Investment 2/8/2024

Hong Kong stocks showed an up-and-down pattern on the first trading day of August. The Hang Seng Index opened 16 points lower and showed mixed performance. It rose 64 points in the afternoon and hit a day's high of 17,408 points. It fell back again and closed down 39 points or 0.23% at 17,304 points. The Technology Index fell 40 points or 1.15% throughout the day. It was quoted at 3,476 points. Market turnover shrank to HK$94.1 billion. 

With the positive and negative factors offsetting each other, the Hong Kong stock market has no direction in the short term. The performance of blue-chip stocks has been mixed, which also limits the market's rebound space. The Hang Seng Index is expected to mainly fluctuate between 16,670 and 17,416 points. 

European stock markets fell across the board, with British, French and German stocks falling 1.01%, 2.14% and 2.3% respectively.

 The latest U.S. employment and manufacturing data were weak, triggering market concerns about the economic outlook. The U.S. 10-year bond yield fell below 4% for the first time since February. U.S. stocks rose first and then fell on Thursday, with the Dow once rising above 41,000 points. After opening at 74 points, the increase expanded to 253 points, reaching a maximum of 41,096 points, but then turned around and plunged to a maximum of 744 points, falling to 40,098 points; the Nasdaq once fell by 3.11%, reaching a low of 17,051 points. 

At the close of the U.S. market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 40,347 points, still down 494 points, or 1.21%; the S&P Index fell 75 points, or 1.37%, to 5,446 points; and the Nasdaq fell 405 points, or 2.3%, to 17,194 points. 

The U.S. exchange rate index once rose 0.37% to 104.45; the yen once reached 148.51 per dollar, and then fell 0.61% to 150.89. The Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.25% as expected. The pound fell by up to 1% to $1.2727; the Euro once fell by 0.44% to $1.0778.