U.S. stocks slaughtered! Nvidia plunged 7%, AMD plummeted 8%.. U.S. manufacturing data was weak, and the number of initial jobless claims hit a one-year high.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve hinted that a rate cut in September was imminent, prompting the four major U.S. stock indexes to rise. However, less than a day after the news, all major U.S. stock indexes closed down on Thursday. As for the main reason for the decline, the market currently seems to blame weak manufacturing data released last night and the number of people claiming unemployment benefits hitting a one-year high.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) announced last night (1) that the U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) in July dropped to 46.8% from 48.5% in June, significantly lower than market expectations of 48.8%. It hit the lowest level since November 2023 and has been below the boom-bust line (less than 50.0%) for the fourth consecutive month.

The chairman of ISM pointed out on Thursday that the six major manufacturing industries in the United States: "Machinery", "Transportation Equipment", "Metal Products", "Food, Beverages and Tobacco Products", "Chemical Products", and "Computers and Electronic Products" all experienced declines in July. The simultaneous contraction was mainly due to the sharp decline in the new orders index; however, some analysts believe that due to the sharp rebound in manufacturing production in the second quarter, a larger decline will only be shown in July.

Number of people claiming unemployment benefits hits 1-year high

At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor also announced last night that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time in the week ending July 27 increased by 14,000 from last week to 249,000 (seasonally adjusted), a new high since August last year. This was higher than the 236,000 expected by economists.

The lackluster new manufacturing data and the higher-than-expected number of jobless claims have once again raised concerns about an economic recession. Fears that the Federal Reserve's action to cut interest rates may be "too late" triggered the US stock market yesterday. It fell sharply in the evening, and Feiban fell more than 7%.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 494.82 points, or 1.21%, to close at 40,347.97 points
• The Nasdaq fell 405.26 points, or 2.3%, to close at 17,194.15 points
• The S&P 500 index fell 75.62 points, or 1.37%, to close at 5,446.68 points
• The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 373.60 points, or 7.14%, to close at 4,859.59 points

Huida and AMD both fell sharply

Huida, which rose 12.8% yesterday, also fell 6.67% yesterday (and fell again by nearly 1% after the market closed). In addition to the economic worries mentioned above, foreign media reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter, that the U.S. Department of Justice is taking countermeasures The investigation into Huida's acquisition of artificial intelligence start-up Run:ai on the grounds of trust may also cause its stock price to fall further.

Another chip giant, Advanced Micro Devices, also fell 8.26% yesterday despite its impressive Q2 financial report.

When Taiwan stocks opened earlier, TSMC (2330) also jumped down and is currently trading at 923 yuan, down 3.85%.