On Monday, the three major indices fell, with the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping over 1%. The situation in the Middle East deteriorated rapidly, causing oil prices to rise, and some Chinese concept stocks continued to soar. The US bank earnings season is about to begin, with analysts expecting profit growth to slow down starting from the second quarter, but the data is still expected to be strong.

**US Stocks**: As of the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 398.51 points, or 0.94%, to 41,954.24; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 213.95 points, or 1.18%, to 17,923.9; the S&P 500 Index fell 55.13 points, or 0.96%, to 5,695.94. Apple (AAPL.US) fell 2%, while Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose 2%. The NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index fell as much as 2.7% during the session but closed up 0.07%. Alibaba (BABA.US) rose 2.6%, Li Auto (LI.US) rose 4%, Niu Technologies (NIU.US) and EHang (EH.US) both rose over 20%, and Shangde Education Group (STG.US) rose nearly 24%. QuantumScape (QSG.US) rose over 25%, and Ambow Education (AMBO.US) soared over 226%. The FTSE China A50 Index futures rose over 2.4% in the night session, reaching a new high since December 2021.

**European Stocks**: The German DAX 30 Index fell 12.33 points, or 0.06%, to 19,108.05; the UK FTSE 100 Index rose 21.43 points, or 0.26%, to 8,302.06; the French CAC 40 Index rose 34.66 points, or 0.46%, to 7,576.02; the Euro Stoxx 50 Index rose 14.21 points, or 0.29%, to 4,969.15; the Spanish IBEX 35 Index rose 77.55 points, or 0.67%, to 11,727.95; the Italian FTSE MIB Index rose 216.88 points, or 0.65%, to 33,811.00.

**Asia-Pacific Stocks**: The Nikkei 225 Index rose 1.8%, the Jakarta Composite Index rose 0.11%, and the VN30 Index in Vietnam fell 0.05%.

**Gold**: Spot gold fell 0.41% to $2,642.74 per ounce. Spot silver fell 1.67% to $31.6850 per ounce. COMEX gold futures fell 0.20% to $2,662.50 per ounce. COMEX silver futures fell 1.39% to $31.945 per ounce. COMEX copper futures fell 0.43% to $4.5545 per pound.

**Cryptocurrencies**: Bitcoin rose 0.35% to $63,126.5 per coin; Ethereum rose 0.12% to $2,442.07 per coin.

**Oil**: International oil prices rose by more than 3%, with Brent crude prices breaking $80 per barrel for the first time since August due to escalating war risks in the Middle East, prompting investors to withdraw from the record short positions accumulated last month. Brent crude futures rose by $2.82, or 3.6%, to $80.87 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by $2.75, or 3.6%, to $77.13 per barrel.

**Metals**: London metals were mixed, with nickel rising 0.43% and zinc rising 0.16%; copper fell 0.16%, and aluminum fell 0.49%.

**Macro News**:

Goldman Sachs once again raises its S&P 500 target. In its latest report, Goldman Sachs raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 to 6,300 points (previously 5,600 points) and its 12-month target to 6,300 points (previously 6,000 points), adding that these targets might be "too low." Goldman Sachs stated: "Our economists' forecasts for US GDP growth are higher than the market consensus, and a stable macroeconomic outlook will continue into next year, which is conducive to a moderate expansion of corporate profit margins. We expect a recovery in the semiconductor cycle, and the strength of large technology companies will continue to grow."Federal Reserve official Kashkari reaffirms support for a significant rate cut in September. Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, reiterated his support for the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates by 50 basis points at the September meeting. Kashkari stated: "I support this decision because we have made significant progress on inflation, and the labor market shows some signs of weakness, with the balance of risks shifting from inflation to unemployment.

Overseas investors flock to Chinese stocks, with related funds attracting billions of dollars, setting a new record. Data shows that the total amount of money flowing into U.S.-listed emerging market and country-specific ETFs reached $5.96 billion in the week ending October 4th, the highest record in over a year. Among them, five main ETFs investing in Chinese stocks attracted about $4.9 billion, reaching an unprecedented scale. The iShares MSCI China Large-Cap ETF had the largest net inflow of funds last week, reaching $3.5 billion. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF attracted more than $1.4 billion, as investors returned to the Chinese stock market in waves, with all funds setting record highs. In addition, the Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3x ETF and the iShares MSCI China ETF attracted $801 million and $340 million, respectively.

ECB Governing Council member: The fight against inflation is not over, core inflation is still too high. ECB Governing Council member Robert Holzmann stated that the ECB must not prematurely declare victory over inflation, as underlying price pressures remain too high. "Inflation is on the right track, but it has not been defeated," he said, attributing the recent decline "mainly" to the drop in energy costs. "If you look at the more important core inflation rate - excluding the more volatile energy and food prices - the situation does not look so good."

Egyptian Foreign Minister talks with Iranian Foreign Minister about the situation in the Middle East. On October 7th local time, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a phone call to discuss the rapid development of the situation in the Middle East, especially the developments in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Both sides agreed that it is extremely important to stop the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Shoukry expressed Egypt's deep concern to Amir-Abdollahian about the escalating regional situation and the expansion of conflicts. Shoukry emphasized the current need to work to ease tensions and exercise restraint to avoid falling into a regional war.

[Individual stock news]

A U.S. court ruling requires Google (GOOG.US, GOOGL.US) to open its app store. A U.S. district court judge in San Francisco has ordered Alphabet Inc.'s Google to make significant changes to its Play Store to allow more competition. This decision stems from Epic Games' successful lawsuit, which argued that Google monopolized access to apps and in-app payment processes on Android devices. A jury ruling in December 2023 led to an injunction requiring Google to allow Android users to access and download apps from other sources. Judge James Donato's ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Epic Games in 2020, which ultimately led to a jury finding Google's practices to be anti-competitive. In response to this ruling, Judge Donato announced the establishment of a three-person compliance and technology committee responsible for overseeing the implementation of the injunction and monitoring. In the legal process, Google had requested Judge Donato to reject the changes proposed by Epic, arguing that this could have a negative impact on consumer privacy and security, and mentioned the financial burden of reform. However, Judge Donato largely dismissed these concerns in a hearing in August. He emphasized to Google's legal team that, as a result of being found to engage in monopolistic practices, the company would have to bear some costs. In addition, Google is currently involved in a trial that began in September in a federal court in Virginia. This lawsuit, brought by the Department of Justice, involves Google's dominant position in the advertising technology market.

Activist investor Starboard Value holds about $1 billion in Pfizer (PFE.US), with the latter's stock price once surging by more than 4%. Activist investor Starboard Value, a fund company operated by Jeff Smith, has held about $1 billion in Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. Jeff Smith seeks to contact former Pfizer CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D'Amelio. As the demand for pharmaceuticals related to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to recede, Pfizer, which is in a difficult situation, has begun to cut costs on a large scale. On October 7th, at the beginning of U.S. stock trading, Pfizer once rose by 4.4%, reaching a high of $29.84, and finally closed up 2.17%, at $29.20. On the monthly chart, Pfizer's stock price has continued to fluctuate around the psychological threshold of $30 since October 2023.