Investment 8/4/2024

The performance of the Hong Kong stock market after the holiday was mixed. After opening 62 points higher at 16,787 points, the Hang Seng Index once rose 114 points to 16,839 points. It then fell when it encountered resistance and fell 244 points to 16,480 points. It closed  at 16,723 point ,  rose 182 points or 1.1% for the whole week; the technology index fell 9 points, or 0.28%, to 3,450 points, and the main board turnover was HK$73.6 billion.

 The global investment sentiment has deteriorated, but the impact on Hong Kong stocks is expected to be limited. Since funds have the opportunity to flow back, and the recently released economic data from the mainland have improved, Hong Kong stocks should not be too bearish in April. The Hang Seng Index has now stabilized above the 100-DMA (16,437). The short-term resistance is at 17,000 points. The ultimate target can be seen at the 250-DMA (17,932). The support level is at the 100-DMA. 

Dragged down by the plunge in the three major U.S. stock indexes on Thursday, European stocks fell across the board on Friday, with British, French and German stocks closing down 0.81%, 1.11% and 1.24% respectively; Japan's Nikkei closed down 1.96%.

 U.S. non-agricultural employment surged by 303,000 in March, a much higher than expected increase, reflecting a strong job market and a high chance for the Federal Reserve to postpone an interest rate cut. However, U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday after Thursday's sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had fallen for four days in a row, opened 68 points higher. Since then, its gains have continued to expand, soaring as much as 443 points, reaching a high of 39,040 points. The S&P 500 index once rose 1.5%, with technology The stock-heavy Nasdaq once soared 1.7%.

 At the close of the U.S. market, the Dow rose 307 points, or 0.8%, to 38,904 points; the S&P 500 rose 57 points, or 1.11%, to 5,204 points; and the Nasdaq rose 199 points, or 1.24%, to 16,248 points. Last week, the Dow still fell 2.3%, its worst weekly performance this year; the S&P fell 1%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.8%. Strong U.S. employment data provided support to the U.S. dollar. 

The U.S. dollar index rebounded as much as 0.55% to 104.693, while the Euro fell 0.42% to $1.0791. The yen first rose and then fell back, once falling 0.27% from a two-week high to 151.75 per dollar. However, due to market speculation that if the yen fell below the 152 level, it may trigger the Japanese government to intervene in the market, the yen's decline was milder than expected.