Daily Investment Strategy
HSI rose 366 points on Friday
The Hang Seng Index rose 366 points or 2.1% to 17,651 on Friday. HSTECH rose 163 points or 4.6% to 3,718 and HSCEI rose 149 points or 2.4% to 6,269. Daily market turnover was HK$157.2bn.
S&P 500 posts best week since November
The S&P 500 rose on Friday for its best week since November, as stronger-than-expected earnings from Microsoft and Alphabet revived investor optimism about a bull market in technology stocks led by artificial intelligence. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 153 points, or 0.40%, the S&P 500 rose 1%, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 2%. The S&P 500 rose 2.7% for the week, ending three consecutive weeks of losses. Shares of Google parent Alphabet rose 10% to a record high as the tech giant reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings on strong demand for its new artificial intelligence products. Alphabet also announced its first dividend of 20 cents per share. Microsoft shares rose 2% as strong demand for artificial intelligence products also helped the company report stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings. Among chip stocks, Intel Corporation fell more than 9% after the company reported lower-than-expected first-quarter sales and a weaker forecast for the current quarter. Snap shares rose 27% after the social media company reported stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings while also providing an upbeat outlook. Exxon Mobil Corp. rose nearly 3% after the company reported lower-than-expected first-quarter results, hurt by lower refining margins and lower natural gas prices.
Core PCE rose 2.8% in March from a year earlier, higher than expected
Data released on Friday showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.3% month-on-month in March, basically in line with expectations. It rose 2.7% year-on-year, compared with expectations of 2.6%. Excluding the volatile food and energy components, core PCE rose 0.3% month-on-month in March, in line with expectations, and rose 2.8% from the same period last year, higher than the 2.7% expected. The market reacted tepidly to the data, with U.S. stocks opening higher. U.S. Treasury yields fell slightly. Futures traders are slightly more optimistic about the possibility of two rate cuts this year, according to FedWatch.
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net inflow of HK1.17bn on Friday, of which BOC (3988) had the largest net inflow, reaching HK$0.87bn; followed by Kuaishou (1024). Meituan (3690) recorded the largest net outflow at HK$0.76bn, followed by HSBC (5).
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