Wolf Money(world market review 25-31 March 2024)

 

Bust of Khoo Teck Puat@York Hotel

Market Summary 25-31 Mar 2024

*USA* 

+ Powell said CPE inflation data for Feb was in line with expectations, wants to see ‘more good inflation readings’ before cut rates  

+ US GDP growth revised up to 3.4% YoY in Q4, higher than 3.3% registered in first estimate

+ US personal spending PCE grew by US$145.5bn or 0.8% in Feb MoM, biggest gain in a year, core PCE up by 0.3% as expected

+ US personal income rose by 0.3% in Feb MoM vs expectation of 0.4%

+ US retail sales rose 0.6% in Feb after falling a revised 1.1% in Jan

+ US wholesale inventories up by 0.5% in Feb MoM, amounted to US$901.1bn

+ US Consumer Sentiment Index rose 3.3% in Mar MoM to 79.4: Uni of Michigan 

+ US home prices in all 9 census divisions saw 6% jump in Jan on an annual basis

+ S&P maintained its AA+ long-term and A-1+ short-term unsolicited sovereign credit rating 

-US trade deficit in goods widens to US$91.8bn in Feb, largest in 10 mths, from revised US$90.51bn in Jan 

-US asked allies to halt servicing of key chipmaking tools for Chinese clients 

+ US oil inventories reportedly up by 9.38m barrels 

- US collapsed of Baltimore bridge expected to cause severe disruptions to local transport and logistics 

+ Tesla stepping up efforts to boost its full self-driving capability: WSJ

-Yellen: Chinese companies are producing too many batteries, solar panels and EVs, harming American workers

+ Microsoft, OpenAI may reportedly launch US$100bn supercomputer project 

+ Micron starts construction of new plant in Xi’an

-US Court of Appeal panel rejected Meta emergency request appeal to halt FTC probe 

+ Apple reportedly seeking partnership with Baidu on using its AI solution 

-Apple postponed launch of foldable iPhone to Q1 2027: DigitalTimes Asia 

+ Americans wealthiest to 1% get US$2 trillion richer, combined wealth grown to US$44.6 trillion: Fed 

-Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 yrs in prison for US$8bn FTX fraud 

*COMMODITY*

+ Gold hits new-all time high of US$2225

-Steel futures slumped to 4-year low of ¥3664 per tonne on Mar 28

+ Cocoa prices hit historic high at US$10,000 per metric ton mark

*CHINA*

+ China’s central govt expenditure expected to rise 8.6% YoY in 2024, up 0.3% for a year earlier 

+ Xi tells Dutch PM: No force can stop China’s tech advance 

+ Xi meets with US CEOs in Beijing, including Blackstone, Qualcomm< Bloomberg, FedEx top executives   

-China’s 10-year govt bond yield fell toward 2.2%, hitting all-time lows amid bets further ease policy to boost growth 

+ China’s industrial profits up 10.2% in Jan-Feb 

-China launched dispute over US EV subsidies 

-Country Garden to delay publication 2023 financial results, trading set to be suspended in HK

-China’s phone shipments down by 33% to reach 14.26m in Feb, 88% were 5G mobile phones 

+ China expected to see compound annual growth of 86.2% of GenAi investment to reach US$13bn by 2027 

+ China to accelerate AI innovation to empower high-tech manufacturing, lead by large language models 

+ China vowed to establish integrated computing, optimise distribution of computing power, boosting digital economy 

+ China to further accelerate optimisation of payment environment for foreign visitors 

-China issues travel advisory to citizens visiting the US, warning of 'unwarranted interrogations and harassment' 

+ Huawei revealed its earnings for 2023 more than double; sales up 9.6% as cloud and digital businesses grow 

+ Xiaomi formally launched its first first-ever EV received 88,898 orders EV Speed Ultra 7 (SU7) just 24 hrs after launching 

+ Tencent, Apple reportedly agreed to collab on Vision Pro

*EUROPE*

+ ECB’s Panetta: Consensus on rate cut growing 

+ Eurozone consumer confidence indicator up 0.6% in Mar to negative 14.9 for euro area and negative 15.2 in European bloc 

-EU opens probe  “non-compliance investigations” against Apple, Alphabet and Meta under Digital Markets Act 

-Germany jobless rate at 6% in Mar, 0.1% pt higher MoM, retail sales down 2.7% in Feb YoY 

+ French CPI rose by 2.3% in Mar, lowest level in 2.5 yrs, vs 3% in Feb 

-French producer prices dropped 1.7% MoM in Feb, down for 3rd mth 

-Ericsson to lay off about 1200 employees in Sweden as customers reduce spending on 5G gear    

+ Dutch gov't to invest $2.7 billion to keep ASML in the Netherlands

-Russia to cut oil production in Q2  

-Russia exits have cost Western firms >US$107bn: Reuters  

*OCEANIA* / *ASIA*

+ Australian wines export tariffs by China have been removed after more than 3 yrs 

-Japanese yen tumbled to its lowest level against USD since 1990  

+ Japan’s retail sales up 1.5% MoM, 4.6% YoY in Feb to ¥12.9 trillion in Feb, industrial output down 0.1% 

-Japan’s housing starts declined by 8.2% YoY in Feb 

+ Japan aims to develop a next-generation passenger aircraft by 2035, plans combined US$33bn in public and private investment  

-Japan to extend its trade sanctions set against Russia for another year 

+ South Korea’s output of semiconductor jumped the most in 14 yrs in Feb

+ South Korea, EU reached agreement to jointly research advanced semiconductors and next-gen network tech 

+ SK Hynix reportedly to invest US$4bn in Indiana

*ASEAN*

+ Indonesia’s President-elect Prabowo to visit China 

+ Thailand govt considering drafting a casino bill 

+ Vietnam’s GDP grew 5.66% YoY in Q1, highest since 2020, export growth returning to double-digit rate 

+ Vietnam FDI rose 7.1% YoY to US$4.6bn in Q1

+ Vietnam int’l tourist arrivals jumped by 78.6% YoY to 1.6m in Mar, vs 64.1% rise in Feb

+ Malaysia eyes RM367.8bn realised investments for Northern Corridor Economic Region by 2030: PM 

+ Malaysia projects Fed govt 2024 revenue to raise to RM312.159bn 

-SG inflation rises more than expected in Feb, core inflation at 3.6%, headline at 3.4% 

+ Sg factory output grew 3.8% YoY in Feb, vs estimates of 0.5% 

+ Sg share of newly created job vacancies at 6-year high

Contribution by Derek@valueinvestments chat group. Thank you.

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