decreased by 2.98%, Apple by 1.09%, Google A by 0.80%, Google C by 0.87%, Microsoft by 0.42%, Amazon by 2.66%, TSMC by 4.23%, Meta by 2.38%, Tesla by 2.18%, AMD by 3.52%, and Intel by 5.51%.

【Global Indexes】

【China Indexes】

On March 6, overnight Hang Seng Tech Index futures rose 3.03%, the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index increased 0.69%, and the FTSE China A50 Index rose 0.19%.

【China Concept Stocks】

In popular China concept stocks, Tencent Holdings (HK) rose 3.39%, Alibaba increased 0.37%, Pinduoduo rose 1.22%, NetEase gained 3.36%, Baidu increased 0.95%, Trip.com rose 3.93%, Li Auto rose 1.66%, XPeng Motors increased 6.03%, and NIO rose 1.27%.

【FX and Commodities】

【Global Headlines】

Coherent and Vertiv Technology Added to the S&P 500

S&P Dow Jones Indices announced the inclusion of Coherent, Vertiv, Lumentum, and EchoStar into the S&P 500. Match, Molina Healthcare, Lamb Weston, and Paycom will be replaced. Additionally, Micron Technology, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and GE Vernova will be added to the S&P 100.

S&P Dow Jones Indices: Inclusion of Coherent, Vertiv, Lumentum, and EchoStar in the S&P 500

S&P Dow Jones Indices confirmed the addition of Coherent, Vertiv, Lumentum, and EchoStar to the S&P 500.

Boeing States Acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems Will Help Improve Safety

Boeing expects that acquiring Spirit AeroSystems will support its efforts to enhance safety and quality. The aircraft manufacturer stated in its annual shareholder report that this acquisition is “a crucial step to support production stability,” and will strengthen “efforts to improve safety and quality across all our factories, operations, and supply chains.” Boeing noted that after implementing its Safety Management System-guided strict production rate procedures, it has been able to increase the output of the 737 and 787 aircraft. Previously, the company had experienced multiple safety and manufacturing issues.

Oracle and OpenAI Terminate Plans to Expand Texas Data Centers

Oracle and OpenAI have ended their plans to expand data centers in Texas.

Federal Reserve Governor: Oil Price Shocks Could Suppress Core Inflation

Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman stated that she does not want to over-interpret a single employment report. She indicated that oil price shocks could exert downward pressure on core inflation by reducing demand.

Federal Reserve’s Goolsbee: Today’s Employment Report Is Disappointing

Federal Reserve Governor Goolsbee described today’s employment report as disappointing.

Goldman Sachs: Still Expects Two Rate Cuts by the Fed; Timing Is Uncertain

Lindsay Rosner, head of multi-asset fixed income at Goldman Sachs, said: “Signs of weakening in the labor market serve as a reminder to the Fed that delaying rate cuts could come at a cost, even though near-term policy remains influenced by ongoing Middle East conflicts. Developments in Iran and their potential inflationary effects are somewhat obscuring the outlook for U.S. employment, making the path toward policy normalization less clear. We expect the Fed to ultimately complete the remaining two ‘normalization rate cuts’ to bring rates back to neutral, but given current uncertainties, the exact timing remains difficult to determine.”

The U.S. Labor Market’s “False Stabilization” May Force the Fed to Reassess Employment Risks

Analyst Mark Niquette expressed doubts about whether the labor market has truly stabilized. Previously, the labor market experienced its worst hiring performance in decades during non-recessionary years. Although employment growth surged earlier this year and unemployment claims remained low, companies may have begun implementing layoffs announced earlier. Additionally, recent productivity gains suggest that AI-related investments have enabled some firms to operate with leaner staffing. These data points could lead the Fed to shift its focus back to employment risks when deciding how long to keep interest rates steady. Prior to this, policymakers had been more concerned with inflation—even before the U.S.-Iran conflict raised price pressure concerns among investors.

Probability of a Fed Rate Cut in June Rises to About 50%

Traders now estimate the chance of a rate cut in June at approximately 50%, up from 35% before the employment data was released.

U.S. December and January Nonfarm Payrolls Revised Down by 69,000

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revised December’s nonfarm payroll increase from +48,000 to -17,000; January’s from +130,000 to +126,000. After revisions, the total number of jobs added in December and January combined is 69,000 fewer than previously reported.