Overnight US stocks | The three major indices closed higher, Bitcoin briefly approached the $70,000 mark, Nvidia(NVDA.US) rose more than 3% after hours

CITIC Finance APP learned that on Wednesday, the three major indices closed higher, with Bitcoin approaching the $70,000 mark at one point. Fitch Ratings stated that after replacing the full 10% tariffs with tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the effective tax rate in the U.S. dropped to 9.4%.

【U.S. Stocks】 At the close, the Dow rose 307.65 points, or 0.63%, to 49,482.15; the Nasdaq increased 288.40 points, or 1.26%, to 23,152.08; the S&P 500 gained 56.06 points, or 0.81%, to 6,946.13. Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose 1.4%, after reporting earnings, it briefly surged over 3% in after-hours trading; Circle (CRCL.US) jumped 35%; Western Digital (WDC.US) increased 7.5%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.48%, and Xpeng Motors (XPEV.US) declined nearly 3%.

【European Stocks】 Germany’s DAX 30 index rose 153.73 points, or 0.61%, to 25,175.38; the UK FTSE 100 increased 115.21 points, or 1.08%, to 10,795.80; France’s CAC 40 rose 39.86 points, or 0.47%, to 8,559.07; the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 56.76 points, or 0.93%, to 6,173.36; Spain’s IBEX 35 increased 255.81 points, or 1.41%, to 18,445.31; Italy’s FTSE MIB rose 488.78 points, or 1.05%, to 47,140.50.

【Cryptocurrency】 Bitcoin surged nearly 8%, trading at $69,141.45; Ethereum rose over 14%, trading at $2,111.69.

【U.S. Dollar Index】 The dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, fell 0.15% to close at 97.700. At the New York close, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1805 USD, up from 1.1779 USD; 1 British pound exchanged for 1.3551 USD, up from 1.3502 USD. The USD/JPY rate was 156.44, up from 155.78; USD/CHF was 0.7729, down from 0.7735; USD/CAD was 1.3678, down from 1.3704; USD/SEK was 9.0219, down from 9.0449.

【Crude Oil】 NYMEX April light crude futures fell 21 cents to $65.42 per barrel, down 0.32%; London Brent April crude futures rose 8 cents to $70.85 per barrel, up 0.11%.

【Metals】 Spot gold rose 9% to $5,168.92; spot silver was at $89.245.

【Macro News】

New York Fed: Decline in government bond attractiveness leads to rising “natural interest rate.” New York Fed researchers said a key global interest rate is rising, mainly due to decreased attractiveness of government bonds in terms of safety and liquidity. The so-called “natural interest rate” (the short-term rate when the economy is at full employment and inflation is stable, also called r-star) has shown a “statistically significant increase” since 2019, rising about 1 percentage point in the U.S. and other developed economies. Reduced investor interest in government bonds as safe assets may account for about 50% of this increase. Although the natural interest rate is only a theoretical concept, it is significant because it is an important reference for central banks when setting market interest rates. Fed Chair Powell once compared it to the “North Star” that sailors rely on for navigation at the 2018 Jackson Hole symposium.

Fed Bostic: Federal Reserve’s independence has been eroded. Atlanta Fed President Bostic said Wednesday that cracks between the Fed and the White House have begun to erode public trust in the central bank’s political neutrality. This is one of the most direct warnings from senior monetary officials about the consequences of Trump’s tough stance toward the Fed. In his farewell article before retiring in late February, Bostic stated that his colleagues within the Fed remain committed to keeping their work separate from politics. “But my recent visits over the past few months clearly show that the legal and rhetorical battles surrounding the Fed have led people from all walks of life to question its independence, which is deeply concerning.” Bostic is not the only Fed official emphasizing the importance of independence this year, but no one has warned as directly as he did on Wednesday that ongoing disputes could weaken public trust in the institution.

Fed Schnabel: Inflation remains a key issue for the Fed. On Wednesday, Fed Governor Schnabel said that high inflation is still a critical problem the Fed needs to address, but he did not specify how monetary policy should respond. “I believe there is still work to do on inflation,” he said, adding that “the labor market is quite strong.” He did not clarify how these factors influence his outlook on monetary policy. Schnabel previously expressed skepticism about the Fed’s rate cuts last year, when officials lowered the target range to 3.5%-3.75%. Markets expect further rate cuts this year, but officials have provided little guidance. Schnabel also discussed the Fed’s balance sheet, noting that internal discussions focus on understanding the appropriate level of reserve balances needed for the financial system. He pointed out that the large holdings of mortgage-backed securities from past bond purchases are still suppressing housing borrowing costs. Due to the current size of the Fed’s holdings of mortgage-backed securities, mortgage rates could be 75 to 100 basis points lower than their original levels.

Media: Tech giants pledge to build their own power supplies to control energy costs. According to reports, tech company executives will meet with Trump at the White House before March and promise to build their own power supplies for new data centers to avoid additional energy costs borne by taxpayers. White House spokesperson Taylor Ruggles said, “Major tech companies will meet with President Trump next week at the White House to formally sign the ‘Electricity Price Protection Commitment’ announced in his State of the Union address. Under this initiative, these large companies will build, source, or purchase power supplies for new AI data centers to ensure that electricity prices do not rise for Americans as demand grows.” Participating companies in the March 4 event include Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, xAI, Oracle, and OpenAI. Trump, Energy Secretary Granholm, and White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios are leading the effort.

EU considers Trump’s tariffs a violation of agreements. Reports indicate that Trump’s new tariff plan will subject about €4.2 billion worth of EU exports to tariffs exceeding the 15% cap agreed upon in the EU-U.S. trade agreement. Sources familiar with EU tariff assessments said Trump’s new policy will raise tariffs on European exports including cheese, butter, some agricultural products, as well as certain plastics, textiles, and chemicals above the maximum allowed. Tariffs on other products like spirits will be below 15%. When asked about Trump’s latest tariffs, EU Commission spokesperson Olof Gyll said, “EU products must continue to enjoy the most competitive treatment and tariffs should not be raised beyond the clearly and comprehensively agreed upper limit.” He added that under the new tariff regime, about 7% of EU exports would exceed the 15% cap. EU trade chief Shefchovich has held multiple calls with U.S. Trade Representative Grier and Commerce Secretary Raimondo to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court ruling. Grier said the U.S. needs more time to comply with the agreement. “We may need two or three months to ensure we readjust tariffs in accordance with our commitments,” Grier said Wednesday.

【Stock News】

Nvidia Q4 earnings beat expectations, company says demand for computing power remains strong. Nvidia (NVDA.US) reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $68.1 billion and data center revenue of $62.3 billion, both exceeding market expectations, and issued an optimistic quarterly revenue forecast, indicating large-scale AI computing construction remains on track. The company stated that revenue for Q1 FY2027 will reach about $78 billion, compared to Wall Street’s average estimate of $72.6 billion. CEO Jensen Huang said, “Our customers are racing to invest in AI computing.” This outlook helps ease concerns about a potential AI investment bubble. Huang has repeatedly downplayed worries that growth in AI hardware spending is unsustainable. The report on Wednesday briefly pushed Nvidia’s stock up over 3% in after-hours trading.