On August 18, U.S. stocks experienced minor fluctuations. Several China concept stocks surged.

U.S. Stocks Nearly Flat at Close

On Monday, the three major U.S. stock indices saw slight fluctuations, closing almost flat. The Nasdaq rose by 0.03%, the S&P 500 fell by 0.01%, and the Dow Jones dropped by 0.08%.

Large-cap tech stocks were mixed: Intel fell over 3%, ending its six-day winning streak; Meta dropped more than 2%, while Apple, Microsoft, and Google saw slight declines. Tesla rose over 1%, and Netflix, Nvidia, and Amazon posted modest gains.

Goodrx surged over 37%, marking its best single-day performance since September 2020. The company partnered with Novo Nordisk to supply the latter's drugs in the U.S. pharmaceutical market. Novo Nordisk announced a price cut for Ozempic.

The Federal Reserve's actions remain the focus this week. Fed officials will attend the annual economic policy symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech will be closely watched. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, federal fund futures pricing suggests an 85% probability of a rate cut at the Fed's September policy meeting.

Multiple China Concept Stocks Surge

Most popular China concept stocks rose, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closing up 0.12%. Xunlei surged over 37%, while Zhihu and iQiyi rose more than 17%. Kingsoft Cloud gained over 5%, and Weibo climbed over 3%.

On the news front, China's National Radio and Television Administration recently issued and implemented the "Several Measures to Further Enrich TV Content and Promote the Supply of Radio and Television Audiovisual Content." The measures emphasize strengthening content development through multiple approaches, increasing the supply of high-quality audiovisual content, implementing a "Content Revitalization Plan," and improving innovation. Policies on TV drama episode counts and seasonal broadcast intervals will be revised, and content review processes will be optimized for efficiency. The measures also promote ultra-HD program production, documentary and animation excellence, support for high-quality micro-dramas on TV, and the introduction of outstanding foreign programs. Additionally, legal frameworks and copyright protection for programs will be strengthened.

Gold Falls

Gold closed lower. COMEX gold futures fell 0.12% to $3,378.6 per ounce, while COMEX silver futures rose 0.24% to $38.065 per ounce.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) issued a statement on the 18th, announcing that multiple Palestinian factions, including Hamas, have agreed to the latest ceasefire proposal from mediators Egypt and Qatar for the Gaza Strip.