According to recent information, Finance Minister Janet Yellen has arrived in Beijing today for a four-day visit to seek common ground areas. This trip comes as the rivalry between the United States and China intensifies, causing harm to both national economies and global economies.
Experts note that Yellen's visit marks a thaw in relations between the two countries and follows Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Beijing last month, which was the first high-level meeting between the United States and China after several years of tension.
It is important to highlight that just a few days ago, China imposed restrictions on the export of metals and their compounds in response to recent actions by the United States, which sought to ban the export of AI chips. This escalation has fueled the technological war between Beijing, the United States, and Europe.
During her stay in Beijing, Yellen is expected to discuss possible solutions to the technological conflict with Chinese officials, as it has significant implications for the world's two largest economies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized in a recent speech that China opposes severing ties and is committed to contributing further to global economic growth, a shared responsibility among many developed countries. Xi Jinping's statement highlighted China's willingness to collaborate with all parties to implement initiatives that foster economic growth and benefit people in different countries. He also condemned protectionism, unilateral sanctions, and the violation of national security concepts.
In pre-market trading, JetBlue Airways shares declined by 1.3% after the company announced the termination of its partnership with American Airlines in the Northeast United States, shifting its focus to Spirit Airlines. American Airlines shares fell by approximately 0.9%, while Spirit Airlines shares rose by 2.3%.
Meta shares, the social network, saw an increase of around 2% in pre-market trading following the launch of Threads, a direct competitor to Twitter. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on his Threads account early Thursday morning that 10 million people had registered on the platform within seven hours of its launch.
Sweetgreen's shares surged more than 4% after Bank of America upgraded the stock rating from "hold" to "buy." The decision was based on the growing number of visitors to the network.
Bank of America shares remained relatively stable in pre-market trading after the bank announced an increase in payouts from 22 cents to 24 cents per share. Economists estimate that the 9% increase will result in a dividend yield of approximately 3.3% based on Wednesday's closing price. This increase follows Bank of America's discussion with the Federal Reserve regarding discrepancies in the central bank's stress test results and the internal version of the test.
Microsoft shares rose by 0.8% in pre-market trading as Morgan Stanley raised the target price, suggesting that the company's market value could surpass $3 trillion due to the influence of artificial intelligence.
Regarding the technical outlook for the S&P500, demand for the index has slightly decreased. However, buyers still have the opportunity to continue the upward trend, although bulls need to put in effort to reclaim the levels of $4427 and $4447. If successful, a surge to $4469 may follow. Bulls should also prioritize controlling over $4488 to strengthen the bullish market. In case of further downward movement due to decreased risk appetite, buyers must assert around $4405. Breaking below this level would push the trading instrument back to $4382 and pave the way toward $4357.
