KGI Asia Commentary
Hang Seng Index rose 522 points on Thursday
The Hang Seng Index rose 522 points or 2.4% to 22,566 on Thursday. HSTECH rose 194 points or 4.3% to 4,763 and HSCEI rose 223 points or 3.0% to 7,706. Daily market turnover was HK$119.5bn.
Tesla shares soar, Nasdaq closes up 1.7%
U.S. stocks rose on Thursday after Tesla’s better-than-expected results and stronger-than-expected 4Q U.S. GDP result. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.76% to close at 11,512.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 205.57 points, or 0.61%, to 33,949.41; the S&P 500 rose 1.10%, to 4,060.43. Corporate earnings were mixed, with strong results from Tesla boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq and electric vehicle stocks. Tesla shares rose nearly 11% after reporting record revenue and solid earnings. Earlier battered tech giants Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet also rallied. Now the focus of the market has turned to next week's Fed rate meeting, which is widely expected to announce a 25 basis point rate hike in response to high inflation. Investors will be watching closely for clues on how much more the Fed intends to raise rates.
A number of economic data released in the United States
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, after increasing 3.2 percent in the third quarter. The increase in the fourth quarter primarily reflected increases in inventory investment and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment.
Meanwhile, data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday showed that the US trade deficit for goods soared 8.8% to $90.3 billion in December 2022. Goods exports were $166.8 billion in December, $2.6 billion less than exports in November. Imports of goods were $257.1 billion last month, up $4.7 billion from the previous month.
The southbound trading of Hong Kong Stock Connect will continue to be closed today.
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