Apple's sharp decline takes a breather, while the Nasdaq and S&P rebound. Tech stocks suffer a double blow in stocks and bonds for the week, while the US dollar continues its eight-week winning streak.

Wallstreetcn
2023.09.08 23:04
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Nasdaq halted its four-day decline, while the S&P ended the week with a two-week consecutive gain. Apple fell nearly 6% this week, with chip stocks and Chinese concept stocks underperforming the market for several consecutive days. Nvidia dropped over 1% and fell more than 6% throughout the week, while Qualcomm declined 8%. Bilibili dropped over 5%, and Luckin Coffee fell more than 6%. However, the launch of the "Sauce Latte" boosted Bilibili's stock by over 7% in just one week. LVMH rose over 2%, supporting the end of the longest consecutive decline in European stocks in five years. ASML, a technology stock, fell over 1%. The two-year UK bond yield dropped by 11 basis points this week, while the US bond yield rose by 11 basis points during the same period. The US dollar index halted its three-day rally, falling from its six-month high but still achieving the longest consecutive weekly gain in nine years. Onshore RMB hit a new 15-year low, while offshore RMB breached the 7.36 level for the first time in ten months. Crude oil rebounded, with Brent crude hitting a near ten-month high for the fifth time in six days, and European natural gas rose over 10% during trading. Gold barely stopped its decline, hovering near a two-week low and experiencing its first weekly decline in three weeks. London nickel recorded its fifth consecutive decline, falling nearly 5% this week.

Apple, which experienced a two-day decline due to concerns over iPhone sales in China, temporarily halted its downward trend. The two major stock indices, S&P and Nasdaq, which had been falling all week, finally rebounded but failed to reverse the overall downward trend.

The rise in crude oil prices this week has intensified inflationary pressures. The unexpectedly strong ISM Services Index and a larger-than-expected drop in unemployment reflect the stability of the US economy, reinforcing market expectations of tightening by the Federal Reserve. In addition, reports related to the iPhone have impacted the performance outlook of Apple and its suppliers, such as Qualcomm. Last week, one of the main driving forces behind the rise of US stocks, the technology sector, became a drag on the market, resulting in a poor start to September for major US stock indices.

While US stocks stopped falling, the strong US dollar experienced a mid-day decline, temporarily departing from the nearly six-month high it had reached during consecutive days of gains. The US stock market erased its losses during midday trading. Thanks to positive US economic data and weak data from the Eurozone and other regions, the US dollar index has risen for eight consecutive weeks, setting a record for the longest continuous increase in nine years. Bloomberg's US Dollar Spot Index even achieved its longest continuous weekly gain since its inception in 2005.

Despite the decline of the US dollar, some non-US currencies fell during intraday trading. Onshore renminbi briefly fell below 7.35 against the US dollar, reaching its lowest level since the end of 2007, while offshore renminbi breached 7.36 for the first time in ten months during intraday trading. The Japanese yen failed to maintain its rebound. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso stated that he does not rule out taking any action against excessive exchange rate fluctuations. The yen briefly surged against the US dollar, reaching a new daily high, but quickly fell back below 147 and declined, dropping to the ten-month low it had reached on Thursday. Barclays predicts that the threshold for prompting the Japanese government to take real action may be around 150.

Compared to the short-term rebound after the announcement of a larger-than-expected drop in initial jobless claims on Thursday, followed by a new low after speeches by Federal Reserve officials, US Treasury yields remained relatively stable on Friday, with US stocks rebounding during intraday trading but not approaching the high reached after the release of the unemployment data on Thursday. However, US Treasury yields rose throughout the week, resulting in price declines. The yield on the two-year US Treasury note, which is sensitive to interest rates, rose by about 10 basis points, reflecting investors' increased bets that the Federal Reserve will maintain higher interest rates for longer and may further raise rates this year. Additionally, the issuance of over $36 billion in corporate bonds this week also affected the bond market.

This week, market expectations for further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve have increased, reflecting an overall hawkish sentiment.

The strength of the US dollar this week has exerted downward pressure on all commodities. Although gold temporarily halted its decline on Friday, it experienced its first three-week cumulative decline in recent weeks. Economic data from Europe and other regions fell short, causing concerns about economic prospects and leading to a decline in industrial metals such as "Dr. Copper," which serves as an economic indicator. Crude oil received support from Saudi Arabia and Russia's decision to extend voluntary supply cuts until the end of the year, resulting in a cumulative increase throughout the week. However, the gloomy economic outlook limited the gains, and the increase this week was far less than the previous week. European natural gas continued to be affected by news of strikes at the Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. Negotiations between Ichthys and the union at its LNG plant in Australia broke down, leading to strikes by workers on Friday. The strong rebound in European gas prices on Thursday further increased, rising by more than 10% at one point, but later gave up most of the gains, resulting in a cumulative decline for the week.

Nasdaq Stops Four Consecutive Declines, While S&P Ends Two-Week Rally. Apple Falls Nearly 6% This Week, Chip Stocks and Chinese Stocks Underperforming the Market

The three major U.S. stock indexes had mixed performances at the opening, but all rose in early trading. The Nasdaq Composite Index and the S&P 500 Index maintained their gains in early trading, with the Nasdaq rising nearly 0.7% at one point and the S&P rising 0.5%. However, the gains gradually narrowed, and the Nasdaq turned negative at midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which opened slightly lower, initially turned higher and maintained its gains after about half an hour of trading. It rose nearly 130 points, or 0.4%, in early trading, but almost gave back all the gains when it turned negative at midday.

In the end, all three indexes closed higher for the week. The Dow rose 75.86 points, or 0.22%, to 34,576.59, marking a two-day rally and continuing to move away from the lows seen on August 25th, which were refreshed on Tuesday and Wednesday. The S&P, which had declined for three consecutive days, rose 0.14% to 4,457.49, while the Nasdaq, which had declined for four consecutive days, rose 0.09% to 13,761.52. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq temporarily moved away from the lows seen last Monday, August 28th, which were refreshed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index, rose 0.14%, outperforming the broader market and moving away from the lows seen on August 28th, which were refreshed on Monday. The small-cap Russell 2000 Index, which is dominated by value stocks, fell 0.23%, underperforming the broader market for two consecutive days and declining for four consecutive days since August 24th.

In this week, which had only four trading days due to the holiday on Monday, the major U.S. stock indexes all fell after last week's strong gains. The Nasdaq, which rose nearly 3.3% last week, fell 1.93% this week, while the Nasdaq 100, which rose nearly 3.7% last week, fell 1.36%. The S&P, which rose 2.5% last week, fell 1.29% this week, ending its two-week rally. The Dow and the Russell 2000, which rebounded more than 1.4% and 3.6% respectively last week, fell 0.75% and 3.61% this week, marking the third week of decline in the past four weeks and the fifth week of decline in the past six weeks, respectively.

Among the major sectors of the S&P 500, only real estate, which fell more than 0.6%, industrial, which fell nearly 0.5%, and healthcare, which had a slight decline, did not close higher on Friday. Energy and utilities led the gains, rising nearly 1%, while other sectors rose less than 0.4%. Non-essential consumer goods, including Tesla, had a slight increase. Energy, up about 1.4%, and utilities, up nearly 0.9%, were the only two sectors that posted gains this week. Industrial stocks fell nearly 3%, while materials, which include mining stocks, IT stocks such as Apple and chip stocks, fell more than 2%. Healthcare, real estate, and financials all fell more than 1%.

Tech stocks rose in early trading, but some turned lower during the session. Tesla initially rose 2% at the opening bell, but fell 1.2% at midday, marking a three-day decline. This followed a significant 4.7% surge on Tuesday, resulting in a 1.42% increase for the week, which was lower than the 2.7% gain from the previous week and far below the nearly 11% surge two weeks ago.

Among the FAANMG tech giants, Apple saw an early morning increase of over 1%, but most of the gains were given up by midday, with a final increase of nearly 0.4%. This halted a two-day decline that had brought the stock to its lowest closing level since August 24. Microsoft, which had declined for two consecutive days, rebounded with a 1.3% increase, reaching its highest level since August 1, set on Tuesday. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, rose 0.8%, marking a two-day increase to its highest level since April of last year. Amazon also saw a 0.3% increase, reaching its highest level since August 14. On the other hand, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, and Netflix both turned lower during the session, with declines of nearly 0.3% and less than 0.1% respectively. This marked a three-day decline, moving further away from their respective highs set on Tuesday, August 15, and July 19.

Most of these tech stocks saw gains for the week, with the exception of Apple, which declined over 6% on Wednesday and Thursday, resulting in a nearly 6% decline for the entire week. Microsoft rose 1.7%, Netflix rose nearly 0.7%, Alphabet and Meta both increased by approximately 0.5%, and Amazon saw an increase of less than 0.1%.

Apple fell approximately 10% from its intraday high at the end of July.

Overall, chip stocks continued to decline and are likely to underperform the broader market for a second consecutive day. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index and the Semiconductor Industry ETF SOXX both turned lower in early trading, with declines of approximately 0.5%. For the week, they declined by approximately 3.2% and 3.5% respectively. AI chip giant NVIDIA fell nearly 1.5%, marking a three-day decline to its lowest level since August 18. The stock gave up all its gains since the earnings report, following three consecutive weeks of gains, with each week seeing an increase of at least 5%. This week, it declined by approximately 6.1%. Qualcomm, which experienced a sharp decline of over 7% on Thursday, fell over 0.2%, resulting in an approximately 8% decline for the week. Intel, which had risen for nine consecutive days, fell nearly 0.5%, dropping from its highest level since July of last year. AMD and Applied Materials also declined by nearly 0.5%, while Micron Technology saw a 0.4% increase.

AI concept stocks failed to follow the market rebound as a group. By the close, BigBear.ai (BBAI) rose 6.6%, C3.ai (AI) increased by nearly 1.6%, while SoundHound.ai (SOUN) fell 1.7% and Palantir (PLTR) declined by nearly 0.5%. Adobe (ADBE) saw a slight decrease.

NVIDIA returned to its pre-earnings report level from late last month. Popular Chinese concept stocks have fallen for four consecutive days, continuing to underperform the broader market. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index (HXC) fell over 1% in early trading and closed down 0.5%, with a cumulative decline of 7% this week. Among individual stocks, Bilibili fell over 5% at the close, Pinduoduo fell over 1%, and after a strong surge of over 29% following last week's earnings report, it has fallen by about 7.7% this week. Baidu fell 1%, Xiaopeng Motors fell nearly 0.5%, NIO and Li Auto fell about 0.4%, Tencent Music fell 0.2%, while Alibaba rose less than 0.1%, JD.com rose nearly 0.2%, and NetEase rose nearly 0.5%. Luckin Coffee fell over 6%, but due to daily gains of at least 4% in the previous three days, it has risen by about 7.4% this week, coinciding with the launch of a joint coffee product with Moutai, the famous Chinese liquor brand.

Banking stocks, which have underperformed the broader market for two consecutive days, rebounded but still fell this week, giving back last week's gains. The KBW Bank Index (BKX), which hit a low on August 22 after three consecutive days of decline, closed up 1.1%, with a weekly decline of about 2.4%. The KBW Nasdaq Regional Banking Index (KRX) and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), which hit lows on July 11 after three consecutive days of decline, closed up 0.8% and 0.9% respectively, with weekly declines of about 5.2% and nearly 5%.

Most large banks rose, with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo all rising over 1%, Bank of America rising nearly 0.8%, and JPMorgan Chase rising less than 0.1%, while Citigroup fell 0.3%. Among regional banks, Keycorp (KEY) and Zions Bancorporation (ZION) rose over 3%, while PacWest Bancorp (PACW) and Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL) rose over 2%.

Among the stocks that released earnings reports, luxury furniture brand RH (RH) fell 15.6% as its third-quarter revenue and operating margin guidance were lower than expected, and it expects the headwinds in the macro economy to continue throughout the year. Planet Labs (PL), a remote sensing satellite data company, fell 11% as its second-quarter loss exceeded expectations and revenue fell short of expectations. Avid Bioservices (CDMO), a biopharmaceutical company, fell 6.8% as its quarterly revenue slightly exceeded expectations but losses met expectations. On the other hand, DocuSign (DOCU), an electronic signature company, rose as its second-quarter revenue was lower than expected but profits exceeded expectations. Kroger (KR), a retail giant, rose 3.1% as its second-quarter revenue fell short of expectations but profits exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, in order to obtain regulatory approval for the $24.6 billion acquisition of Albertsons, Kroger and Albertsons have decided to sell 413 stores for $1.9 billion to C&S Wholesale Grocers. In the group of stocks with significant fluctuations, VinFast, known as the "Vietnamese Tesla," experienced a drop of over 11% on Tuesday and nearly 27% on Thursday. Its closing price decreased by approximately 4.7%. After a cumulative decline of 57% last week, it continued to fall by 41.9% this week. Since its SPAC listing on August 15th, despite a cumulative increase of over 232% in August, it has experienced a continuous decline from the end of August to September.

As for European stocks, the pan-European stock index rebounded after seven consecutive days of decline, ending the longest losing streak since February 2018. However, it failed to reverse the downward trend for the entire week, reflecting market concerns about the economic outlook in a tightening monetary environment. The STOXX Europe 600 Index bid farewell to the closing low since August 25th, which was set on Thursday. Major European national stock indices rose together, with the UK and French stock indices rising for two consecutive days, and the Spanish, German, and Italian stock indices rebounding after seven, six, and two days of decline, respectively.

In various sectors, luxury goods giant LVMH ended its seven-day decline and led to a rise of 2.2% in the personal and household goods sector. The tourism sector also rebounded by more than 1%. The media sector, which rose against the trend on Thursday, also increased by over 1%. On the other hand, the mining sector, which fell by over 2% on Thursday, continued to decline by approximately 0.3% in the basic resources sector. The technology sector, which experienced a slight decline of less than 0.1% on Thursday, was second only to basic resources. It was affected by the continued decline of some chip stocks. ASML from the Netherlands fell by over 1%, and Infineon Technologies from Germany fell by 0.6%. However, STMicroelectronics NV, a French-listed Apple supplier that fell by over 4% on Thursday, rose by 0.7%.

The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell by less than 1% this week, far from the nearly 1.5% increase, which was the largest weekly gain since January 14th. Most European national stock indices also fell after two consecutive weeks of gains. However, the UK stock index rose for three consecutive weeks. Among various sectors, the basic resources sector, which rose by over 4% last week, fell by nearly 3%, reflecting the impact of weak economic data on the demand outlook for mining stocks. Both the banking and personal and consumer goods sectors fell by over 2%. The technology sector, which rose by nearly 3% last week, fell by over 1%. On the other hand, the media sector rose by over 2%, and the oil and gas sector, which rose by over 3% last week, increased by more than 1%, continuing to benefit from the rise in crude oil prices.

The two-year UK bond yield fell by 11 basis points, while the US bond yield rose by 11 basis points during the same period.

European government bond prices showed mixed performance, with minimal volatility in the eurozone government bonds and a continued recovery in UK bond prices, leading to a consecutive decline in yields. At the end of the bond market session, the yield on the UK 10-year benchmark government bond closed at 4.42%, a decrease of 3 basis points during the day. The yield on the 2-year UK bond closed at 5.04%, a decrease of 7 basis points. The yield on the 10-year benchmark German government bond closed at 2.61%, and the yield on the 2-year German bond closed at 3.06%, both remaining unchanged from the same period on Thursday. Global performance of European bonds varied throughout the week. The yield of 10-year UK bonds, which had been declining for two consecutive weeks, remained relatively stable, ending the week at the same level as the previous Friday. However, the yield of 2-year UK bonds decreased by approximately 11 basis points, reflecting traders' continued reduction in expectations of a rate hike by the Bank of England. On the other hand, the yield of 10-year German bonds increased by about 7 basis points, rebounding after two weeks of decline, while the yield of 2-year German bonds rose by approximately 8 basis points, offsetting the previous week's decline. This reflects the impact of hawkish statements made by several European central bank officials this week.

Currently, traders estimate that there is a 40% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike by the European Central Bank next week, which is twice the probability of a week ago.

The volatility of US Treasury yields was relatively low on Friday, maintaining an overall upward trend throughout the week due to concerns about inflation intensifying with the rise in oil prices and a large amount of corporate bond issuance. The release of the ISM Services PMI data on Wednesday further boosted expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve, causing US Treasury yields to rise during the trading session.

The yield of the 10-year US benchmark Treasury bond initially fell below 4.21% before the European stock market opened, hitting a daily low and decreasing by about 4 basis points during the day. However, it rebounded during the European stock market session, and then fell again before the US stock market opened, briefly dropping below 4.22%. It then rose during the early trading session, reaching a high of 4.26% at midday. However, it did not come close to the high of 4.30% reached on August 23, which was the highest level in seven weeks. At the end of the bond market session, it stood at around 4.26%, an increase of about 2 basis points during the day and a cumulative increase of several basis points for the week, ending a two-week decline and marking the fifth week of increase in the past seven weeks.

The yields of various maturities of US Treasury bonds rose across the board this week, with short-term bond yields leading the way.

The yield of the 2-year US Treasury bond, which is more sensitive to interest rate expectations, initially fell below 4.92% before the European stock market opened, hitting a daily low. However, it gradually recovered during the US stock market session, erasing its decline. By the end of the bond market session, it stood at around 4.99%, an increase of about 3 basis points during the day and a cumulative increase of 11 basis points for the week, marking the fourth week of increase in the past five weeks.

The US dollar index, which tracks the exchange rate of the US dollar against six major currencies including the euro, fell from its six-month high but still recorded an eighth consecutive week of gains. The onshore Chinese yuan hit a new low not seen in over fifteen years, while the offshore yuan fell below 7.36.

The ICE US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the exchange rate of the US dollar against a basket of six major currencies including the euro, ended its three-day streak of reaching new highs since mid-March. It quickly turned downward during the early Asian trading session on Friday and maintained a downward trend. It briefly rebounded during the European stock market session but continued to decline after the US stock market opened. The US dollar fell below 104.70 against the yen, hitting a daily low of 104.663, a decrease of nearly 0.4% during the day. This marked a decline from the high of 105.352 reached on March 10, which was the highest level since the previous high of 105.157 on Thursday. Midday gradually erases the decline and turns up.

By the close of the US stock market on Friday, the US dollar index was slightly above 105.00, with a slight increase during the day, almost unchanged from Thursday's level. After rising for three consecutive days, it temporarily paused its upward trend, with a gain of over 0.8% for the week. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the US dollar against ten other currencies, rose by less than 0.1%, with a four-day consecutive increase and a cumulative increase of about 1% for the week. Both the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index and the US dollar index have risen for eight consecutive weeks, setting a record for the longest consecutive weekly gains since their inception in 2014.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index achieved its best weekly performance since February.

The onshore Chinese yuan (CNY) against the US dollar continued to decline on Friday. European stocks fell below 7.35 to 7.3503 in early trading, hitting an intraday low not seen since December 2007 for two consecutive days, but quickly recovered to 7.35. At 16:30 Beijing time, the onshore yuan officially closed at 7.3415, hitting a new closing low since December 2007, down 136 points from Thursday's official closing price. After the close of the day, the onshore yuan briefly recovered to 7.34 and hit a daily high of 7.3345 during European stock trading, but fell below 7.34 again before the US stock market opened. At 3:00 Beijing time on September 9th, the onshore yuan closed at 7.3450, down 153 points from the overnight closing price on Thursday.

The offshore Chinese yuan (CNH) against the US dollar hit a daily high of 7.3346 in early Asian trading, but then continued to decline. Before European stock trading, it fell below 7.36 for the first time since October 25 last year, but later recovered to 7.35. The decline widened again before the US stock market opened, with the US stock market falling to 7.3682 during trading, hitting a new intraday low since October 25 last year. It fell 260 points during the day, with a consecutive three-day decline of over 200 points. At 4:59 Beijing time on September 9th, the offshore yuan against the US dollar was reported at 7.3647 yuan, down 225 points from the closing price in New York on Thursday, with a consecutive five-day decline and a cumulative decline of 944 points for the week after two consecutive weeks of gains.

Among other non-US currencies, following the Deputy Minister of Finance of Japan, the Minister of Finance of Japan also made verbal intervention, warning of possible excessive exchange rate fluctuations. The yen hit a daily high during trading but then fell. In early Asian trading, the US dollar against the yen fell below 146.60, hitting a new daily low, down nearly 0.5% during the day, but quickly rebounded above 147.00. Before European stock trading, it turned up, and during midday trading in the US stock market, it rose to 147.87, matching the high since early November last year for the third consecutive day. The euro against the US dollar and the British pound against the US dollar rose before the US stock market opened. In early trading, the US stock market rose above 1.0740 and 1.2510, hitting a new daily high, with an increase of over 0.4% and 0.3% during the day, respectively, breaking away from the lows of June 7th and June 8th when they fell below 1.0690 and 1.2450. After a continuous decline, US stocks closed with the euro almost giving back all its gains and the pound slightly falling.

Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $26,400 in early US stock trading, hitting a daily high. However, European stocks accelerated their decline during the session, dropping below $26,000 and briefly falling to around $25,700. This represents a decrease of nearly $800 or about 3%. At the close of the US stock market, it remained below $25,900, still far from the low of August 17th when it fell below $25,400, the lowest level since that date. In the past 24 hours, it has fallen by less than 1%, while it has risen by about 0.6% in the past seven days.

Crude oil rebounds, Brent crude hits near ten-month high five times in six days, European natural gas rises over 10% during the session

International crude oil futures rebounded on Friday. During midday trading in the US stock market, US WTI crude oil approached $88 per barrel, while Brent crude oil exceeded $91 per barrel, both rising more than 1.2% during the day.

In the end, WTI October crude oil futures, which hit a new high since November last year for three consecutive days until Wednesday, closed up 0.73% at $87.51 per barrel, approaching the closing high of $87.54 per barrel on November 11th last year. Brent November crude oil futures closed up 0.81% at $90.65 per barrel, marking the third consecutive day within the past four days that it closed above the $90 per barrel level, reaching a closing high since November 16th last year. This is the fifth day within the past six trading days that it has hit a new high since November last year.

US oil rose by 2.29% this week, while Brent oil rose by 2.37%. Both have risen for two consecutive weeks after falling for two weeks, but the increase is not as large as last week. Last week, US oil rose by 7.16%, and Brent oil rose by 5.48%, marking the largest weekly increase since March 31st and April 6th, respectively.

US WTI crude oil has risen for the ninth consecutive week in the past 11 weeks, approaching the $90 per barrel level.

European natural gas rebounded for two consecutive days, but part of it was due to a sharp decline of nearly 10% on Wednesday, and it still fell for the whole week. UK natural gas futures closed up 6.77% at 84.68 pence per therm, rising by about 14.5% during midday trading on Friday. It fell by 2.4% this week, marking the third consecutive week of decline. TTF benchmark Dutch natural gas futures on the European continent closed up 5.35%, rising more than 5% for two consecutive days, at 34.508 euros per megawatt-hour. Both UK and European natural gas futures reached a closing high for the week, with a midday increase of 12.6% on Friday. It fell by 3.1% this week, erasing the gains from last week's rebound.

US gasoline and natural gas futures continued to rise. NYMEX October gasoline futures closed up 1.17% at $2.6537 per gallon, rising for three consecutive days and reaching a high since August 23rd. It rose by 2.4% this week, offsetting the previous week's decline. NYMEX October natural gas futures closed up 1.01% at $2.6050 per million British thermal units, rising for two consecutive days and continuing to rise from the low point since August 23rd, which was reached after a four-day decline last Wednesday. It fell by about 2.60% this week after two consecutive weeks of decline.

Gold Hovers Near Two-Week Lows, Weekly Decline for the First Time in Three Weeks, London Nickel Falls for Five Consecutive Days, Down Nearly 5% in a Week

New York gold futures narrowly missed a rebound on Friday, with early trading in US stocks hitting a daily high of $1954, rising about 0.6% intraday, but then falling back during the midday session.

In the end, COMEX December gold futures closed up 0.01% at $1942.70 per ounce, barely stopping the three-day decline, but still close to the closing low since August 25, which was refreshed on Thursday. Gold fell 1.24% this week, marking the first weekly decline in the past three weeks, after rising more than 1% per week for the previous two weeks.

New York gold futures fall after two weeks of gains

New York silver futures fell for five consecutive days, with COMEX December silver futures down 0.28% at $23.174 per ounce, hitting a low since August 18 for two consecutive days. After rising for two weeks, silver fell 5.65% this week.

London base metal futures fell across the board on Friday. London nickel led the decline, falling more than 2% for five consecutive days, approaching the $20,000 mark for the first time in over two weeks. London tin fell nearly 2%, closing below $25,600 for the first time in three months. London copper and London zinc both fell for three consecutive days, with London copper hitting a three-week low below $8300. London zinc gave back the gains from the three-day decline on Thursday and fell to a weekly low. London lead, which rebounded on Thursday, and London aluminum, which closed slightly higher on Thursday, also fell back. London lead failed to approach the high of last Friday and the highest level in over seven months, while London aluminum hit a new low in over a week.

Base metals collectively fell this week, with London nickel leading the decline at 4.9%, followed by a 3% drop in London copper, a 2% drop in London aluminum, a more than 1% drop in London zinc, and a 0.9% drop in London tin. London lead, which rose for three consecutive weeks, fell 0.9%.

New York copper futures fell for four consecutive days, with COMEX December copper futures down 1.2% at $3.7165 per pound, hitting a low since August 18 after rising for two weeks, with a cumulative decline of 3.5% this week.

In terms of cumulative gains and losses, among the four commodities of gold, silver, copper, and oil, crude oil stood out, while the other commodities all declined.

Trends of gold, silver, copper, oil, and US natural gas this week