KGI Asia Commentary
HSI rose 114 points on Thursday
The Hang Seng Index rose 114 points or 0.8% to 15,391 on Thursday. HSTECH rose 16 points or 0.5% to 3,176 and HSCEI rose 39 points or 0.8% to 5,172. Daily market turnover was HK$107.3bn.
The Dow closed up 200 points on Thursday, ending a three-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher on Thursday, overcoming intraday losses, as large technology stocks continued to climb, driven by gains in Apple and chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 201.94 points, or 0.54%, to close at 37468.61 points. The Nasdaq index, which is dominated by technology stocks, rose 1.35% to close at 15055.65 points. The S&P 500 index rose 0.88% to close at 4,780.94 points, currently only 15.62 points or 0.33% away from the record high at the close. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 are currently expected to rise 0.30% and 0.23% respectively in 2024. The Dow is still down 0.59% year to date. Apple's stock price rose about 3.3%. Bank of America upgraded Apple's stock rating to buy and predicted that Apple's stock price will rise more than 20% in the next 12 months. The tech giant had its best day since May 5, 2023. Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chipmaker, rose 9.8% after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.
Initial jobless claims fall, dampening calls for early rate cut
On Thursday, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 4.14% as the latest jobs data showed the labor market remained tight. The U.S. Department of Labor announced on Thursday that 187,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in the week ended January 13, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week and lower than the consensus estimate of 208,000 by economists. Data showed continued strength in the job market, which could push up wage pressures and inflation, undermining expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates in March.
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net inflow of HK$0.585bn on Thursday, of which Tencent (700) had the largest net inflow, reaching HK$0.38bn; followed by Meituan (3690). Tracker Fund (2800) recorded the largest net outflow at HK$2.03bn, followed by HSCEI ETF (2828).
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