Little by little, we can build a mountain

After the release of non-farm payrolls data last Friday, US stocks experienced a sharp rise on Friday. The three major indices all closed up more than 1%. Among them, the NASDAQ index rose nearly 2%, and the S&P 500 index recorded its strongest daily rise in two months. Apple's stock price surged 6%, the biggest increase in 17 months, while biotech company Amgen rose nearly 12%. Despite the overall strong performance of chip stocks, AMD was still down more than 4% during the earnings week. The energy sector, on the other hand, has accumulated a decline of more than 3% this week, reflecting market concerns about this sector.
The US non-farm payrolls report for April showed that the number of employed people increased by 175,000, far below market expectations. The unemployment rate rose slightly to its highest point in nearly a year and a half, while wage growth also slowed. This slowdown in the labor market was interpreted by the market as being beneficial to controlling inflation, causing traders to advance the Federal Reserve's first rate cut from November to September. After the release of the non-agricultural data, US Treasury yields declined markedly, the US dollar index also hit a three-week low, and the yen rebounded sharply in the intraday period.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Meeting was held in 2024. The company announced a 39% year-on-year increase in operating profit for the first quarter, a new high in cash reserves, and a $2.6 billion share buyback during the quarter. Buffett hinted at the meeting that the reduction in Apple's stock holdings is to avoid the high tax rates it may face in the future. Although some Apple shares have been reduced, Apple is still one of its biggest investments.
The price of crude oil fell for five consecutive days this week, with a cumulative drop of nearly 7%, a record...