Market Insights: Mar 29th, 2024

S&P 500 Index:

• The S&P 500 Index rose for five consecutive months, with gains exceeding 10% in two consecutive quarters. This marks the first time in a decade that it has risen for five consecutive months, with gains exceeding 10% in two consecutive quarters.
• Among the "Big Seven" tech giants, Tesla and Nvidia saw some fluctuations in their stock prices. Tesla’s stock price fell by more than 2%, with a nearly 30% decrease in the first quarter; while Nvidia's stock price initially fell by more than 1% but later rose, with a first-quarter gain exceeding 80%.
• Apple and Meta (formerly Facebook) had differing stock performances. Apple's stock fell by more than 10% in the first quarter, while Meta's stock rose by nearly 40%.
• AI concept stock Palantir was downgraded to a sell, leading to a stock price decline of more than 6%. Meanwhile, the stock price of Trump Media Company also fell by more than 6% after a significant rise in the first two days of trading prior to its IPO.

Performance of Chinese Stocks:

• Chinese stocks exceeded a 1% increase during the trading session but then surrendered more than half of the gains. Among them, Xpeng Motors rose by more than 4% but later fell by more than 1%; NIO’s stock price fell by more than 3%.

Bond Market:

• A "hawkish" statement by a Federal Reserve Board member led the yield on the ten-year US Treasury to rise from near two-week lows, with an overall decrease in yield exceeding 30 basis points in the first quarter.
• The US Dollar Index reached a six-week high; the offshore Chinese Yuan fell by more than 200 points, breaking below 7.26.
• After several days of fluctuations, Bitcoin rose by nearly $3,000, surpassing $71,000 and approaching a two-week high.

Oil Market:

• US crude oil prices rebounded, with gains exceeding 2%, approaching a high of over four months.
• Brent crude oil prices reached a five-month high, with gains exceeding 10% in the first quarter.

Gold Market:

• Gold reached new closing highs for two consecutive days, with a March increase of nearly 8%, marking the largest gain in over a year.

American Financial Fraud Case:

• Crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $11 billion, in what is called "the largest financial fraud case in American history."

European Central Bank Policy Expectations:

• François Villeroy, Governor of the Bank of France, stated that the European Central Bank should start lowering interest rates in its next two meetings to mitigate the risk of prolonged high interest rates on the economy and support taking the first step in April or June.

Dogecoin Price Increase:

• Dogecoin prices showed a significant increase recently, with a 40% rise in March and a year-to-date increase of 145%.

US Economic Data:

• The US GDP data for the fourth quarter was revised up to 3.4%, but with the quarter’s core PCE price index cooling more than expected, this data helps mitigate the negative impact brought about by Waller.

Global Stock Market Performance:

• The Pan-European stock index and German and French stock indexes continued to reach new historical highs, rising for five consecutive months and for two consecutive quarters.

A-Share Market:

• The three major A-share indexes slightly increased but overall showed a pattern of rising and then falling, with the low-altitude economy concept continuously exploding, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rising by more than 2%.
• Xiaomi’s car received 50,000 orders within 27 minutes of going on sale, with a starting price of 215,900 Yuan.
• Chinese stocks listed in the US had mixed performances, with Xiaomi's stock price surging by 12%, while stocks like Xpeng Motors and NIO experienced declines.

US Stock Market:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average showed minor fluctuations, failing to breach the 40,000 mark.
• The S&P 500 Index saw its initial gains gradually decrease, while the Nasdaq Composite Index experienced several ups and downs during early trading.