Bank of America pointed out that Powell must strike the right balance between an optimistic economic outlook and the Fed's willingness to allow inflation to be hotter than usual. On March 16, Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.39, dragged down by energy

Bank of America noted that Powell must strike the right balance between an optimistic economic outlook and the Fed's willingness to allow inflation to be hotter than usual

ET on March 16, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was driven by energy stocks and industrial stocks dragged down, closing down 0.39% or 127.51 points, at 32825.95 points; the S&P 500 index hit a record high during the session, closing down 0.16% or 6.23 points, at 3962.71 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index was affected by large technology stocks Supported, it closed up 0.09% or 11.86 points at 13471.57 points.

U.S. stock performance

Popular technology stocks rose collectively. Apple closed up 1.27%, Google parent company Alphabet closed up 1.4%, Amazon closed up 0.33%, Netflix closed up 0.73%, Facebook closed up 2.02%, Microsoft closed up 1.24%, Intel closed up rose 1.55%, Nvidia closed up 0.76%, and Cisco closed up 0.53%.

Apple and Amazon have underperformed in recent months as investors shifted from growth stocks to value stocks. Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones, said: "These companies are very profitable and have strong balance sheets, and based on current valuations, it's hard for me to imagine a serious or serious recession." Continuing pullback.”

Popular Chinese concept stocks were mixed. Baidu closed up 0.47%, Sohu closed down 0.80%, Sina closed up 0.16%, Alibaba closed down 1.45%, JD.com closed up 0.74%, Pinduoduo closed up 1.11%, iQiyi closed up 1.43 %, NetEase closed up 1.14%, Bilibili (Bilibili) closed up 1.49%, and Tencent Music closed up 0.34%.

New energy automobile stocks generally fell. Tesla closed down 4.39%, NIO closed down 2.78%, Li Auto closed down 0.23%, and Xpeng Motors closed up 1.58%.

Bank stocks continued to fall. Citi and JPMorgan Chase both closed down 1.20%, Wells Fargo closed down 0.88%, Bank of America closed down 0.29%, Goldman Sachs closed down 1.25%, Morgan Stanley closed down 1.57% .

U.S. retail sales fell 3% month-on-month in February

On March 16, local time, the U.S. Department of Commerce released a report showing that U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in February, down 3% month-on-month. The market had previously expected a month-on-month decrease of 0.5%; Retail sales in January were revised upward to 7.6% from a month-on-month increase of 5.3%.

According to the report, sales at car dealers fell 4.2%, sales at clothing stores fell 2.8%, sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 1.9%, and sales at furniture stores fell 3.8%; sporting goods, hobbies, musical instruments and bookstore sales also dropped significantly. Meanwhile, sales at food and drink stores were unchanged, while sales at gas stations rose a solid 3.6% as gasoline prices accelerated this year.

It is worth noting that although U.S. retail sales fell month-on-month in February, retail sales in the past three months increased by 6% year-on-year.

Naroff Economics Chief Analyst Joel Naroff pointed out that the severe cold weather and heavy snowfall encountered in February caused the economy to suffer a heavy blow. We have no reason to panic about the economic data in February; as the latest fiscal stimulus plan takes effect, the pace of economic recovery will accelerate.

The latest fiscal stimulus package will send an additional $1,400 checks to American households and extend $300 weekly unemployment benefits until September 6. It is reported that American households have also accumulated $1.8 trillion in excess savings. Lydia Boussour, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York, expects improving health conditions and generous fiscal stimulus to provide "fuel" for the spending boom.

With the introduction of a new round of fiscal stimulus plan, Goldman Sachs economists on Saturday raised the annualized GDP growth rate of the United States in the first quarter from 5.5% to 6%.

In addition, dragged down by the global semiconductor supply shortage, U.S. factory output fell by 2.2% month-on-month in February. Veronica Clark, an analyst at Citigroup in New York, said that while we expect these supply disruptions to be temporary, auto production may remain weak in the short term; supply disruptions may lead to higher prices as newly introduced fiscal stimulus measures boost demand for consumer goods.

The Federal Reserve will announce the latest economic forecast

The Federal Reserve will hold a two-day meeting on March 16. After the meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference. Market traders will pay close attention to possible information on interest rates and inflation. .

Some analysts pointed out that Fed officials may point out that the economic outlook has improved at the policy meeting, while emphasizing that it is too early to adjust interest rates and bond purchase plans.

Tempus Inc foreign exchange strategist and trader Juan Perez said: "The Fed is likely to maintain its monetary easing stance as there are no clear signs of a significant increase in inflation."

Bank of America noted that Powell must be optimistic about the economic outlook and the Fed allows inflation to be higher than usual Striking the right balance between greater willingness to ensure job growth is broad-based and across different races, genders, etc.

In recent weeks, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has repeatedly said that he wants to see substantial progress in the economic recovery before the Fed begins to reduce the scale of its $120 billion in monthly bond purchases. At the same time, the Fed will not raise interest rates until it achieves its goals of full employment and 2% inflation, which appear to be far off.

Other markets

Major European stock indexes all rose. Britain's FTSE 100 index closed up 0.80%, France's CAC40 index closed up 0.32%, Germany's DAX index closed up 0.66%, and Italy's FTSE MIB index closed up 0.50%.

International oil prices fell on the 16th. The price of light crude oil futures for delivery in 24 months on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed down 0.90% at US$64.80/barrel; the price of London Brent crude oil futures for delivery in May closed down 0.71% at US$68.39/barrel.

International gold prices rose on the 16th. The price of April gold futures, the most actively traded gold futures market on the New York Mercantile Exchange, closed up 0.1% at $1,730.9 per ounce.

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Author: Shu Xiaoting

Editor: Chen Qingmei

Editor: Jin Shan, intern Chen Yingqi