U.S. stocks slump, Nasdaq falls below 16,000 points, and Federal Reserve officia

* Major stock indices closed lower, with the S&P 500 down 0.2%;

* U.S. Treasury yields retreated, with the 2-year note hitting a one-week low;

* U.S. Q4 GDP was revised down to 3.2%.

U.S. stocks continued to adjust on Wednesday as the market digested the latest GDP data and comments from Federal Reserve officials. Investors are watching the upcoming inflation data to gauge the impact on when the Fed might start cutting interest rates.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.39 points, or 0.06%, to 38,949.02, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.55% to 15,947.74, and the S&P 500 index declined 0.17% to 5,069.76.

Regarding the market's sluggish performance since the beginning of the week, Keith Buchanan, Senior Portfolio Manager at GLOBALT Investments, said, "Now, these (AI) profit catalysts are behind us, as the market must now focus on the trajectory of inflation and the Fed's response."

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Market Overview

New York Fed President John Williams stated on Wednesday that the fight against inflation is still "a long way to go." However, he did not reveal any new information on when to start cutting interest rates. Citing the unexpectedly strong consumer price data from January as an example, Williams emphasized that there would be bumps along the way as the Fed tries to guide inflation back to the 2% target.

Boston Fed President Susan Collins believes that the slowdown in inflation must extend to other industries before it is appropriate to ease policy, and that it might be suitable to start cutting rates "later this year." Collins specifically expressed her hope for continued declines in housing and non-housing services inflation, two sub-sectors that have been particularly stubborn.

Long-term U.S. Treasury yields edged lower, with the closely rate-expectation-linked 2-year note falling to 4.64%, hitting a one-week low, and the benchmark 10-year note was near 4.27% at the close. Factors such as sticky inflation and a strong U.S. economy have led traders to push back their bets on the first rate cut from March to June.Themis trading co-manager Joe Saluzzi stated: "If the Fed sees the PCE data continue to show stubborn inflation, people will definitely get nervous. The question is whether these numbers are enough to at least start seriously considering when to cut interest rates."

On the individual stock front, Beyond Meat's stock soared by 30.7% after the plant-based meat company announced that it would raise product prices and "significantly reduce" production costs this year, following the exceeding of quarterly revenue expectations.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, fell by 1.9%. CEO Pichai responded to the image generation issues previously encountered by Gemini AI, stating that the AI large model failure is "unacceptable." The team is working around the clock to correct these issues. He emphasized the necessity for the company to provide fair and accurate information and stated that structural reforms will be carried out to prevent similar incidents from occurring.

Tesla rose by 1.2%. CEO Musk stated on social media that the electric sports car Roadster product design is complete and will be launched by the end of the year, with a target to ship next year. Musk believes that the Roadster launch event has the potential to be the most exciting product demonstration ever.

UnitedHealth fell by 2.9% as the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into this healthcare group.

E-commerce platform eBay rose by 7.6%, with quarterly results exceeding expectations and the announcement of a $2 billion share repurchase plan.

In terms of economic data, the U.S. Department of Commerce data shows that the annualized growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the last quarter was revised down to 3.2%, slightly lower than the previously reported 3.3%, reflecting a small decrease in private inventory investment.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reported that the goods trade deficit expanded by 2.6% in January, reaching $90.2 billion. Merchandise exports increased by $0.4 billion, reaching $170.4 billion. Imports increased by $2.7 billion, reaching $260.6 billion.

International oil prices rose and then fell. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that commercial crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 4.2 million barrels last week, higher than market expectations. The nearest month contract for WTI crude oil fell by 0.42%, trading at $78.54 per barrel, while the nearest month contract for Brent crude oil rose by 0.04%, trading at $83.68 per barrel.

International gold prices fluctuated within a narrow range. The COMEX gold futures for delivery in March on the New York Commodity Exchange fell by 0.07%, trading at $2,033 per ounce.