KGI Asia Commentary
Hang Seng Index fell 298 points on Friday
The Hang Seng Index opened 147 points lower at 21,811, and extended its daily decline to 298 points at 21,660. HSCEI fell 119 points or 1.6% to 7,387. HSTECH fell 62 points or 1.3% to 4,634. The total daily turnover was HK$129.9bn. Sa Sa International (178) rose 3.4% to HK$2.1, MINISO (9896) rose 8.2% to HK$31.75. In addition, Chia Tai Enterprise International (3839) rose 23% today to HK$4.56 after a choppy trend.
US NFP beat consensus in January; inflation from service industry was very sticky
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that non-farm payroll increased by 517,000 in January, compared with market consensus of an increase of 185,000; the unemployment rate was 3.4%, compared to expectations of 3.6%. U.S. private sector jobs increased by 443,000 in January, beating market consensus for an increase of 190,000. In the U.S. Department of Labor's statement, the catering industry and education & health were the industries with the largest increase in jobs, increasing by 105,000 and 98,000 respectively. These two divisions are also classified as service industries. Combined with the high expected 55.2 of the ISM PMI in January, it reflects that labors in service industry are still very over-demanding. The core inflation rate before the first quarter may be difficult to suppress
The three major U.S. stock indexes fell on Friday, with the Nasdaq down 193 points or 1.59% to 12,006. The S&P 500 down 43 points or 1.04% to 4,136, and the Dow Jones down 127 points or 0.38% to 33,926 point.
China sales of new energy vehicles in January drop 45% MoM
The China Passenger Car Market Information Association released the forecast of the new energy passenger car market in January 2023, indicating that the wholesale sales of new energy vehicles manufacturers fell by about 45% MoM to 410,000 units, and it is expected that there will be large-scale sales in February rebound. In addition to seasonal factors, the sharp decline in sales was mainly due to withdrawn new energy vehicle subsidies since 2023. Meanwhile, Shanghai announced the continuation of the replacement subsidy for new energy vehicles at the end of January, with a maximum subsidy of RMb10,000 per vehicle. The Mainland's “Two Sessions” will start in early March. It is believed that before the meeting, Chinese government will announce new subsidy arrangements for new energy vehicles to boost domestic auto demand.
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net outflow of HK$604mn on Friday. Among them, Hang Seng China Enterprises (2828) had the largest net inflow of HK$592mn; followed by Tracker Fund (2800). Tencent (0700) recorded the largest net outflow of HK$792mn, followed by Meituan (3690).
Wen Kit Kenny is a SFC licensed person accredited to KGI Group to carry on regulated activities (for details, please refer to:https://apps.sfc.hk/publicregWeb/indi/AJF244/details). He and/or his associate do not have any financial interest in the recommended issuer or new listing applicant.
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