To The Moon

Despite strong consumer data, U.S. markets closed mixed; Asian markets declined due to disappointing press conferences.

🇺🇸 S&P 500: -0.02% 📉

🇺🇸 Nasdaq: +0.04% 📈

🇪🇺 Stoxx 600: +0.84% 📈

🇯🇵 Nikkei 225: -0.69% 📉

🇭🇰 Hang Seng: -1.02% 📉

🇨🇳 CSI 300: -1.13% 📉

🇸🇬 Straits Times: +0.99% 📈

• On Thursday, U.S. markets were mixed, with the S&P 500 $S&P 500(.SPX)$  slightly down by -0.02% and the Nasdaq $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$  up by +0.04%, as monthly retail sales increased, indicating strong U.S. consumer confidence, while TSMC's optimistic forecast boosted chip manufacturers' stock prices.

• In September, U.S. retail sales grew steadily by 0.4% month-on-month, compared to an expected increase of 0.3%. Core retail sales rose by 0.5%, surpassing the forecast of 0.1%, as falling gasoline prices allowed consumers to spend more in restaurants and bars.

• Last week, U.S. unemployment claims fell by 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 241,000, below the expected 260,000.

• The European Central Bank cut rates for the third time this year by 25 basis points to 3.25% as inflation eased, while the economic outlook for the Eurozone worsened.

• Asia-Pacific stocks generally closed lower, with the Hang Seng and CSI 300 down -1.0% and -1.1%, respectively, due to statements from China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development failing to meet investor expectations.

💡 Upcoming Events: 💡

At the end of this week, we will see the release of China's GDP, industrial production year-on-year, and retail sales year-on-year.

💡 Things to Know Today: 💡

1. TSMC's $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ quarterly profit surged 54%, mainly due to increased chip demand, particularly for AI applications, maintaining an optimistic growth outlook. $Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3x Shares(SOXL)$ 

TSMC

2. Blackstone's $Blackstone Group LP(BX)$  key quarterly earnings metrics surpassed Wall Street expectations, with assets under management reaching a record $1.1 trillion.

Blackstone

3. U.S. industrial production fell by -0.3% in September, affected by strikes at Boeing and Hurricane Helen, exceeding the expected decline of -0.1%.

US Industrial Production

4. Netflix $Netflix(NFLX)$ added 5.1 million streaming users in the third quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations by over a million.

Netflix

5. Israel's Foreign Minister announced that prominent Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces on Wednesday, but the Israeli Prime Minister stated that this does not mark the end of the war.

Yahya Sinwar

✅ Key Points:

The third-quarter earnings season has begun with an optimistic outlook, strong economic data, and the Federal Reserve initiating a policy easing cycle, driving the Dow Jones and S&P 500 to historic highs in recent trading days.

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