Hot news

• A number of senior Federal Reserve officials spoke, they are not in a hurry to cut interest rates, nor are they afraid of January's inflation data

On Thursday, a number of senior Federal Reserve officials delivered speeches. Although recent data shows that US inflation has risen, and senior Federal Reserve officials have acknowledged this, they have generally not changed their previous view, that is, to cut interest rates two to three times this year. At the same time, they also indicated that interest rate cuts are not imminent. The president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve said she is increasingly confident that housing inflation is falling. The Atlanta Federal Reserve Chairman still anticipates that it is appropriate to start cutting interest rates in the summer. Chicago Federal Reserve Chairman said not to over interpret the monthly data.

• US PCE inflation recorded the biggest increase in nearly a year in January, supporting the FED's prudent interest rate cut strategy

On Thursday local time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Department of Commerce released the January PCE price index. As the most popular inflation indicator of the Federal Reserve, the US core PCE price index rose 0.4% month-on-month in January. Although it was in line with expectations, it was the biggest increase in a year, supporting policymakers to adopt a cautious strategy of cutting interest rates.

• US House of Representatives votes to pass short-term bill to prevent partial government shutdown

On February 29, local time, the US House of Representatives voted 320-99 to pass a short-term bill to avoid a partial shutdown of the US government. The bill would extend federal funding due at midnight on March 1 by one week and set a March 22 funding deadline for other government agencies. Currently, the bill will be transferred to the Senate for approval.

• Founder of cryptocurrency investment company Galaxy Digital: Bitcoin may experience some pullbacks and consolidation

Novogratz, founder of cryptocurrency investment company Galaxy Digital, said that we may see some pullbacks and consolidation in Bitcoin; crypto assets are at bubble level; Bitcoin is attracting a “new army of buyers”; I think the current market is overleveraged; it will witness boom and bust in the short term; and the pullback may push Bitcoin to the level of 55,000 dollars.

Resumption of US stock trading

• The NASDAQ hit a record closing high, chip stocks led the way, and AMD surged more than 9%

After three days of sideways turbulence, the US stock market returned to the main story on Thursday: with the latest PCE inflation data “on a downward trajectory in line with expectations,” the three major indices collectively closed higher. The NASDAQ reached a record closing high for the first time since November 2021, and the S&P 500 index hit a new closing high.

Most tech giants are striving to reach new heights. Among them, Intel and Amazon rose more than 2%, Nvidia rose nearly 2%, Microsoft, META, Google-A rose more than 1%, and Tesla and Apple fell slightly. AMD surged more than 9% and surpassed US$310 billion in market capitalization.

• After C3.ai's performance, it soared by more than 24%, and revenue for the third fiscal quarter increased 18% year over year, exceeding expectations

AI software service provider$C3.ai (AI.US)$Surging by more than 24%, the company's third-fiscal quarter revenue increased 18% year over year to US$78.4 million, better than analysts' average expectations of US$76.1 million; adjusted loss per share was US$0.13, better than analysts' average expected loss of $0.28 per share. Among them, subscription revenue increased 23% year over year to US$70.4 million, better than analysts' average expectations of US$66.6 million.

• Dell's performance was better than expected, demand for AI servers increased, and US stocks once soared by nearly 20% after the market

$Dell Technologies (DELL.US)$The released fourth-quarter earnings report showed that the results exceeded analysts' expectations and showed strong demand for its artificial intelligence servers. Operating income was $22.32 billion, and market expectations were $22.16 billion; adjusted earnings per share were $2.20, and market expectations were $1.73. Additionally, the company says demand for AI servers is growing, increasing its annual dividend by 20%. As of press time, Dell surged nearly 20% after the market.

• OKTA rose nearly 23%, and Q4 revenue and performance guidelines completely exceeded expectations

cybersecurity company$Okta (OKTA.US)$It rose nearly 23%, a record high since June 2022. OKTA's revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 was $605 million, up from $510 million in the same period last year, and surpassed analysts' expectations of $587.6 million. The company expects revenue for the first fiscal quarter of fiscal year 2025 of $603 million to $605 million and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.54 -0.55, all exceeding expectations.

• The performance exceeded expectations, and the “New American East” increased by more than 20% after the performance of many neighboring countries

“America's New East”$Duolingo (DUOL.US)$After the results, it surged more than 22%. The company released financial report for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2023, showing that Duolingo's 2023 Q4 revenue increased 45% year-on-year to US$151 million, higher than analysts' expectations of US$148 million; net profit of US$12.1 million (earnings per share) was higher than analysts' expectations of US$0.04 per share. In terms of performance guidance, the company also expects better-than-expected revenue for this quarter and 2024.

• SoundHound's US stock fell nearly 15% after the market, and fourth quarter revenue fell short of expectations. This year's revenue is expected to exceed 100 million

“Nvidia Concept Stock”$SoundHound AI (SOUN.US)$US stocks fell nearly 15% after the market. The company's fourth-quarter revenue was US$17.1 million, up 80% year on year. Analysts expected US$17.8 million. A loss of $0.07 per share for the fourth quarter. Full-year revenue of $45.9 million, up 47% from the previous year. The growth rate is expected to accelerate in fiscal year 2025, and revenue is expected to exceed US$100 million, achieving a positive adjusted EBITDA.

• Trump was charged with raiding stock dilution, and concept stocks plummeted

As of Thursday's close, Trump concept stocks$Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC.US)$Diving plummeted 8.86%. According to the news, Trump Media Technology Group, which is about to merge with the company, is involved in a shareholder dispute. United Atlantic Ventures, which holds 8.6% of the shares, accuses Trump of trying to dilute their shares before US stocks are listed, causing their equity to fall below 1%.

Top 20 US stock turnover

Hong Kong Market Outlook

• Beishui sold Tencent for nearly HK$200 million, adding positions to China Telecom and SMIC

On February 29 (Thursday), Southbound made a net purchase of HK$1,368 billion in Hong Kong stocks.

$CHINA TELECOM (00728.HK)$,$SMIC (00981.HK)$,$PING AN (02318.HK)$Received net purchases of HK$137 million, HK$129 million and HK$122 million respectively;

$TENCENT (00700.HK)$,$CHINA SHENHUA (01088.HK)$,$LI AUTO-W (02015.HK)$Net sales were HK$186 million, HK$165 million and HK$137 million respectively.

• NetEase Q4 net revenue was 27.14 billion yuan, up 7% year-on-year

$NTES-S (09999.HK)$According to the release of financial reports for the fourth quarter and full year of 2023, NetEase's net revenue for Q4 of 2023 was 27.14 billion yuan, an increase of 7% over the previous year; net profit attributable to the company's shareholders was 6.582 billion yuan, compared to 3,953 billion yuan for the same period of the previous year.

The company announced that its board of directors approved a share repurchase plan totaling no more than $5 billion. As of December 31, 2023, the company had purchased approximately 7.2 million ADS shares, totaling approximately US$644 million.

Today's attention

Keywords: China's official manufacturing PMI, China Caixin manufacturing PMI

In terms of economic data, investors can focus on China's official manufacturing PMI and China's Caixin manufacturing PMI on Friday.

Previously, China's official manufacturing industry was 49.2% in January, and the non-manufacturing PMI was 50.7%, both rebounding month-on-month. The comprehensive PMI rose 0.6% to 50.9% month-on-month, indicating that the manufacturing boom has rebounded and the overall production and operation activities of enterprises have continued to expand, but the official manufacturing PMI has been in a contraction range for four consecutive months.

On February 20, the Central Bank of China “cut interest rates asymmetrically,” and the five-year LPR was lowered by 25 basis points from the previous value, making it the largest single “interest rate cut” in history. After a lapse of 8 months, the five-year LPR dropped for the first time. It is expected to drive down financing costs for the real economy, drive economic data such as PMI to continue to pick up, and consolidate and enhance the positive trend of China's economic recovery.

Futubull Chen read:

I don't spend too much time regretting my past, and once I learn my lessons, I won't get stuck in it again.
—Charlie Munger

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Editor/Somer