KGI Asia Commentary
HSI fell 44 points on Thursday
The Hang Seng Index fell 44 points or 0.3% to 17,095 on Thursday. HSTECH fell 13 points or 0.4% to 3,538 and HSCEI fell 12 points or 0.2% to 6,003. Daily market turnover was HK$98.7bn.
S&P ends higher as Tech stocks gain strength
The S&P 500 rose on Thursday, the Nasdaq closed at a record high, and technology stocks rebounded higher from an earlier pullback triggered by worries about persistent inflation. The S&P 500 gained 0.74% to close at 5,199.06. The Nasdaq rose 1.68% to close at 16,442.20, a new all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed, falling 2.43 points, or 0.01%, to 38,459.08. As a member of the "Magnificent Seven", Nvidia's stock price rose 4.1%; Amazon rose 1.7% intraday, hitting a record high; Alphabet rose more than 2%. Apple shares rose 4.3% after Bloomberg News reported that the company will shift its Mac product line to artificial intelligence chips. The iPhone maker had its best single-day performance since May 2023. Shares of Nike rose more than 3% after Bank of America upgraded shares to buy from neutral, citing attractive valuations. Constellation Brands shares rose more than 1% to hit a new 52-week high after the beverage giant posted earnings growth on strong beer sales. CarMax shares fell 9% after the used car retailer reported lower fourth-quarter profit due to lower sales profits.
PPI rose less than expected in March
U.S. producer prices rose slightly less than expected in March, with PPI rising 0.2% last month after rising 0.6% in February. The market had expected PPI to rise 0.3%. In terms of the labor market, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits for the first time in the United States last week was lower than expected, with 211,000, lower than the previous 222,000, and lower than the forecast of 215,000, indicating that the labor market remains healthy. The market currently expects the probability of a rate cut in June to be only about 20%, down from about 60% last week.
Hong Kong Stock Connect had a net inflow of HK7.1bn on Thursday, of which Tracker Fund (2800) had the largest net inflow, reaching HK$0.94bn; followed by Meituan (3690). SMIC (981) recorded the largest net outflow at HK$0.18bn, followed by Xiaomi (1810).
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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