Global News | U.S. stock market's three major indices close lower collectively; Federal Reserve's Beige Book indicates moderate economic growth

【U.S. Stock Indices】

On January 14th (Wednesday) Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices all closed lower, with the S&P 500 down 0.53%, closing at 6926.60; the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.09%, closing at 49149.63; and the Nasdaq Composite down 1.00%, closing at 23471.75.

【U.S. Bonds】

On January 14th, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was 4.15%, and the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury, most sensitive to Federal Reserve policy rates, was 3.51%.

【Popular U.S. Stocks】

Among popular U.S. stocks, Nvidia fell 1.44%, Google Class C fell 0.04%, Google Class A fell 0.02%, Apple fell 0.40%, Microsoft fell 2.40%, Amazon fell 2.43%, TSMC fell 1.14%, Meta fell 2.47%, Tesla fell 1.80%, Super Micro Semiconductor rose 1.19%, and Intel rose 3.02%.

【Global Indices】

【China Indices】

On January 14th, overnight Hang Seng Tech Index futures rose 0.31%, Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index fell 0.23%, and FTSE China A50 Index fell 0.55%.

【Chinese Concept Stocks】

In popular Chinese concept stocks, Tencent Holdings (HK) rose 0.88%, Alibaba rose 1.77%, Pinduoduo fell 3.98%, NetEase fell 2.74%, Baidu rose 0.77%, Ctrip fell 17.05%, Xpeng Motors fell 2.21%, Li Auto fell 2.58%, and NIO fell 2.46%.

【Forex and Commodities】

【Global News】

Federal Reserve releases “Beige Book” on economic conditions, indicating slight to moderate growth in overall economic activity across 8 regions

On January 14th, local time, the Federal Reserve released the National Economic Conditions Survey (also known as the “Beige Book”). The “Beige Book” shows that among 12 Federal Reserve districts, 8 regions experienced slight to moderate growth in overall economic activity, 3 regions reported no change, and 1 region reported slight decline. This is an improvement compared to the past three reporting periods, where most regions reported little change in economic activity. The “Beige Book” indicates a somewhat optimistic outlook for future activity, with most regions expecting small to moderate growth in the coming months. (CCTV News)

Fed’s Kashkari: The next Fed Chair chosen by Trump must persuade other decision-makers

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari stated that whoever Trump chooses as the next Fed Chair must present the strongest arguments on interest rates to persuade other decision-makers. Kashkari said at an online town hall hosted by the Wisconsin Bankers Association, “That person, whoever he or she is, must make the most compelling case to the rest of the committee about what kind of monetary policy is appropriate to achieve the dual mandate. We are all entrusted by Congress to work toward this dual mandate.” He added, “That person has only one vote, and the most convincing argument will win. I am confident that the committee will continue to make the best decisions based on data and analysis.” (Cailian Press)

AI chatbot suspected of generating illegal images, California demands response from Musk’s company

On January 14th, local time, a California official stated that due to Elon Musk’s AI company xAI’s chatbot “Grok” producing and spreading unauthorized illegal images, which has attracted global attention, they are demanding a response. California Attorney General Rob Bonta posted on social media, “We are requesting xAI to immediately clarify how they plan to prevent such content from being generated and spread.” Musk earlier stated that he was unaware of “Grok” generating any “nude underage images.” Currently, “Grok” faces regulatory and public pressure worldwide due to related controversies, with multiple governments and women’s and children’s rights organizations calling for Apple and Google to remove the app from app stores. “Grok” was developed by xAI and is integrated into Musk’s social media platform X, where users can directly invoke the chatbot. Recently, some X users have used “Grok” to edit images and videos, generating false explicit content of real people, which has been spread on the platform, involving hundreds of adult women and minors. Several countries, including the UK, have condemned this. (CCTV News)

Federal Reserve Board Member Milkan reiterates that a 150 basis point rate cut is needed this year

Federal Reserve Board Member Milkan reiterated that a 150 basis point rate cut is needed this year. (Cailian Press)

More options traders bet that the Fed will keep rates unchanged throughout the year

Options traders are gradually dismissing expectations of rate cuts by the Fed this year, shifting their bets toward the scenario where the Fed maintains rates unchanged throughout the year. This theme has been emerging since last Friday at least. At that time, the latest U.S. employment data showed an unexpected decline in the unemployment rate. Based on market pricing, this almost eliminated the possibility of the Fed cutting rates at this month’s policy meeting, and prompted more traders to further delay their expectations for rate cuts. The labor market is stabilizing, and after three 25-basis-point rate cuts last year, there is little reason to continue cutting, especially with inflation still above the Fed’s target. (Cailian Press)

Fed’s Powell: Small rate cuts later this year may be appropriate

Federal Reserve Chair Powell: Small rate cuts later this year may be appropriate.

Guoji Yixue (000516): Currently not involved in R&D, production, or sales of brain-computer interface products

Guoji Yixue announced abnormal stock trading, stating that the company’s fundamentals have not changed significantly. The company’s main business is in healthcare medical services and the application of modern medical technology. Its medical institutions mainly provide high-level comprehensive medical services to patients. Currently, the company is not involved in the R&D, production, or sales of brain-computer interface products. The related applications of brain-computer interfaces in the medical field are in a critical transition stage from laboratory to clinical use. The revenue from related rehabilitation training systems and surgeries used by the company’s medical institutions accounts for a very small proportion of total revenue and has little impact on the company’s performance. Investors are advised to be aware of trading risks in the secondary market, make rational decisions, and invest cautiously.

JPMorgan’s increased long position in Alibaba-W to 8.07%

According to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange disclosure, JPMorgan’s long position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited - W increased from 7.9% to 8.07% as of January 8, 2026.

U.S. District Attorney for D.C. Jennina Piro: Subpoenaing Powell is not an attack on the Fed

U.S. District Attorney for D.C. Jennina Piro said on January 13th that issuing a subpoena to Federal Reserve Chair Powell and launching a criminal investigation aims to demonstrate that “no one is above the law,” and should not be seen as an attack on the Fed’s so-called “independence.” (Xinhua News Agency)

Shaoguan City seeks public opinion: Implementing a unified urban-rural household registration system, abolishing the classification of agricultural, non-agricultural, and other household registration types

Shaoguan Public Security Bureau is soliciting public opinions on the “Shaoguan Household Registration Management Implementation Opinions (Draft for Comments).” The draft proposes implementing a unified household registration system for urban and rural areas, with household registration in both areas registered as residents’ household registration, abolishing the classification of agricultural, non-agricultural, and other household registration types, and no longer issuing certificates of household registration type. After unifying urban and rural household registration, the classification will be based on the urban-rural division codes provided by the Statistics Bureau.