Investment 5/8/2024

U.S. stocks fell sharply overnight, a small stock market crash broke out in Asia-Pacific stock markets, and the Hang Seng Index was not immune. Hong Kong stocks opened more than 1% lower across the board, and the Hang Seng Index opened 297 points lower to 17,025 points. The performance continued to be weak. The decline intensified in the afternoon, falling as much as 439 points to 16,865 points, setting a new low in more than 3 months. It closed down 359 points or more for the whole day. 2.08%, reported at 16,945 points; the technology index fell 90 points, or 2.62%, reported at 3,385 points. Market turnover reached HK$100.5 billion.

 Global investment sentiment has deteriorated, and Hong Kong stocks have also followed suit, with the Hang Seng Index falling below 17,000. Every rebound in the market is short-lived, reflecting the market's lack of confidence in the market outlook, and the weakness is expected to continue. The Hang Seng Index will test the 16,800 point where the rebound resistance was from March to April, followed by the 16,670 point where the last high adjustment was fibo 0.618. Technically, the Hang Seng Index closed below the central axis of the Bollinger Channel for three consecutive weeks, and the market outlook is likely to test the bottom of the channel (15,915). In the weakest scenario, the Hang Seng Index may even fall to its low of 14,794 points at the beginning of the year. 

European stock markets were under pressure across the board, with British, French and German stocks falling 1.31%, 1.61% and 2.33% respectively. Other stock markets around the world were also sold. 

The U.S. job market has deteriorated significantly. Job growth slowed sharply in July and the unemployment rate rose to a nearly three-year high. Although it means that the Federal Reserve is bound to cut interest rates in September, it also intensifies investors' concerns about a hard landing of the economy, triggering U.S. stocks for two consecutive days. Affected by panic selling, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted by nearly 1,000 points on Friday, falling below the 40,000-point mark. After closing down 494 points on Thursday, the Dow opened 272 points lower on Friday and fell sharply. The decline once expanded to a maximum of 989 points and a low of 39,358 points. The S&P 500 fell as much as 2.66% at one point, and the Nasdaq fell as much as 3.56%. The VIX volatility index, commonly known as the "fear index", surged as much as 59.5% to 29.66.

 At the close of the U.S. market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 610 points, or 1.51%, to 39,737 points; the S&P Index fell 100 points, or 1.84%, to 5,346 points; and the Nasdaq fell 417 points, or 2.43%, to 16,776 points. 

The U.S. dollar index fell as much as 1.24% to 103.125, while the Euro rose 1.26% to $1.0929. Capital flowed into safe-haven assets, with the Japanese yen climbing as much as 1.97%, reaching a high of 146.42 per US dollar and a low of HK$5.2176 per 100 yen. 

The spot gold price once again challenged a new record high. It once reached a high of US$2,477.73 per ounce, rising 1.28%, and then fell by 1.44% to a low of US$2,411.2.