Market Insights: Feb 21st, 2024

Stock Market:

• The A-share market opened low and went higher, with the Shanghai Composite Index quickly turning positive. Over 3,400 stocks in the entire market rose. Sectors such as reducers, industrial mother machines, integrated die casting, and robotics were active, whereas sectors like optical modules, weight loss drugs, semiconductor chips, and media faced significant declines.
• U.S. Treasury yields fell during the session, and the U.S. dollar index hit a new low for the first time in over a week.
• Nvidia’s post-market earnings guidance became a focal point, with Morgan Stanley believing that the B100 chip is crucial.

Cryptocurrency:

• Bitcoin surged to a new two-year high of $53,000 but then fell by more than $2,000.

Commodity Market:

• Crude oil fell by more than 1% today, dropping to a three-month low, with Brent crude falling for three consecutive days.
• Gold hit a new high for the first time in over a week, tin on the London Metal Exchange fell for five consecutive days, aluminium hit a new four-week low, and copper rebounded to a more than two-week high.

Economic Policy:

• China's five-year LPR was cut by 25 basis points, marking the largest single decrease in history, while the one-year LPR remained unchanged from its previous value.
• Several banks in Beijing and Shanghai simultaneously lowered mortgage rates on Tuesday.

Technology News:

• Elon Musk announced that the first human subject of Neuralink, his brain-computer interface company, has largely recovered and can control a mouse with their thoughts alone.

Company Dynamics:

• The quantitative trading giant Lingjun Investment sold off 2.567 billion yuan in one minute in both markets, which led to a trading ban and public reprimand by the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. Lingjun issued an apology and denied any of its fund products were being liquidated.
• Amazon will replace Walgreens as a Dow Jones Industrial Average component on February 26.

Financial Regulation:

• Howard Lee, Deputy Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said that banks should handle loan recovery in a humane manner but also need to manage risks.