KGI Asia Commentary
Hang Seng Index fell 194 points on Wednesday
The Hang Seng Index closed at 17,457 points for the day, fell 194 points or 1.1%. The Hang Seng Technology Index reported at 3,482 points, fell 13 points or 0.4%. The HSCEI Index fell 69 points, or 1.1%, to 6,133 points. The market turnover was HK$96.9 billion.
U.S. stocks closed slightly lower
U.S. stocks ended slightly lower on Wednesday after a volatile session after job market data and comments from Federal Reserve officials bolstered the case for a rate cut. The S&P 500 fell 0.16% to close at 5,520.07 points, and the Nasdaq fell 0.3% to close at 17,084.30 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.04 points to close at 40974.97 points, an increase of 0.09%. Nvidia shares fell 1.7% after Bloomberg reported that the U.S. Department of Justice issued a subpoena to the chipmaker. Previously, Nvidia's stock price plunged more than 9% on Tuesday against the backdrop of a general decline in the semiconductor industry. Some big tech and chip stocks regained footing on Wednesday, with Advanced Micro Devices and Tesla rising about 3% and 4%, respectively. Meta Platforms, Marvell Technology, Broadcom and Qualcomm were higher. Stocks have rebounded from their lows as the so-called Treasury yield curve temporarily returns to normal. The 10-year Treasury yield was once equal to the 2-year Treasury yield and briefly moved higher.
US job openings fall to 3.5-year low in July
Data from the U.S. Labor Department showed that U.S. job openings fell to a 3-1/2-year low in July, indicating that the job market continues to slow down and may enhance the Fed's ability to start cutting interest rates at its meeting later this month. Raphael Bostic, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, said on Wednesday that the Fed cannot keep interest rates at too high a level for too long or it could cause too much harm to employment. He added that waiting until inflation has fallen back to the 2% target before cutting interest rates "would risk labor market disruptions that could inflict unnecessary pain and suffering."
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net outflow of HK3.70bn on Wednesday of which Sinopec (386) had the largest net inflow, reaching HK$0.31bn; followed by CCB (939). Tracker Fund (2800) recorded the largest net outflow at HK$3.72bn, followed by HSCEI ETF (2828).
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