Breakfast | Federal Reserve officials will speak intensively, investors are crazy about betting on NVIDIA call options.
- Apple has reportedly paused the development of foldable iPhones. The EU is set to impose a fine of around 500 million euros on Apple for the first time. Alibaba's Hema, a subsidiary, is piloting synchronized online and offline low-price strategies. JD is exploring the acquisition of the UK home appliance retailer Currys. Xiaomi's smart factory in Changping, Beijing, has been completed and put into operation. Today, the New York Stock Exchange is closed for Presidents' Day.
Good morning! A great day starts with making money.
Today, the New York Stock Exchange is closed for Presidents' Day. The Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada is closed for Heritage Day.
Overnight and This Morning Market Update
US stock index futures were mostly flat in early Asian trading on Monday.
Gold and silver prices opened with little fluctuation, at $2014.2 per ounce and $23.35 per ounce respectively.
Bitcoin briefly rose above $52,000 per coin.
During the Spring Festival holiday, most major global stock indices rose, with Chinese assets seeing significant gains. Last week, the Dow fell by 0.11%, the S&P 500 fell by 0.42%, and the Nasdaq fell by 1.34%. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rose by 3.77% over the first three days of the Lunar New Year, while the Hang Seng TECH Index surged by 6.89%.
This week, companies such as Home Depot, Walmart, HSBC Holdings, Trip.com, NVIDIA, Lucid, Rivian Automotive, Lenovo Group, Nikola, and Moderna will release their earnings reports.
On Thursday, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting, and on Tuesday, China will announce the one-year and five-year loan prime rates for February. Xiaomi will hold its first "All-in-One Home, Car, and Life Ecosystem" launch event on Thursday, where the Xiaomi 14Ultra will be officially unveiled. On Friday, Federal Reserve officials Bowman, Cook, and Waller will deliver speeches.
Blue Chips and Hot Stocks
Investors are buying NVIDIA call options at the fastest pace in years. Derivatives market experts believe that investors are overly optimistic about high-risk options bets, and even if NVIDIA's performance meets Wall Street's expectations, the mere fact of the profit report being released is enough to cause a decline in major US stock indices due to internal dynamics in the options market.
Media: Apple has shelved plans to develop a foldable iPhone due to suppliers' screens not meeting the company's strict testing standards.
Tech journalist Gurman: Apple's next-generation VisionPro will be launched at least 18 months later and will have the following features: VisionPro can display multiple Mac desktop screens when used as an external monitor. Multiple VisionPro users in a FaceTime meeting can use Personas. The current version only supports one-on-one chats with Personas.
Financial Times: The EU is set to fine Apple for the first time over music streaming issues, with fines potentially reaching up to €500 million, expected to be announced early next month.
Media: JD.com is exploring the acquisition of the UK home appliance retailer Currys. Currys and JD.com are also exploring joint ventures and strategic investments. Currys revealed on Saturday that it had rejected a £700 million takeover offer from activist investor Elliott Advisors, as they significantly undervalued the company and its future prospects.
UK AI chip company Graphcore is considering a sale to foreign owners, with potential buyers including OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and Arm, with the deal potentially valued at over $500 million.
Pika founder Guo Wenjing responded to Sora's release announcement: "We find this to be very exciting news, and we are already preparing to go head-to-head with Sora directly."
- Lei Jun: Xiaomi's intelligent factory in Changping, Beijing officially started production today, with an annual output of tens of millions of flagship smartphones.
- OPPO CEO Chen Mingyong: 2024 will be the first year of AI smartphones. AI smartphones will become the third stage of the mobile phone industry after feature phones and smartphones.
- Meizu announced a strategic adjustment, will fully invest in AI strategic layout, and stop the new project of traditional "smartphones."
- BMW Group, together with Anglo Platinum and Sasol, launched a hydrogen fuel cell car test fleet in South Africa. BMW South Africa stated that they plan to provide mass-produced models to customers from 2025 to 2030.
- Wang Chuanfu from BYD: The penetration rate of new energy vehicles will exceed 50% in a single month this year.
- GAC Group announced a 6-month shutdown, with internal sources stating that the company is just adjusting and resting for a period of time.
- Faraday Future responds to being sued for overdue rent: Actively negotiating to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
- Alibaba's Hema Xiansheng has synchronized online and offline low prices in 81 stores in Beijing, Nanjing, and Changsha since February 18, and reduced the prices of store products, covering categories such as seafood, aquatic products, and meat.
- IPO Opportunities Lianlian Digital's Hong Kong IPO plan has been filed with the Securities and Futures Commission, planning to issue 206 million shares for listing.
- Macro: Taking You Around the World Albert Edwards, a renowned strategist at Societe Generale, believes that the concentration in the technology industry currently exceeds the extreme levels at the turn of the century. The value of the U.S. technology industry once again accounts for one-third of the U.S. stock market, which is incredible. He accurately predicted the Internet bubble at that time.
- According to CME's "Fed Watch": The probability that the Fed will maintain the interest rate unchanged in the range of 5.25%-5.50% in March is 90%, and the probability of a 25 basis point rate cut is 10%.
- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang presided over the third plenary session of the State Council to discuss the draft of the "Government Work Report" and mobilize efforts to do a good job at the beginning of the year.
- China's Ministry of Finance: Pilot the preferential stamp duty policy for offshore trade in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the Lingang New Area from April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025.
- Hong Kong Secretary for Administration and Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan: Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area will transform research advantages and talent advantages into development advantages through four major directions.