- Asia Stocks Gain Led by Tech as Gold, Bitcoin Rise: Markets Wrap
Asian equities rose Friday, with semiconductor companies rallying as investors shook off initial concerns over
Nvidia Corp.’s revenue outlook. Gold jumped. Shares in Australia, Japan and South Korea rose. The MSCI Asia
Pacific index climbed as much as 0.7%, as technology stocks in the region rebounded from Thursday’s selloff,
encouraged by Nvidia’s gain in the US. Shares in Hong Kong and China fell, extending losses into midday, after
an index of US-listed Chinese stocks dropped 1% Thursday. - Dow closes more than 450 points higher as investors snap up stocks tied to the economy
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 rose Thursday as investors poured into cyclical stocks
poised to benefit from an accelerating economy and rotated out of technology shares. The Dow gained
461.88 points, or 1.06%, to finish at 43,870.35. The S&P 500 added 0.53% to close at 5,948.71. The tech
heavy Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.03% gain to end at 18,972.42. - Oil rises as intensifying Ukraine war increases supply risk
Oil prices rose on Friday after Russia said it had fired a ballistic missile at Ukraine and warned of a broadening
conflict, raising the prospect of tightening crude supplies. Brent crude futures gained 14 cents, or 0.2%, to
$74.37 a barrel by 0007 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.27
per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that the Ukraine war was growing into a global
conflict after the U.S. and Britain allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with their weapons. Putin, who said Russia
responded to the use of U.S. and British missiles by firing a new kind of hypersonic medium-range ballistic
missile at a Ukrainian military facility, warned the West that Moscow could retaliate further. - Gold marches towards best week in a year amid escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict
Gold prices were headed for their best week in a year on Friday, supported by safe-haven demand
amid further escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war, while investors assessed the outlook for U.S. interest rate
cuts. Spot gold rose 0.7% to $2,688.70 per ounce as of 0306 GMT. Bullion was up nearly 5% for the week so
far, its best week since early October 2023. U.S. gold futures gained 0.6% to $2,691.00. Gold is drawing
support from Bitcoin’s surge towards $100,000, escalations between Russia and Ukraine and the risk
of further conflict, said Marex analyst Edward Meir. - Hong Kong’s consumer prices rise 1.4% in October as inflation remains modest
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) has announced that Hong Kong’s Consumer Price Index (CPI)
for October 2024 saw an overall increase of 1.4% compared to the same month last year, a decrease from the
2.2% rise recorded in September. This moderation in inflation was attributed to the fading impact of previous
government relief measures, particularly the rates concession and waived extra public housing rent from the
third quarter of 2023. When excluding these one-off government interventions, the underlying inflation rate
for October was 1.2%, an increase from the 0.9% recorded in September, largely driven by rising public
housing rentals. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average monthly increase in the Composite CPI for the
three months ending October was just 0.1%, down from 0.4% in the preceding three-month period. The
adjusted rates, after accounting for government relief measures, remained similarly subdued. Breaking down
the CPI by sub-index, the year-on-year increases for CPI(A), CPI(B), and CPI(C) in October were 1.6%, 1.3%,
and 1.2%, respectively, compared to higher rates in September. Excluding government relief effects, these
rates were slightly improved at 1.5%, 1.1%, and 1.1% for October. Significant price increases were observed
in categories such as alcoholic drinks and tobacco (up 21.8%), electricity, gas, and water (up 8.5%), and meals
out and takeaway food (up 1.7%). Conversely, decreases were noted in clothing and footwear (-1.4%),
durable goods (-0.7%), and basic food items (-0.5%). For the first ten months of 2024, the Composite CPI has
increased by 1.8% year-on-year, with CPI(A), CPI(B), and CPI(C) showing respective rises of 2.2%, 1.7%, and
1.6%. After adjusting for government measures, these increases were lower, indicating a more stable
inflationary environment. - China says it is willing to talk with U.S. to push forward bilateral trade
China is willing to conduct active dialogue with the United States based on the principles of mutual respect
and promote the development of bilateral economic and trade relations, vice commerce minister Wang
Shouwen said on Friday. Wang, also China’s International Trade Representative, said China would be able to
resolve and resist the impact of external shocks, responding to a question about the impact of potential
tariffs from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. We believe that China and the U.S. can maintain a stable,
healthy, and sustainable development trend in economic and trade relations, Wang said at a press
conference in Beijing. China is also willing to expand areas of cooperation and manage differences with the
U.S., Wang said. With Trump’s threat to impose tariffs in excess of 60% on all Chinese goods, which has
rattled Chinese manufacturers and accelerated factory relocation to Southeast Asia and other regions,
Chinese exporters are bracing for any trade disruptions. - Japan’s Ishiba Ekes Out More Stimulus in Show of Policy Progress
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba confirmed Friday that a stimulus package expected to gain approval
later in the day will be slightly bigger than last year’s as he followed up on a pledge to ramp up support for
households and businesses struggling to cope with higher costs. The most important thing is to raise wages
for all generations, Ishiba told reporters Friday. This needs to happen now and in the future. Ishiba said the
overall working size of the package would reach ¥39 trillion ($250 billion), honing in on a figure that usually
relies on projected spending from the private sector. The premier confirmed that the actual cost of the
measures would essentially be closer to ¥13.9 trillion, in line with a figure seen by Bloomberg in a draft of the
package. - Singapore Raises 2024 Growth Forecast as Recovery Takes Hold
Singapore raised its growth forecast for this year as the economy is recovering faster than anticipated,
though it cautioned on risks for 2025 given an expected barrage of tariffs from a new Trump administration.
The government upgraded its estimated 2024 expansion to around 3.5% from a previous range of 2%-3%
suggesting Singapore’s recovery is well entrenched. It sees next year’s growth in a 1%-3% range, reflecting
global volatility given likely trade tensions generated by Donald Trump’s presidency, China’s slowdown and
other geopolitical fissures in the Middle East and Ukraine. - US Existing-Home Sales Rose in October After Mortgage-Rate Drop
Sales of previously owned US homes rose in October by the most since earlier this year, as buyers took
advantage of a dip in mortgage rates in the previous month. Contract closings increased 3.4% from a month
earlier, the most since February, to a 3.96 million annualized rate, according to data released Thursday by the
National Association of Realtors. That was in line with the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of
economists and followed the weakest pace since late 2010. Despite the uptick in sales, the housing market
remains bogged down by topsy-turvy mortgage rates and limited choices. Mortgage rates had dipped to a
two-year low in September, persuading buyers to sign contracts that then closed the following month. - Japan’s October headline inflation rate falls, but economists still see BOJ rate hike on the table
Japan’s headline inflation rate slipped to 2.3% in October, its lowest level since January and down from the
2.5% seen in September. The core inflation rate fell to 2.3% from 2.4%, slightly higher compared to the 2.2%
expected among economists polled by Reuters. - ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Israel’s Netanyahu on Gaza War Crimes
The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for
alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip, adding to pressure on the country’s leadership over the conduct of its
military campaign against Hamas. The Hague-based court’s announcement on Thursday followed a request
by the ICC’s chief prosecutor to judges in May, and relates to Israel’s ongoing war against the Iran-backed
militant group. The court also issued warrants for former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas
commander Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was killed in Gaza months ago. - China’s Baidu says advertisers still subdued as revenue falls 3%
China’s Baidu on Thursday said it had not yet seen any notable improvement in advertising spending patterns
or consumer spending despite recent government stimulus efforts, as it reported a 3% fall in third-quarter
revenue. The operator of China’s largest search engine relies on online advertising for more than half of its
revenue, making it highly sensitive to the slowing economy and weak consumption that has pressured
businesses, especially small and mid-sized enterprises, to curb advertising spend. Chinese policymakers have
in recent months unveiled a number of measures to try and pull the world’s second largest economy out of
its deflationary funk and Baidu said it believed it would still take some time for the measures to reach offline
merchants. So far in Q4, we have not observed a notable improvement in advertising spending patterns, and
consumer spending remains subdued, Baidu CEO Robin Li told analysts on a post-earnings call. We remain
conservatively optimistic about the recovery trend ahead. Revenue in Baidu’s online marketing division fell
4% to 18.8 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) in the quarter versus analysts’ 18.89 billion yuan estimate. - Nvidia results positive for Dell, HPE, SuperMicro
Nvidia’s latest earnings report highlights growing enterprise AI demand, with positive implications for server
manufacturers Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and SuperMicro, according to Citi analysts. The
bank explained in a note Thursday that Nvidia’s reported revenue of $35 billion for the October quarter
marked a 90% year-over-year increase and exceeded consensus expectations. Guidance for $37.5 billion in
the January quarter implies a 70% year-over-year growth trajectory, surpassing Street estimates.
Nvidia also announced that shipments of its Blackwell GPUs are set to begin next quarter and will ramp up
over the coming year, with demand projected to exceed supply for several quarters. Crucially, Nvidia
highlighted strong adoption of AI in enterprise environments, stating that enterprise AI revenue for the full
year is expected to more than double compared to 2023 levels, with a robust and growing pipeline.
We believe the demand read-through is positive for enterprise server OEMs, Citi wrote, specifically naming
Dell, HPE, and SuperMicro as key beneficiaries. Both Dell and HPE have recently emphasized the scale of the
AI opportunity. Dell estimates the AI total addressable market (TAM) to reach $174 billion by 2027,
representing a 20-25% compound annual growth rate from 2023 levels. HPE has cited similar projections,
aligning with Nvidia’s optimistic outlook for enterprise AI. - PDD Holdings stock tumbles 10% after posting disappointing Q3 results
PDD Holdings Inc. reported third quarter earnings that fell short of analyst expectations, sending shares
plunging 10.7% in premarket trading Thursday. The Chinese e-commerce giant posted adjusted earnings per
ADS of RMB18.59 ($2.65), missing estimates of RMB19.58. Revenue grew 44% year-over-year to RMB99.35
billion ($14.16 billion), but came in below the consensus forecast of RMB102.87 billion. While PDD Holdings
delivered strong top-line growth, investors were disappointed by weaker-than-expected results and
guidance. The company said its topline growth further moderated quarter-on-quarter amid intensified
competition and ongoing external challenges. Operating profit rose 46% to RMB24.29 billion ($3.46 billion).
However, sales and marketing expenses jumped 40% as the company increased spending on promotions and
advertising. - Snowflake shares surge on rosy forecast, AI deal with Anthropic
Snowflake’s shares surged more than 28% on Thursday after the data analytics provider raised its annual
product revenue forecast, signaling growing demand for cloud-based data storage and analytics. The
company, whose shares have fallen 35% this year, is on track for its best day since going public in 2020.
Its value is set to increase by over $12 billion to a market cap of $43.3 billion if gains hold. The Bozeman,
Montana-based company’s results come months after Sridhar Ramaswamy took over as CEO, having
previously spearheaded Snowflake’s AI strategy as SVP of AI, and analysts have been since watching how the
firm’s AI efforts are progressing under the new leadership. Snowflake announced a partnership with
Anthropic on Wednesday, which will allow its customers to enhance their AI applications using Anthropic’s
large language models on Snowflake’s cloud-based data platforms. The multi-year deal will also allow
Snowflake’s AI agents to analyze data and generate visualizations, among other functions, the company said.
The company expects product revenue of $3.43 billion for 2025, compared with its previous forecast of $3.36
billion. - Google must sell Chrome to restore competition in online search, DOJ argues
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Google must sell its Chrome browser, share data and search results with rivals
and take other measures – including possibly selling Android – to end its monopoly on online search,
prosecutors argued to a judge on Wednesday. The measures presented by the Department of Justice are part
of a landmark case in Washington which has the potential to reshape how users find information.
They would be in place for up to a decade, enforced via a court-appointed committee to remedy what the
judge overseeing the case deemed an illegal monopoly in search and related advertising in the U.S., where
Google processes 90% of searches. Google’s unlawful behavior has deprived rivals not only of critical
distribution channels but also distribution partners who could otherwise enable entry into these markets by
competitors in new and innovative ways, the DOJ and state antitrust enforcers said in a court filing on
Wednesday. Their proposals include ending exclusive agreements in which Google pays billions of dollars
annually to Apple and other device vendors to make its search engine the default on their tablets and
smartphones. Google called the proposals staggering in a statement on Thursday. DOJ’s approach would
result in unprecedented government overreach that would harm American consumers, developers, and small
businesses – and jeopardize America’s global economic and technological leadership at precisely the moment
it’s needed most, said Alphabet Chief Legal Officer Kent Walker. Alphabet shares closed nearly 5% lower on
Thursday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta has scheduled a trial on the proposals for April, though President
elect Donald Trump and the DOJ’s next antitrust head could step in and change course in the case.
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