US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with Treasury yields climbing as the Nasdaq fell by 300 points. The market is increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve will cut rates in September. Investors are now eagerly awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Friday.

Meanwhile, the latest data shows that initial jobless claims in the US remained steady, suggesting a gradual cooling in the labor market.

The prospect of a Fed rate cut remains the central focus for the market. The Fed’s minutes from the July meeting, released on Wednesday, revealed that “several” officials believed there was a reasonable case for cutting rates in July, but the “vast majority” agreed that if future data aligns with expectations, a rate cut in September would be “likely” appropriate.

Rick Rieder, Chief Investment Officer of Global Fixed Income at BlackRock, stated that the Fed should consider a significant 50-basis-point rate cut at the September meeting to stimulate economic growth and alleviate consumer debt pressures. He predicts the Fed might implement a series of 25-basis-point rate cuts across meetings in 2025.

US Stocks

Fundamental Analysis: 

Most major tech stocks rose, with Meta up over 1% and Tesla and Nvidia both gaining nearly 1%, while Google dipped by about 1%. The apparel retail, scientific instruments, and metal fabrication sectors led the gains, with Ross Stores and Gap up over 4%, and MKS Instruments up more than 3%.

However, department stores, oil and gas exploration, and precious metals sectors declined, with Macy’s down nearly 13%, and Nordstrom and Century Aluminum both dropping over 3%.

Chinese stocks mostly advanced, with the Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rising by 2.39%. Vipshop surged over 9%, while Futu Holdings, XPeng Motors, and Li Auto gained over 4%. Nio and Alibaba were up more than 3%, while NetEase, Full Truck Alliance, and Baidu rose over 2%. However, JD.com fell more than 4%.

Technical Analysis: 

Market Trends: 

• Dow Jones: Down 177.71 points, or 0.43%, closing at 40,712.78
• Nasdaq: Down 299.63 points, or 1.67%, closing at 17,619.35
• S&P 500: Down 50.21 points, or 0.89%, closing at 5,570.64

Hong Kong Stock Market

Fundamental Analysis: 

Hong Kong stocks weakened across the board. Technology stocks saw widespread declines, with NetEase plummeting nearly 13% post-earnings, Baidu dropping over 5%, and Xiaomi and Meituan falling over 1%, while Alibaba edged up slightly.

Shipping stocks were among the biggest losers, with Orient Overseas International sliding more than 7%. On the other hand, insurance stocks bucked the trend, with Ping An Insurance rising over 4%. Some Apple-related stocks were also active, with AAC Technologies up over 4%.

Ping An Insurance climbed over 4% following the release of its interim financial results for the six months ending June 30, 2024. The group reported total revenue of 554.097 billion yuan, up 1.46% year-over-year, with net profit attributable to shareholders rising 6.84% to 74.619 billion yuan, translating to earnings per share of 4.43 yuan.

Technical Analysis: 

Market Trends: 

• Hang Seng Index: Down 0.38%, closing at 17,573.5 points
• Hang Seng Tech Index: Down 1.52%, closing at 3,455.25 points
• Hang Seng China Enterprises Index: Down 0.39%, closing at 6,199.76 points

FTSE China A50 Index

Fundamental Analysis: 

Chinese A-shares saw a modest rebound in morning trading, with all three major indices posting slight gains as Huawei concept stocks surged across the board.

Huawei-related stocks, particularly those linked to its HiSilicon and HarmonyOS, led the rally, with over 10 stocks including Urovo, Century Dingli, Shenzhen Huaqiang, and Topway Information hitting their daily limit.

Technical Analysis: 

Market Trends: 

• Shanghai Composite Index: Up 0.28%, closing at 2,856.73 points
• Shenzhen Component Index: Up 0.37%, closing at 8,192.65 points
• ChiNext Index: Up 0.06%, closing at 1,547.61 points

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