Daily Investment Strategy
HSI rose 83 points on Thursday
The Hang Seng Index rose 83 points or 0.5% to 17,284 on Thursday. HSTECH fell 19 points or 0.5% to 3,554 and HSCEI rose 20 points or 0.3% to 6,120. Daily market turnover was HK$119.9bn.
S&P 500 recovers some losses, but ends lower as tech stocks tumble
Data show that the annualized growth rate of the U.S. economy in the first quarter was only 1.6%, far lower than expected, while the core underlying inflation indicator unexpectedly rose in the first quarter, rising by 3.7%. Meta platform shares fell 10.6% to a nearly three-month low. Facebook parent company Meta expects second-quarter revenue to be lower than expected due to increased spending on artificial intelligence. The stock fell 16% intraday. IBM shares fell 8% on weak first-quarter earnings and the company announced a $6.4 billion acquisition of Hashicorp. Heavy machinery manufacturer Caterpillar's shares fell 7% after the company reported mixed results for the first quarter of 2024, with earnings exceeding analysts' expectations but revenue falling short of analysts' expectations. Ford shares fell nearly 1% despite reporting strong first-quarter earnings and positive free cash flow guidance.
GDP growth slowed to 1.6% in the first quarter, well below expectations
The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) increased by only 1.6% in the first quarter, lower than the 2.4% expected. Among them, consumer spending grew by 2.5%, lower than the 3.3% increase in the fourth quarter of last year and lower than Wall Street's forecast of 3%. At the same time, the US core personal consumption expenditures deflator (Core PCE) rose 3.4% in the first quarter, the inflation indicator that the Federal Reserve focuses on, the largest increase in a year. Economic growth is slowing but inflation is strong, raising concerns about stagflation.
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net inflow of HK1.88bn on Thursday, of which BOC (3988) had the largest net inflow, reaching HK$0.52bn; followed by HKEX (388). Meituan (3690) recorded the largest net outflow at HK$0.79bn, followed by HSBC (5).
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