U.S. stock market trend | Dow Jones closes up 294 points to a new high, Chinese concept stocks suffer sell-off

Anticipation of a breakthrough in negotiations between the US and Iran to end the conflict, coupled with continued bond yield retracement in the US, led to a continued rally in US stocks on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly broke its intraday high, rising over 500 points at most, and closed with a narrower gain while still reaching a record high. The S&P 500 extended its eighth consecutive week of gains.

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The Dow had already hit a new closing high on Thursday. After opening 148 points higher on Friday, the gains expanded to a maximum of 544 points, reaching 50,830 points; the S&P 500 once rose 0.81%, with technology stocks leading the gains, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.8% at one point. At the US market close, the Dow was at 50,579 points, up 294 points or 0.58%; the S&P 500 gained 0.37%, closing at 7,473 points; the Nasdaq rose 0.19%, ending at 26,343 points. Merck's stock surged 5.6%, the largest gain among Dow components; NVIDIA fell 1.9%, the worst performer among Dow stocks.

Dow briefly hit intraday high, up 544 points

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) cracked down on illegal cross-border stock trading, opening investigations into Futu (FUTU), Tiger Securities (TIGR), and Changqiao Securities for illegal domestic operations. Futu faces a fine of 1.85 billion yuan, Tiger Securities 308.1 million yuan, and an additional confiscation of 103.1 million yuan of illegal gains. The event dragged down Chinese concept stocks listed in the US, with the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index falling 2.21% at close, ending at 6,512 points.

CSRC cracks down on illegal cross-border stock trading; Futu and others investigated

This week, the Dow increased by 2.1%, the S&P 500 rebounded 0.9%, the Nasdaq climbed 0.5%, and the Golden Dragon China Index fell 4.8%.

European stocks all rose, with the UK, France, and Germany closing up 0.22%, 0.37%, and 1.15%, respectively. The leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin briefly declined 2.85% to $75,601.

Golden Dragon China Index closes down 2.21%

According to data from EPFR Global cited by US banks, as of the week ending May 20, global equity funds attracted $2.4 billion in inflows. US stocks recorded eight consecutive weeks of capital inflows, the longest since December last year, totaling $9.5 billion. During the period, cryptocurrency funds saw outflows of $1.5 billion, the largest since February, while gold funds experienced $1.1 billion in outflows.

10-year US Treasury yields fell for three consecutive days

The US 10-year Treasury yield fell for three days in a row, dropping 4.55 basis points to 4.5241%. The 2-year Treasury yield, which is more sensitive to interest rate changes, declined 3.25 basis points to 4.0505%, then rebounded. Due to the Iran conflict, the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for May was finalized at 44.8, below the preliminary 48.2, setting a record low; inflation expectations for the next year stood at 4.8%, higher than the initial 4.5%; five- to ten-year inflation expectations were at 3.9%, also above the previous 3.4%. The US dollar index briefly rose 0.15% to 99.41; the euro declined 0.28% to $1.1588.

Spot gold prices once fell 1.13%

The Japanese yen depreciated 0.16%, to 159.24 per US dollar. Bank of Japan Governor Ueda Kazuo visited the Prime Minister's residence on Friday and met with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio. After the meeting, he told reporters that the government urged the central bank to consider the country's inflation measures and adopt appropriate monetary policies.

In commodities, with US interest rate outlook uncertain, spot gold once fell 1.13%, reaching a low of $4,492.06 per ounce. NY crude oil futures surged 3.2% at one point, hitting $99.43 per barrel, but closed with a rebound; Brent crude rebounded 0.94%, closing at $103.54.