Market Review
Focus News
Chinese Market
1. Lee Ka-chiu Announces a Series of Major Initiatives
Hong Kong Chief Executive Lee Ka-chiu, in his annual policy address, announced that the stamp duty on stock transactions will be reduced from the current rate of 0.13% to 0.1%. In addition to this, Lee Ka-chiu unveiled several other major initiatives, including a cash reward of HK$20,000 for each newborn in Hong Kong; a 50% reduction in stamp duty for new residences; and the establishment of a HK$10 billion new industrialization acceleration plan. Moreover, investing over HK$30 million in Hong Kong allows for applying to the "Capital Investment Entrant Scheme," with investments in stocks, bonds, and funds permitted, excluding property purchases.
2. Chongqing Plans to Issue Additional Special Refinancing Bonds Worth 30.41 Billion
Chongqing disclosed its intention to issue special refinancing bonds worth 30.41 billion Yuan. This marks Chongqing's second disclosure on issuing special refinancing bonds recently, with the total amount issued and planned for issuance reaching 72.6 billion Yuan. To date, 25 regions across the country have disclosed plans to issue special refinancing bonds, with the total issued and planned amount reaching 1043.08939 billion Yuan.
3. Hangzhou Adjusts and Optimizes Housing Provident Fund Credit Policies
To support the rigid and improving housing needs of depositors, Hangzhou has adjusted and optimized its housing provident fund credit policies. Specifically, families of workers (including the borrower, spouse, and minor children) who do not own any property and have no housing provident fund loan records will be eligible for the first-home policy; those with one property or one record of a provident fund loan that has been repaid will qualify for the second-home policy; families owning two or more properties, having two provident fund loan records, or with outstanding loans, will not be eligible for housing provident fund loans.
4. The Ministry of Finance States That China's Government Debt Ratio Remains Within a Reasonable Range
According to the plan approved by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, issuing an additional 1 trillion Yuan in national bonds in 2023 will increase the national fiscal deficit from 3.88 trillion Yuan to 4.88 trillion Yuan, and the fiscal deficit ratio is expected to rise from 3% to about 3.8%. Deputy Minister of Finance Zhongming Zhu stated at a State Council policy briefing that despite a slight increase in the deficit ratio this year, China's government debt ratio remains within a reasonable range, and the overall risk is controllable. Following the investment of national bond funds, there will also be positive effects on domestic demand, further consolidating the positive trend of China's economic recovery."
Overseas Market
1. Israel Agrees to Temporarily Delay Ground Offensive in Gaza
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing American and Israeli officials, Israel has agreed to a U.S. request to temporarily delay its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip, allowing the United States more time to deploy missile defense systems to protect U.S. organizations in the region. The deployment of U.S. missile defense systems in the area could be in place as soon as later this week. Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi indicated on the 24th that the ground offensive was postponed for "strategic considerations".
2. U.S. New Home Sales Surge in September, Leading to a Sharp Fall in Prices
The latest data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows that new home sales in the U.S. significantly exceeded expectations in September, reaching the highest level since early last year. This indicates that despite soaring mortgage rates, the demand for buying homes remains strong. Specifically, new home sales in September were annualized at 759,000 units, the highest since February 2022. New home sales increased by 12.3% month-over-month, the largest monthly increase since August 2022. However, the median sale price of new homes in September was $418,800, down 3.3% from $433,100 in August and a 12.3% decrease from $477,700 in September last year.
3. "50 Cent" Trader Bets Big on a "Japanese Yen Surge"
Wall Street is abuzz about the future direction of the Japanese yen. Amid short-selling voices from investment banks such as Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, and JPMorgan, Jonathan Ruffer, a fund manager at Ruffer Capital, once known as the "50 Cent" trader for his low-cost purchases of VIX call options and making a massive profit of $2.6 billion during the U.S. stock market's plunge in March 2020, is now betting on a surge in the Japanese yen.
4. Russia Conducts Strategic Deterrent Forces Exercise
Under the command of Russian Federation's Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin, the Russian land, sea, and air nuclear deterrent forces held an exercise. During the strategic deterrent forces exercise, an "Yars" intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Plesetsk national test launch site in the northwest Arkhangelsk region to the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The Northern Fleet's "Tula" strategic nuclear submarine launched a "Sineva" submarine-launched ballistic missile from the Barents Sea. In addition, Tu-95MS strategic bombers participated in the exercise and launched air-launched cruise missiles.
Today's Focus
Today, investors should pay attention to the UK's October CBI retail sales differential, the Eurozone's October interest rate meeting, the U.S. initial jobless claims, third-quarter GDP, durable goods orders, existing home sales, and other economic data. In addition, investors should closely monitor risk events such as the Palestine-Israel situation and the press conference of the ECB President, Christine Lagarde.
