KGI Asia Commentary
Hang Seng Index fell 29 points on Friday
The Hang Seng Index's on Friday fell 29 points, or 0.1%, to 17,612 points; the China National Index fell 5 points, or 0.1%, to 6,219 points; the Hang Seng Technology Index fell 39 points, or 1.1%, to 3,469 points. The total daily turnover of the market was HK$78.7 billion.
U.S. new home sales beat expectations in July
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday. The Dow Jones index rose 462.30 points, or 1.14%, to 41175.08 points; the Nasdaq index rose 258.44 points, or 1.47%, to 17877.79 points; the S&P 500 index rose 63.97 points, or 1.15 points. %, reported 5634.61 points. All three major U.S. stock indexes recorded gains last week, with the Dow rose 1.27% for the week, the Nasdaq rose 1.4%, and the S&P 500 rose 1.45%.
In terms of individual stocks, asset prices immediately reflected this major change as Powell announced the start of an interest rate cut cycle. Technology investment stocks were popular, with NVIDIA, Tesla and TSMC all recording gains. The Russell 2000 also had a good day, rose 3.2% on Friday.
In terms of economic data, the annualized number of new home sales in the United States in July was 739,000, compared with expectations of 625,000. The previous value was revised from 617,000 to 668,000. In July, the annualized monthly rate of new home sales in the United States was 10.6%, which far exceeded the expected 1%. The previous value was revised to 0.3% from -0.60%. Building permits in July were 1.406 million, higher than market expectations of 1.396 million, but lower than the previous value of 1.454 million.
Powell says the time has come for policy adjustments
Powell sent the strongest signal yet for a rate cut at Friday's Jackson Hole meeting. He pointed out that the time for policy adjustment has arrived. Confidence in inflation heading towards 2% has increased. Also says “We do not seek or welcome further cooling of the labor market.” In the future, if the U.S. labor market cools faster than expected, it will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates faster and more significantly.
The net inflow of Hong Kong Stock Connect on Friday was HK$2.73 billion. Tracker Fund (2800) had the largest inflow, reaching HK$1 billion; followed by Ping An of China (2318). Haier Smart Home (6690) recorded the largest net outflow of HK$124 million; followed by Tencent Holdings (700).
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