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China Fund News reporter Guo Wenjun

Good morning, everyone! A lot of big things happened last night and this morning.

The Russian Central Bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 200 basis points to 18%.

The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed higher. Apple Vice President: We look forward to continuing to innovate with Chinese suppliers.

The U.S. core PCE price index rose 2.6% year-on-year in June, slightly higher than expected.

International precious metal futures generally closed higher, while international oil prices fell across the board.

Russia's central bank raises interest rates by 200 basis points

Raise the base rate to 18%

According to China News Service, on the 26th local time, the Russian Central Bank raised interest rates by 200 basis points, raising the benchmark interest rate from 16% to 18%.

The Russian Central Bank said that domestic inflationary pressure in Russia has intensified and is significantly higher than the Russian Central Bank's forecast in April. Higher inflation expectations have strengthened the inertia of continued inflation. The growth of domestic demand continues to far exceed the expansion of the supply of goods and services. In order to bring inflation down again, monetary policy needs to be further tightened, and in order to return inflation to the target level, stricter monetary conditions than expected must be implemented. The Russian Central Bank will evaluate the feasibility of further raising the benchmark interest rate at a meeting to be held in the near future.

The Russian Central Bank also raised its inflation forecast for 2024 from 4.3%-4.8% to 6.5%-7%. Taking into account the current monetary policy, the inflation forecast for 2025 was reduced to 4%-4.5%, and the inflation forecast for 2026 remained unchanged at 4%.

The Russian Central Bank pointed out that economic indicators in the second quarter of 2024 showed that the Russian economy continued to grow rapidly. Consumption activities remained active due to a sharp increase in household income and increased consumer confidence. Strong investment demand was supported by fiscal stimulus and strong corporate profits. At the same time, labor shortages continued to intensify. Under this circumstance, the growth of domestic demand did not bring about a corresponding expansion in the supply of goods and services, but instead increased corporate costs, thereby increasing inflationary pressure.

The Russian Central Bank said that in the medium term, the main inflation risks are related to changes in Russia's foreign trade conditions (including the impact of geopolitical tensions), the persistence of high inflation expectations, and the deviation of Russia's economic upward trend from the balanced growth track.

In addition, in its latest macroeconomic forecast, the Russian Central Bank predicts that Russia's economic growth rate will reach 3.5%-4% in 2024, higher than the previous forecast of 2.5%-3.5%.

All three major U.S. stock indexes closed higher

The three major U.S. stock indexes all closed higher. As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.64% to 40,589.34 points. The S&P 500 rose 1.11% to 5,459.1 points. The Nasdaq rose 1.03% to 17,357.88 points. This week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.75%, the S&P 500 fell 0.83%, and the Nasdaq fell 2.08%.

Chip stocks rose collectively, with ASML up 2.99%, Qualcomm up 2.66%, Micron Technology up 1.82%, Broadcom up 1.59%, AMD up 1.21%, TSMC up 1.04%, Intel up 0.8% and Nvidia up 0.69%.

Apple Vice President: We look forward to continuing to innovate with Chinese suppliers

On the afternoon of July 26, Beijing time, Ge Yue, Apple's vice president and managing director of Greater China, said in her personal Weibo that she and Apple's chief operating officer (COO) Jeff Williams visited Foxconn and Lingyi Intelligent Manufacturing. It is reported that Apple plans to expand its advanced application research laboratory to Shenzhen.

On July 26, Eastern Time, Apple's stock price rose slightly by 0.22% to close at US$217.96.

Ge Yue said on Weibo: "Jeff and I visited the teams of two major suppliers in Guangdong and had a great day! We saw the latest advances in iPhone production at Foxconn Guanlan. Lingyi Intelligent Manufacturing provides thousands of components for our full range of products, and their manufacturing is highly automated. We eagerly look forward to continuing to innovate with suppliers here and across China."

It is reported that the Shenzhen Applied Research Laboratory is expected to invest more than 1 billion yuan, mainly responsible for hardware development, intelligent manufacturing and joint R&D with local suppliers, and will enhance the testing and research capabilities of products such as iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro, etc. Apple said that the laboratory is adjacent to the production and assembly base, which provides convenience for engineers and suppliers to cooperate, and can not only achieve real-time adjustments, but also help suppliers improve efficiency and save time.

The US core PCE price index rose 2.6% year-on-year in June

On the macro level, the US core PCE price index rose 2.6% year-on-year in June, in line with expectations of a 2.5% increase and the previous reading of 2.6%; it rose 0.2% month-on-month, in line with expectations of a 0.1% increase and the previous reading of 0.1%. The PCE price index rose 2.5% year-on-year, in line with expectations of a 2.5% increase and the previous reading of 2.6%; it rose 0.1% month-on-month, in line with expectations of a 0.1% increase and the previous reading.

U.S. personal spending rose 0.3% month-on-month in June, in line with expectations and with the previous value revised from 0.2% to 0.4%; personal income rose 0.2% month-on-month, in line with expectations and with the previous value revised from 0.5% to 0.4%; actual personal consumption expenditure rose 0.2% month-on-month, in line with expectations and with the previous value revised from 0.3% to 0.4%.

The final value of the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence Index in July was 66.4, as expected, the initial value was 66, and the final value in June was 68.2.

The final expected value of the US one-year inflation rate in July was 2.9%, the expected value was 2.9%, the initial value was 2.9%, and the final value in June was 3.0%.

International precious metal futures generally closed higher

On July 26, Eastern Time, international precious metal futures generally closed higher. COMEX gold futures rose 1.37% to $2,385.7 per ounce, down 0.56% for the week. COMEX silver futures rose 0.34% to $28.07 per ounce, down 4.19% for the week.

International oil prices fell across the board

International oil prices fell across the board. The August contract of U.S. crude oil fell 2.35% to $76.44 per barrel, down 2.8% for the week. The September contract of Brent crude oil fell 2.11% to $79.67 per barrel, down 3.58% for the week.

Editor: Xiaomo

Audit: Wooden Fish