The U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, with both the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) and the S&P 500 reaching historic highs.  

Following a brief dip at the beginning of the new year, the market regained momentum as expectations for a March interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve diminished. 

Friday’s performance confirmed that the stock market is officially in a bull market, starting from October 2022, rather than a mere rebound within a bear market.  

The S&P 500 has risen by 34% from its recent low point. Optimism regarding interest rate cuts and a soft economic landing in 2024 has fueled the market rebound since October 2023. 

Matt Stucky, Chief Portfolio Manager at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, stated, “Companies leading the market are perceived by investors as having a strong position in the field of artificial intelligence or possessing a differentiated product portfolio in the technology sector. This trend has persisted until the end of last year and the beginning of 2024.” 

U.S. Stocks

Fundamental Analysis: 

Technology stocks saw widespread gains, with several prominent tech companies hitting historic highs.  

At the close, AMD rose over 7%, Broadcom nearly 6%, NVIDIA over 4%, Meta nearly 2%, and Microsoft over 1%. 

In contrast, most Chinese concept stocks experienced declines, as the Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index fell by 0.60%. NIO dropped over 3%, while Bilibili, Tencent Music, iQiyi, XPeng Motors, and Weibo all fell over 2%. Baidu and Vipshop saw slight decreases, while NetEase and Alibaba rose over 2%, and Futu Holdings, JD.com, and Pinduoduo increased over 1%. 

Technical Analysis:   

(S&P 500 Index, 1-day chart) 

Market Trends: 

• Dow Jones gained 395.19 points, up 1.05%, closing at 37,863.80 points. 
• Nasdaq rose 255.32 points, up 1.70%, closing at 15,310.97 points. 
• S&P 500 Index increased by 58.87 points, up 1.23%, closing at 4,839.81 points. 

Hong Kong Stock Market

Fundamental Analysis: 

In Hong Kong, the three major indices opened higher but saw fluctuations throughout the day.  

Core tech stocks declined, with Meituan falling over 5%, and Baidu and Tencent dropping over 2%.  

Real estate stocks led the decline, with China Evergrande Group falling nearly 8%.  

Automotive stocks fell collectively, and Zero Motors opened high but sharply declined, currently down over 6%.  

Internet medical stocks, led by Ping An Good Doctor, fell over 6%.  

Among restaurant stocks, Jiumaojiu fell over 6%. Other sectors experiencing notable declines include consumer electronics, SaaS concepts, logistics, and tourism. 

The outlook for the Hong Kong market remains pessimistic, especially given the continuous downtrend since the beginning of the year.  

Investor confidence has taken a hit, and if this trend persists, it may further discourage investors from entering the market, potentially impacting future performance negatively. 

Technical Analysis:  

(Hang Seng Index, 1-day chart) 

Market Trends: 

• Hang Seng Index (HSI) dropped by 1.24%, closing at 15,119.61 points. 
• Hang Seng Tech Index (HSTECH) fell by 1.42%, closing at 3,085.49 points. 
• Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI.) declined by 1.21%, closing at 5,065.35 points. 

FTSE China A50 Index

Fundamental Analysis: 

In the A-share market, the three major indices opened lower, experiencing fluctuations throughout the day.  

The large financial sector contributed to market stability, with the Shanghai Composite Index relatively stable.  

However, the ChiNext Index and the Shenzhen Component Index both widened their declines to 1% during the session.  

New energy sectors, including lithium batteries and photovoltaics, rebounded, narrowing the declines in the ChiNext and Shenzhen Component indices.  

Yet, by midday, the three major indices weakened again. 

In terms of industry sectors, insurance and banking sectors rose, while the automotive, jewelry, securities, and diversified financial sectors experienced smaller declines.  

Sectors such as gaming, tourism and hotels, commercial retail, cultural media, and household light industry faced more significant declines. 

Technical Analysis: 

(SSE Composite Index, 1-day chart) 

Market Trends: 

• Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) fell by 0.86%, closing at 2,807.9 points. 
• Shenzhen Component Index (SZCOMP) dropped by 1.1%, closing at 8,690.07 points. 
• ChiNext Index (CHINEXT) declined by 0.54%, closing at 1,706.24 points. 
• SSE STAR Market 50 Index (SSE50) fell by 1.15%, closing at 756.63 points. 

Forward-looking Statements    
This article contains “forward-looking statements” and may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “continue”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “hope”, “intend”, “may”, “might”, “plan”, “potential”, “predict”, “should”, or “will”, or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. However, the absence of such terminology does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. In particular, statements about the expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, future events, or future performance of Doo Prime will be generally assumed as forward-looking statements.     

Doo Prime has provided these forward-looking statements based on all current information available to Doo Prime and Doo Prime’s current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections. While Doo Prime believes these expectations, assumptions, estimations, and projections are reasonable, these forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Doo Prime’s control. Such risks and uncertainties may cause results, performance, or achievements materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements.     

Doo Prime does not provide any representation or warranty on the reliability, accuracy, or completeness of such statements. Doo Prime is not obliged to provide or release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements.    

Risk Disclosure
Trading in financial instruments involves high risks due to the fluctuation in the value and prices of the underlying financial instruments. Due to the adverse and unpredictable market movements, large losses exceeding the investor’s initial investment could incur within a short period of time. The past performance of a financial instrument is not an indication of its future performance. Investments in certain services should be made on margin or leverage, where relatively small movements in trading prices may have a disproportionately large impact on the client’s investment and the client should therefore be prepared to suffer significant losses when using such trading facilities.

Please ensure you read and fully understand the trading risks of the respective financial instrument before engaging in any transaction with Doo Prime’s trading platforms. You should seek independent professional advice if you do not understand any of the risks disclosed by us herein or any risk associated with the trade and investment of financial instruments. Please refer to Doo Prime’s Client Agreement and Risk Disclosure Statement to learn more.

Disclaimer    
While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this document, DOO Prime does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of this information. DOO Prime does not accept responsibility for any losses or damages arising directly or indirectly, from the use of this document. The material contained in this document is provided solely for general information and educational purposes and is not and should not be construed as, an offer to buy or sell, or as a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, securities, futures, options, bonds or any other relevant financial instruments or investments. Nothing in this document should be taken as making any recommendations or providing any investment or other advice with respect to the purchase, sale or other disposition of financial instruments, any related products or any other products, securities or investments. Trading involves risk and you are advised to exercise caution in relation to the report. Before making any investment decision, prospective investors should seek advice from their own financial advisers, take into account their individual financial needs and circumstances and carefully consider the risks associated with such investment decision.