Market Insights: Feb 1st, 2024

Chinese Economy and Finance:

• China's January Manufacturing PMI remained stable at 50.8, marking three consecutive months above the boom-bust line.
• In 2023, the balance of green loans made by financial institutions exceeded 30 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.5%.

Global Economy and Markets:

• Goldman Sachs postpones its expectation for the first rate cut by the Federal Reserve to May, but still anticipates five rate cuts in 2024.
• Affected by Federal Reserve news, the Nasdaq fell by more than 2%, marking its biggest drop in nearly a year, while the S&P 500 fell by more than 1%.
• U.S. corporate job additions fell short of expectations, with 107,000 jobs added in January according to ADP, against market expectations of 145,000. Following the ADP data release, spot gold prices surged by more than 7 dollars, breaking above the 2040 threshold.

Asian Stock Markets:

• A-shares and Hong Kong stocks both rallied, with the GEM index up by 1%, and the Shenzhen Component Index turning positive.
• The CSI Banks Index surged by 6.33% in January, with China CITIC Bank soaring by 18%.

Energy Market:

• International crude oil futures prices rose, with WTI crude for March up 1.35% and Brent crude for March up 0.53%.
• Due to technical selling and spillover effects from the European wheat market, CBOT corn contracts fell by 4.9% and soybean contracts by 5.8%.

Technology and Innovation:

• Huawei announced a major performance breakthrough in 5G-A technology, expecting the first edition of the 5G-A standard to be frozen and commercialized in 2024.
• The world's first four-seater hydrogen combustion engine airplane prototype successfully completed its maiden flight in Shenyang, Liaoning Province.

Precious Metals and Currency Market:

• New York gold futures prices rose by 0.3%, reaching their highest level in two weeks, as the market focused on the Federal Reserve meeting outcomes and the trend of the US dollar.

Cryptocurrency:

• After the listing of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, investor demand for Bitcoin futures eased. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange's open contracts for Bitcoin futures dropped by about 24%, to 20,679 contracts.

Securities Market Regulation:

• In its 2024 work conference, the China Securities Regulatory Commission emphasized strengthening the investigation and prosecution of cases such as fraudulent issuance and financial fraud, to ensure the healthy development of the securities market.