Local authorities of southwest China's Guizhou Province have responded quickly after multiple areas were hit by floods triggered by continuous heavy rains over the past few days, deploying human resources to evacuate trapped residents and carry out dredging work.
In Hongqi Village, Guizhou's Zunyi City, a mountain torrent was recently caused by heavy rains, and the water logging in a villager's house was over one meter deep. After receiving an alarm, the local firefighting authorities immediately dispatched personnel to the scene, using kayaks to reach the trapped villagers' house. Carrying rescue ropes, life buoys and other rescue equipment, they successfully evacuated the trapped people to a safe area.
Also triggered by heavy rains, Shibing County in Guizhou was hit by a flood on Saturday. After the flood receded, the local authorities quickly deployed human resources to carry out post-disaster dredging and reconstruction work. They also advised the affected people to restore a normal life as much as possible.
Liyutang Community in Shibing County was one of the worst-hit areas. After the flood receded, the entire community was covered with mud and weeds, which hindered residents' normal travel. Local officials, volunteers and residents worked together to clear the silt and disinfect the affected area. After more than three hours of hard work, the silt removal work was completed.
In nursing homes, auto repair shops and other places that were severely affected, local firefighters and police also participated in the dredging work to help restore the life order as much as possible.
Local authorities make quick response after rain-triggered floods hit southwest China's Guizhou
U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday on renewed concerns around spending by artificial intelligence (AI) companies.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.89 points, or 0.02 percent, to 52,867.98. The S and P 500 sank 93.74 points, or 1.21 percent, to 7,663.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 694 points, or 2.6 percent, to 26,008.86.
Six of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors ended in green, with consumer staples and utilities leading the gainers by going up 3.11 percent and 1.98 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, communication services and technology led the laggards by losing 3.01 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
U.S. Treasury yields tumbled on Thursday as investors sought safety in government bonds. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield fell more than 17 basis points to 4.957 percent, its lowest in almost a month and its largest single-day drop of the year. The 30-year yield eased over 12 basis points to around 5.28 percent.
Oil prices surged on escalating Middle East tensions. Brent crude futures settled at 113.17 U.S. dollars a barrel, up 4 percent and the highest since May, while West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.39 percent to 99.47 dollars a barrel. The gains followed more Houthi attacks on Saudi targets and reports that the United States and Israel are drawing up plans for strikes on Iran after the Nov 3 U.S. midterm elections.
On the corporate front, Meta Platforms sank about 7 percent despite reporting third-quarter revenue of 64.6 billion dollars, up 26 percent from a year earlier and above Wall Street expectations. Tesla fell over 3 percent after reporting adjusted earnings of 48 cents a share that beat expectations, but flat revenue of 28 billion dollars and a cut to its 2026 capital-spending forecast to about 20 billion dollars. SpaceX tumbled over 9 percent, more than erasing Wednesday's rally after its first profitable quarter.
Chip stocks were hammered. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged nearly 6 percent, with Lam Research down 11.76 percent after warning that supply-chain constraints would delay shipments, while Intel, AMD, Micron and Nvidia each fell more than 4 percent. GE Vernova slumped 10.64 percent as Meta's spending outlook stoked AI financing worries, and CoreWeave dropped more than 10 percent.
On the economic front, the number of U.S. citizens filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 194,000 last week, near 57-year lows and below economists' expectations of 200,000, pointing to a stable labor market. The Conference Board's leading economic index was unchanged in September at 99.6.
With the Federal Reserve in its pre-meeting quiet period, attention turned to its Oct 27-28 meeting, where traders largely expect policymakers to hold rates steady.
U.S. stocks end mixed as AI spending jitters spark tech sell-off
U.S. stocks end mixed as AI spending jitters spark tech sell-off
