Preview of US Stock Market | All three major stock index futures fell, Brent crude oil broke through $100, the Fed is about to announce the scale of Treasury bond repurchases, and Apples launch event is coming.

Pre-Market Market Trends 1. As of September 9th (Wednesday), U.S. stock index futures are all down ahead of the market opening. As of the time of this report, Dow futures are down 0.65%, S&P 500 futures are down 0.38%, and Nasdaq futures are down 0.57%. 2. As of the time of this report, Germany's DAX index is down 1.71%, the UKs FTSE 100 index is down 1.25%, France's CAC 40 index is down 2.12%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index is down 2.05%. 3. As of the time of this report, WTI crude oil is up 2.86%, priced at $95.69 per barrel. Brent crude oil is up 3.02%, priced at $100.88 per barrel. Market News Wall Street is paying attention to the proposed size of a buyback of U.S. Treasury bonds by Treasury Secretary Yellen, which analysts say could reach the $10 billion cap. Treasury Secretary Yellen is set to announce the size of long-term Treasury buybacks. Analysts expect a single buyback to be between $5 billion and $10 billion, with Morgan Stanley stating the cap is about $10 billion. If it reaches this level, the quarterly net issuance for maturities over 20 years might decrease by 55%. Barclays anticipates that the Treasury will retain some flexibility in its adjustments. The market will subsequently focus on the size, frequency, and long-term guidance of the buybacks, with the 30-year swap spreads possibly reflecting market judgments on changes in supply more directly. The Federal Reserve may change its interest rate setting rhythm, as several officials have expressed an open attitude. At least one-third of Federal Reserve officials have indicated that they would consider reducing the frequency of meetings to set interest rates. It remains uncertain whether this concept will be adopted soon. The Fed's policy committee has yet to discuss any details. Some open-minded officials also expressed that they would like to see further analysis of potential trade-offs and whether this change is linked to other potential adjustments in the Feds communication strategy. It is unclear if officials will discuss the proposal from Governor Waller, scheduled for the policy meeting on September 15-16, in detail. High inflation and whether it's time for the first interest rate hike in three years may dominate the upcoming meeting. Escalating tensions in the Middle East have pushed Brent crude futures above $100. On Wednesday, Brent crude futures climbed above $100 per barrel for the first time since July 24, due to escalating conflicts in the Middle East raising market concerns about regional oil supply. Brent prices have surged 25% since the beginning of last month, and hopes for a permanent resolution to U.S.-Iran conflicts are dissipating. More investment banks, including Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Bank of America, and HSBC, have recently increased their oil price forecasts. According to Rystad Energys chief economist Claudio Galimberti, daily flows through the Strait of Hormuz were about 8 to 9 million barrels in the week leading up to the resumption of U.S.-Iran talks on August 30, double that of the previous week, but have recently fallen below 2 million barrels per day. OpenAI is reducing prices to compete with open-source models and is collaborating with Samsung to tackle chip development. Reports indicate that OpenAI is lowering product prices to compete with open-source models and exploring a new pricing model based on performance, in response to companies' concerns about ROI from AI investments. At the same time, the company is deepening its partnership with Samsung Electronics to co-develop the next generation of chips. Thanks to the rapid growth of the South Korean market, the number of enterprise users of ChatGPT has surged about 27 times in a year; South Korea has become the largest paid subscription market for the U.S. outside the country. OPEC+'s second-largest oil producer, Iraq, seeks a significant increase in production quotas, targeting a benchmark of 6 million barrels per day. Sources reveal that Iraq is looking to significantly increase its oil production quota as OPEC+ member countries assess capacity to determine a production ceiling for 2026. As the second-largest oil producer in the organization, Iraq aims to set the capacity assessment benchmark at 6 million barrels per day, a significant increase from current levels. This request indicates Iraq's plan to further expand its production share based on current output. Discussions on this matter remain confidential, and Iraq's Ministry of Oil has yet to respond to requests for comments. The final decision is expected to be announced after OPEC+ completes the entire capacity assessment. Is controlling oil not enough? The Trump administration may set its sights on Venezuelas gold and other mineral resources. Three sources have disclosed that the Trump administration is seeking to expand channels for U.S. access to Venezuelan mineral resources (including gold) to further control and influence the wealth of natural resources in this South American country beyond oil. This move could open doors for U.S. capital to enter Venezuela's mining industry and secure supplies of critical minerals. The government is considering several measures, including possibly signing an executive order related to critical minerals (still in draft form), while it has already held talks with multiple companies to gauge their interest in investing or participating in Venezuela's mining industry. The White House stated that both countries benefit from cooperation and investments from Western companies, but one official claimed that there is currently no need for an executive order. Stock News Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) is gearing up for its fall conference! New CEO Tim Cook's debut draws attention as the foldable iPhone Duo starts at $2,000. Apple Inc. will hold its fall product launch conference titled "Surprise and Shine" at 1 AM Beijing time on Wednesday (September 10). This will be Tim Cooks first major public appearance as the CEO of Apple Inc. Besides the highly anticipated first foldable iPhone, Apple Inc. is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, new Apple Watches, and upgraded AirPods at the conference. Surging pre-market! Meta (META.US) launches personal AI assistant Muse. On September 8, Meta officially released its all-weather personal AI assistant Muse, equipped with a cloud-based virtual machine, capable of operating 24/7 and featuring night reflection and proactive planning capabilities. In terms of business model, Meta offers 100 million tokens for free each week and plans to eventually profit by helping users execute business transactions for a "small commission." To ensure data security, Meta is recruiting the founder of Signal to build a highly confidential virtual machine architecture. As of the time of this report, Meta's stock surged 5% in pre-market trading on Wednesday. Details of Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US)'s first pound bond issuance revealed: issued in four tranches with spread of 70 to 110 basis points over a period of 3 to 19 years. Amazon.com, Inc. launched its first issuance of pound-denominated bonds on Wednesday, which will be divided into four tranches with maturities ranging from 3 years to 19 years, continuing to raise funds through the global bond market for its AI "arms race." According to insiders, the bonds being issued will vary in maturity between 3 to 19 years, with initial pricing discussions for each maturity segment being: approximately 70 basis points above UK government bond yields for the 3-year, about 90 basis points for the 6-year, approximately 105 basis points for the 12-year, and about 110 basis points for the 19-year. The transaction is expected to be priced later on Wednesday. Reports suggest Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) and Blackstone (BX.US)'s $5 billion data center project faces delays. Insiders indicate that the AI cloud project "Project Braid" in collaboration with Blackstone has encountered delays in the construction of data centers. The project, backed by Blackstone's $5 billion investment, is planned to lease computing resources equipped with Alphabet Inc. Class C's AI chips to clients by 2027. According to insiders, Alphabet Inc. Class C previously planned to have AI data center developer Crusoe handle the construction of a data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, but later canceled that arrangement and took over the project, reapplying for the relevant permits. Sources indicate that Alphabet Inc. Class C has lost confidence in Crusoe's ability to deliver the project as scheduled. Additionally, another data center site has been affected due to a lack of required transformers. The project lead for Project Braid stated that the project is still moving forward, with plans to provide 500 megawatts of computing capacity next year. Uber Technologies, Inc. (UBER.US) seeks to raise about 4.5 billion euros through its first European bond issuance. Insiders report that Uber Technologies, Inc. will issue fixed-rate bonds with maturities ranging from three to twenty years. Due to strong demand from investors, cumulative bids exceeded 21 billion euros, prompting bond pricing to narrow significantly from initial guidancewhere the shortest maturity bond's spread narrowed to 45 basis points above the mid-swap rate, and the longest maturity was up 170 basis points. The insider requested anonymity to discuss this matter due to a lack of authorization. The Trump administration provides $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy (NEE.US) for the restart of an Iowa nuclear power plant. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it will provide a $1.9 billion loan to NextEra Energy to fund the restart of the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa. The facility has been offline since 2020 due to damage from the derecho storm and will become the only nuclear power plant in Iowa once restarted, expected to meet the electricity needs of over 500,000 households. Last year, Alphabet Inc. Class C reached an agreement with NextEra Energy for purchasing the electricity generated by the plant for its AI and cloud infrastructure operations; this loan marks a critical federal funding support for the project. Important Economic Data and Event Announcements Beijing time 20:15: The U.S. releases weekly ADP employment data for the week ending August 22. Beijing time 23:00: The U.S. Treasury announces the maximum amount for the planned buyback of U.S. Treasury bonds with maturities of 10 to 20 years. Beijing time next day 00:00: EIA releases the monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook report. Beijing time next day 01:00: Apple Inc. holds its fall product launch conference themed "Surprise and Shine," while ECB President Christine Lagarde speaks at the official dinner of the German central bank, and the U.S. conducts a 10-year Treasury auction on September 9. Beijing time next day 04:30: The U.S. reports API crude oil inventory changes for the week ending September 4.