U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, partly recovering from Tuesday’s losses.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank is not yet ready to begin cutting interest rates, suggesting that while a rate cut may happen this year, more evidence of inflation control is needed.
Private job growth in the U.S. for February came in lower than expected. The market is eagerly awaiting Friday’s release of February’s non-farm payroll data.
Investors welcomed Powell’s testimony before the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) on Wednesday, hoping to glean clues about the expected pace and timing of interest rate cuts this year from this highly anticipated testimony.
Renowned journalist Nick Timiraos, often dubbed the “Fed whisperer,” stated on Wednesday that strong job and inflation data in January did not change the Fed’s expectation that a rate cut later this year would be appropriate. However, Powell indicated that officials want more evidence that inflation is continuing to ease.
U.S. Stocks
Fundamental Analysis:
Most popular Chinese stocks surged, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising by 1.96%.
JD.com soared over 16%, beating expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings and announcing plans to repurchase shares worth up to $3 billion.
iQIYI rose over 8%, Bilibili over 6%, while Weibo and NIO each rose over 5%.
Futu Holdings and Alibaba rose over 2%, Tencent Music and Baidu rose over 1%, and Li Auto saw a slight increase.
Pinduoduo fell over 3%, while NetEase and Full Truck Alliance fell over 2%, and Vipshop saw a slight decline.
Chip stocks and semiconductor sectors led gains, with Taiwan Semiconductor and Skyworth each rising over 4%, and Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices each rising over 3%.
Nvidia rose over 3% to reach a new high, with a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, while AMD rose nearly 3% to refresh its all-time high. Tesla fell over 2%, closing at a new low since May last year.
Precious metals and energy sectors led the gains, with Prager Energy up over 10%, Koradore Mining and Century Aluminum up over 5%, and Alcoa up over 4%.
Technical Analysis:
(S&P 500 Index, 1-day chart)
Market Trends:
- Nasdaq rose by 91.96 points, up 0.58%, closing at 16,031.54 points.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 75.86 points, up 0.20%, closing at 38,661.05 points.
- S&P 500 index rose by 26.11 points, up 0.51%, closing at 5,104.76 points.
Hong Kong Stock Market
Fundamental Analysis:
All three major Hong Kong indices declined.
In the market, internet stocks generally fell, with JD.com rising over 6% after earnings, while NetEase fell over 5%, and Alibaba, Xiaomi, and Baidu each fell over 1%.
Stocks related to CXO concepts plummeted, with YMM Biosciences leading the decline, down nearly 21%.
Automotive stocks tumbled, with NIO down over 5%. Gold stocks continued to rise for several days, with Zijin Mining up over 4%.
International oil price increases overnight boosted the rise of three major oil companies, with CNOOC up over 4%.
Gold stocks continued their upward trend for several days, with Zijin Mining rising by over 4%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated last night that a rate cut is highly likely to occur within this year.
Interest rate futures data indicate that traders anticipate a 70% probability of a rate cut by the Fed in June.
News affecting the U.S. dollar caused it to fall to a one-month low, which is favorable for the price of gold.
Technical Analysis:
(Hang Seng Index, 1-day chart)
Market Trends:
- Hang Seng Index (HSI) fell by 0.47%, closing at 16,361.09 points.
- Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) fell by 0.87%, closing at 3,383.01 points.
- Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI.) fell by 0.09%, closing at 5,667.70 points.
FTSE China A50 Index
Fundamental Analysis:
All three major A-share indices opened mixed. After the opening, the Shanghai Composite Index fluctuated upward, the Shenzhen Component Index moved sideways, and the ChiNext Index weakened.
The three major indices collectively fell in the morning, with the Shanghai Composite Index turning green and the ChiNext Index falling by more than 1%.
In terms of industry sectors, transportation equipment, minor metals, precious metals, non-ferrous metals, steel, and cement building materials led the gains.
Conversely, medical services, consumer electronics, cultural media, software development, and computer equipment saw declines. AI smartphones and CRO concepts remained subdued.
Technical Analysis:
(SSE Composite Index, 1-day chart)
Market Trends:
- Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) fell by 0.16%, closing at 3,035.04 points.
- Shenzhen Component Index (SZCOMP) fell by 0.68%, closing at 9,331.53 points.
- ChiNext Index (CHINEXT) fell by 1.48%, closing at 1,805.42 points.
- SSE Sci-Tech Innovation 50 Index fell by 1.64%, closing at 798.55 points.
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