On October 29, 2023, U.Smarkets experienced a divide in performance with the Nasdaq Composite Index hitting an all-time high during intraday tradingMany industry giants in the tech sector released their latest earnings reports, with Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and Visa exceeding market expectations, resulting in strong after-hours stock performanceConversely, AMD's shares plummeted following guidance that fell short of analyst predictions for its fourth quarter.

In the day’s developments, the U.SDepartment of Labor released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which garnered significant market attentionThe report revealed that the number of job vacancies in September dropped to its lowest point since early 2021. This decline has led traders to increase their bets on interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, with expectations of rate reductions in the last two meetings of the year and boosted confidence for potential cuts next year.

This week is particularly crucial for major U.S

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technology companies as they disclose their quarterly earningsAlphabet reported a remarkable third-quarter performance that surpassed market expectations on multiple frontsAccording to data from Wind, Alphabet's earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 reached $2.12, exceeding the previous year’s figure and surpassing market expectations set at $1.84. The company reported total revenues of $88.268 billion and a net profit of $26.301 billion, with both metrics showing growth compared to the previous year and outpacing market forecastsFollowing the release of these results, Alphabet’s stock price rose nearly 2% and continued to climb after market hours.

When examining Alphabet’s specific business segments, the fourth quarter cloud revenues amounted to $11.35 billion, while YouTube ad revenues reached $8.92 billion, both exceeding analyst expectations

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During a post-earnings conference call, the company announced plans to unveil a visual artificial intelligence assistant in 2025, noting that over 25% of its code is now AI-generated.

Alongside Alphabet, Visa and AMD also disclosed their financial results on the same dayVisa’s earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 was reported at $2.65, with revenues hitting $9.617 billion and a net profit of $5.318 billion, all figures surpassing market estimatesAlthough Visa’s stock saw a dip in the latter part of the trading day, it rebounded in after-hours trading.

On the flip side, AMD reported its third-quarter earnings for the fiscal year 2024, which matched market expectations in terms of earnings per share and slightly exceeded revenue forecastsHowever, the guidance for the upcoming fourth quarter was a disappointment, leading to a significant drop in its stock price post-announcement.

Overall, the U.S

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stock market displayed a mixed performance: while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.36%, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 rose by 0.78% and 0.16%, respectivelyProminent tech stocks mostly advanced, with Meta Platforms gaining over 2%, and Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft each climbing more than 1%. Semiconductor shares saw a broad increase, with Broadcom rising over 4%, and companies like Microchip Technology and Qualcomm also seeing gains of more than 2%.

Meanwhile, popular Chinese stocks listed in the U.S., after experiencing a surge the previous day, faced correctionsThe Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 1.44%, with shares like Daqo New Energy dropping over 22%, JinkoSolar falling more than 12%, and Zhiyuan Intelligent surpassing a 9% decline.

Turning to commodities, international gold prices rose significantly alongside oil prices, with gold once again reaching record highs

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As of 5:45 a.mon October 30, COMEX gold futures and London spot gold prices increased by over 1%, reaching $2,787.40 per ounce and $2,774.425 per ounce, respectivelyAdditionally, COMEX silver futures and London spot silver prices gained 1.84% and 2.27%, respectively, while crude oil futures also saw modest increases.

For investors this week, alongside the scrutiny of tech giants’ earnings, the U.SLabor Department's release of the non-farm payroll data for October is anticipated to be a significant focal pointThe previously released data from September on job openings served as a precursor to the non-farm payroll figures.

The JOLTS report indicated a decrease in job vacancies from a revised 7.86 million in August to 7.44 million, representing the lowest level since early 2021, accompanied by an uptick in layoffs, aligning with the trend of a softening labor marketFollowing this report, traders heightened their expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, anticipating such moves in the final two meetings of the year and bolstering optimism for cuts in the coming year.

Analysts at China Merchants Bank International assessed that while the U.S