The war between Russia and Ukraine intensified, and the four major indexes fell more than expected in February. The Dow Jones fell more than 400 points | Anue Juheng

Although the US non-farm payrolls report in February exceeded expectations, the market’s concerns about the worsening war in Russia and Ukraine played down the good news of the labor market, and US stocks opened lower on Friday (4th). At the time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell more than 400 points or 1.26%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.37%, the S&P 500 fell 1.43%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 1.27%.

The US non-farm payrolls surged to 678,000 in February, much higher than the expected 423,000, the largest increase since July last year, and the unemployment rate also fell to 3.8%, slightly better than the expected 3.9%. ) prepares to raise interest rates amid a strong labor market.

In terms of the Russian-Ukrainian war, Ukrainian officials said that news of a fire in Enerhodar, the town where Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (Zaporozhye) is located, has not affected important equipment, but it still arouses the concern of the international community about the occurrence of a nuclear disaster, and once again Raised concerns about Russian tactics.

In the bond market, the U.S. 10-year bond yield fell to 1.7430% from 1.843% on Thursday. As investors paid close attention to the situation in Russia and Ukraine, Powell recently supported interest rate hike remarks and economic data, the state yield rate fluctuated sharply, and oil prices rose. Expectations of slowing economic growth and economic growth have also prompted investors to turn to safe-haven assets such as bonds.

International oil prices have soared since the war broke out between Russia and Ukraine as investors worried about Russia’s oil production cuts. According to foreign media reports, Japan announced on Friday the release of 7.5 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, following in the footsteps of the United States to help stabilize oil prices. West Texas crude was up 4.86% at $112.90 a barrel by press time, while Brent was up 3.96% at $114.83 a barrel.

As of 22:00 on Friday (4th) Taipei time:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 424.75 points, or 1.26%, to 33,369.91
• The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 174.43 points, or 1.29%, to 13,363.51
• The S&P 500 fell 56.27 points, or 1.29%, to 4,307.22
• Feihan fell 37.07 points or 1.11% to 3,302.69 points tentatively
• TSMC ADR fell 1.52% to $107.13 per share
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell to 1.7430%
• NY Light crude rose 4.86% to $112.90 a barrel
• Brent crude rose 3.96% to $114.83 a barrel
• Gold rose 0.97% to $1,954.60 an ounce
• U.S. dollar index rose to 98.73

Stocks in focus:

Broadcom (AVGO-US) rose 1.75% to $588.70 a share in early trade

Broadcom’s first-quarter fiscal 2022 revenue rose 16% annually to $7.71 billion, and its adjusted earnings per share rose 27% to $8.39, both beating market expectations of $7.6 billion and $8.23. Broadcom forecast second-quarter revenue of about $7.9 billion, beating consensus estimates of $7.43 billion.

Marvell (MRVL-US) fell 2.96% to $67.13 a share in early trade

Chip maker Marvell reported strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2022 earnings, with revenue up 68% year-on-year to $1.343 billion and diluted EPS up 72.4% year-on-year to $0.50 per share, both outperforming the market Estimated 1.32 billion and 0.48 US dollars. The company expects revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 to increase 6% annually to $1.425 billion, and diluted earnings per share of $0.51, which are both better than market estimates of $1.38 billion and $0.50.

Costco (COST-US) fell 2.42% to $520.14 a share in early trade

Costco recently announced its dazzling financial report for the second quarter of the 2022 fiscal year. Revenue in the last quarter increased by 16% to $51.9 billion, which was better than analysts’ estimates of $51.47 billion. Net profit last quarter increased from $951 million in the same period last year. Combined earnings per share of $2.14 rose to $1.3 billion or $2.92 per share. The market expected Costco to earn $2.74 per share last quarter.

However, Costco’s adjusted same-store sales growth slowed to 10.6% in February from 10.8 in January. The company’s chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, also mentioned that it is still facing supply chain problems, but will do its best to maintain inventory, reduce costs and avoid price increases.

Today’s key economic data:

• The U.S. non-farm payrolls in February reported 678,000, expected 403,000, the previous value of 467,000
• The U.S. unemployment rate in February was 3.8%, expected 3.9%, the previous value was 4%
• U.S. average hourly wage growth in February was 5.1%, expected 5.8%, and the previous value of 5.7%
• The U.S. labor force participation rate in February was 62.3%, expected to be 62.2%, and the previous value of 62.2%

Wall Street Analysis:

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Credit Suisse, said that market sentiment is sluggish, European stocks continue to feel the pressure of an escalating war, and major U.S. indexes are still under considerable selling pressure. Investors are unlikely to rush in without taking safe-haven measures.

Lauren Goodwin, an economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, said that since Fed Chairman Powell has made it clear that he supports a 25 basis point rate hike, the market will favor a Fed rate hike even if the new economic report outperforms expectations. pace.

Kenny Wen, a wealth management strategist at Everbright Securities International in Hong Kong, said the highly uncertain and deteriorating situation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict made investors reduce their exposure over the weekend. A recession hurts corporate profits, and the effects will be lasting.