Hot News

• Trump nominates Bowman to serve as Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, likely to relax regulations.

On Monday, U.S. President Trump announced the nomination of Federal Reserve Governor Michelle 'Miki' Bowman to be Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve, a decision welcomed by Wall Street banks and small to mid-sized lending institutions. Analysts believe that if the U.S. Senate confirms the nomination, Bowman will adopt a more lenient approach to bank regulation than her predecessor, Barr, because she has long criticized the 'Basel III Finalization' rules requiring banks to hold more capital. This rule, proposed by Barr, aims to reform the risk assessment methods of large banks, while Bowman believes that banks' capital burdens should be reduced.

• The White House reiterates that the reciprocal tariffs will take effect on April 2, and the U.S. Trade Representative is working to implement the tariff plan in an 'orderly' manner.

The White House press secretary reiterated that reciprocal tariffs will take effect on April 2. Media reports state that the Trade Representative is trying to restore some traditional processes for announcing new tariffs on April 2, seeking input from businesses and stakeholders before implementing the tariffs. Trump's chief economic advisor warned that tariffs would create uncertainty from now until April 2 but anticipates that the situation will become clearer after April 2.

• Research Institutions: The trade volume of US Treasury bonds in February reached a record high.

According to data from financial analysis company Crisil Coalition Greenwich, February was the busiest month in the history of the US Treasury bond market. The uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policies and the increased bets on interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve boosted trading volume. The company's Market Structure Research Director, Kevin McPartland, wrote in the report: "Will they raise tariffs? The unexpected inflation and the resurgence of rate cut expectations kept investors and traders busy." The average daily nominal trading volume of US Treasury bonds in February was 1.068 trillion USD, a year-on-year increase of 16%, exceeding August 2024 to become the most active month on record. February 28 surpassed October 31 to become the busiest day ever.

• The Ministry of Commerce will provide necessary support to foreign trade enterprises to help them expand their domestic sales.

According to sources from Yuyuantan, insiders revealed that to counter external shocks, China's Ministry of Commerce will implement a series of measures to help foreign trade enterprises expand their domestic sales channels. Last weekend, the Minister of Commerce conducted research on foreign trade enterprises in Shanghai. In the future, the Ministry of Commerce will also hold a series of "Foreign Trade Quality Products in China" activities across various regions to build a platform for foreign trade enterprises to expand domestic sales. These series of actions send three signals to the market: First, there is ample development space for foreign trade enterprises to shift to domestic sales. Second, the Ministry of Commerce will provide corresponding support to address concerns raised by foreign trade enterprises. Third, promoting the integration of domestic and foreign trade and assisting foreign trade enterprises in expanding domestic sales will be a long-term strategy, not just a temporary measure taken in response to external shocks.

Post-Market Trading

• The three major U.S. stock indexes rose together, with the China Golden Dragon Index closing at a 37-month high.

On Monday (March 17), U.S. stocks opened lower but rose, with all three major indexes closing up, continuing the rebound momentum from last Friday. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% at 41,841.63 points; the S&P 500 Index was up 0.64% at 5,675.12 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.31% at 17,808.66 points, all rising for two consecutive days.

Most large technology stocks fell; Apple rose 0.24%, NVIDIA fell 1.76%, Microsoft rose 0.04%, Amazon fell 1.12%, Alphabet-C fell 0.63%, Meta Platforms fell 0.44%, Broadcom fell 0.53%, and Tesla fell 4.79%.

The Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rose 4.03%, closing at its highest level since February 2022.

Most China Concept Stocks rose, with Qifu Technology up 9.12%, Baidu up 9.01%, TAL Education up 7.67%, PDD Holdings up 5.19%, JD.com up 4.75%, Alibaba up 4.59%, Tencent Music up 4.06%, XIAOMI-W up 3.5%, NIO up 2.65%, and New Oriental up 0.16%.

Quantum computing concept stocks all rose, with Arqit Quantum soaring nearly 57%, Quantum rising 40%, and SEALSQ Corp and Quantum Computing both rising over 13%.

• Intel's stock rose nearly 7%, a fiery start for the new CEO: plans to restructure the foundry and AI business while laying off employees.

Media reports that Chen Lifeng has officially returned on Tuesday. $Intel (INTC.US)$ Before returning, he had been formulating a comprehensive reform plan, which includes restructuring Intel's layout in the AI field and reducing the workforce to address what he sees as bloated and inefficient middle management issues. Moreover, adjustments to Intel's manufacturing business will be one of Chen Lifeng's core priorities, hoping to attract more orders by improving yield rates. At the close, Intel rose nearly 7%.

• Tesla China has launched a free trial event for FSD: lasting one month.

$Tesla (TSLA.US)$ China has announced that the FSD Smart Assisted Driving feature limited-time experience event has begun. Event dates: March 17 to April 16, 2025, subject to actual activation by the vehicle. Due to factors such as batch PUSH, the specific time for vehicles to receive it may vary slightly. At the same time, Tesla also issued a disclaimer: the FSD Smart Assisted Driving function is still an L2 combined driving assistance; if traffic regulations are violated, or accidents occur, any resulting fines, demerits, and compensation must be borne by the driver.

• Google may collaborate with MediaTek to develop AI Chips, and Broadcom's exclusive supply may be impacted.

$Alphabet-C (GOOG.US)$ Plans to collaborate with Broadcom's competitor MediaTek to develop some AI Chips TPU. Analysts state that if Google ultimately implements this new plan, Broadcom may have to share the TPU business with competitors MediaTek, which could mean that Broadcom will lose exclusive control over Google's TPU business, potentially impacting Broadcom's AI revenue expectations. However, Broadcom is still actively negotiating with Google, and part of the reason Google is considering MediaTek is due to their lower chip Quote. On Monday,$Broadcom (AVGO.US)$ Closed down 0.53%.

• Apple's stock price experienced its worst week since 2022, prompting Wall Street to defend the stock price.

Due to tariff and economic outlook uncertainties, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ the stock price fell nearly 11% last week, exceeding the decline of the Nasdaq 100 Index. Despite concerns, some Analysts believe that Apple's stable profit growth, significant free cash flow, and brand strength make it a safe haven in turbulent markets. Analysts expect that new iPhone features and models will boost the average selling price, with iPhone revenue expected to grow by about 10% in the fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

• From 100 billion to 200 billion dollars! Trump increases investment amount for Taiwan Semiconductor in the USA.

According to Taiwan's United News Network reported on March 17, U.S. President Trump recently mentioned Taiwan Semiconductor Chairman Wei Zhejia in an interview, calling him "one of the most respected people in business" and increasing the investment amount for Taiwan Semiconductor from the original 100 billion dollars to 200 billion dollars. In Trump's presence, Wei Zhejia announced at the White House that Taiwan Semiconductor would increase its investment by 100 billion dollars, planning to build three wafer fabrication plants and also establish a research and development center in the USA. As of closing, $Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM.US)$ rose over 1%.

• The antitrust trial against Meta will begin next month, with the FTC Chairman claiming to have sufficient resources to combat tech giants.

Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), stated that the agency is preparing for a trial next month regarding a breakup. $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ Although the government is striving to cut costs, the FTC still has sufficient resources to oversee the financially powerful tech industry. "We are preparing for the trial," Ferguson said when asked if the FTC would push to force Meta to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. The eight-week trial is expected to start on April 14. "We have arranged for some of the FTC's best lawyers to handle this case and are ready."

• Berkshire Hathaway Class A and B shares reached new highs, with the latest report showing that Buffett continues to increase his holdings in Japanese trading companies.

The latest regulatory documents show that Warren Buffett's $Berkshire Hathaway-B (BRK.B.US)$ holdings in five Japanese trading companies have increased, marking the latest investment by this American conglomerate in Japan's top commodity companies since it began nearly five years ago. Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in Mitsui & Co. from 8.09% to 9.82%, increased its share in Mitsubishi Corporation from 8.31% to 9.67%, boosted its stake in Sumitomo Corporation from 8.23% to 9.29%, raised its holdings in Itochu Corporation from 7.47% to 8.53%, and increased its stake in Marubeni Corporation from 8.30% to 9.30%.

• "Lidar's first stock" Hesai rose over 12%, planning to establish overseas factories next year to avoid tariff risks.

According to reports, as customers urge it to avoid the impacts of the geopolitical situation, $Hesai (HSAI.US)$ it plans to set up overseas factories next year. Hesai Technology's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fan stated in an interview that the company, aside from its factory in China, also seeks to establish production lines overseas to 'avoid geopolitical and tariff-related risks,' adding that 'customers looking to diversify their risks find this approach wise.' As of the market close, Hesai had risen over 12%.

• Cryptocurrency concept stock Bakkt plummeted nearly 30% in after-hours trading, applying to delay the release of its 10-K annual report.

Bakkt Holdings Inc. has applied to delay the release of its 10-K annual report but has not given any reason. Bank of America will not renew/extend the business agreement, with Merrill Lynch accounting for 16% of the company's chartered service revenue. As of press time, $Bakkt Holdings (BKKT.US)$ It plummeted nearly 30% in after-hours trading.

• Baidu rose by 9%, officially releasing the Wenxin large model 4.5 and X1.

$Baidu (BIDU.US)$ Officially released Wenxin large model 4.5 and Wenxin large model X1, which are now online on the Wenxin Yiyan website and available for users free of charge. Wenxin large model 4.5 is Baidu's first native multimodal large model, with significant improvements in multimodal understanding, text and logical reasoning, outperforming GPT4.5 in multiple tests, and the API call price is only 1% of GPT4.5. The Wenxin large model X1 is a deep thinking model that performs comparably to DeepSeek-R1, supporting multimodal and multi-tool calling capabilities, with the API call price being approximately half of R1's. As of press time, Baidu has risen by 9%.

Top 20 by trading volume in the U.S. stock market.

Hong Kong Market Outlook

• Northbound funds bought over 10 billion Hong Kong dollars of Hong Kong stocks! Increased holdings in TRACKER FUND OF HONG KONG by more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, aggressively purchasing more than 0.8 billion Hong Kong dollars worth of Li Auto.

On March 17 (Monday), southbound funds net bought 10.483 billion Hong Kong dollars of Hong Kong stocks.

$TRACKER FUND OF HONG KONG (02800.HK)$、$LI AUTO-W (02015.HK)$、$Hang Seng H-Share Index ETF (02828.HK)$Net purchases were 2.007 billion HKD, 0.831 billion HKD, and 0.708 billion HKD respectively.

$SMIC (00981.HK)$、$XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)$、$MEITUAN-W (03690.HK)$Net sell-offs of 0.488 billion Hong Kong dollars, 0.405 billion Hong Kong dollars, and 0.347 billion Hong Kong dollars respectively.

• BYD has launched 'Megawatt Flash Charging': peak charging speed of 2 kilometers per second.

$BYD COMPANY (01211.HK)$ At the BYD Super e-platform technology launch held last night, the 'Megawatt Flash Charging' technology was unveiled. Wang Chuanfu, Chairman of BYD Group, stated that this technology can achieve a maximum charging voltage of 1000V, maximum charging current of 1000A, a maximum charging rate of 10C, and maximum charging power of 1MW, allowing for a peak charging speed of 2 kilometers per second and a 5-minute charge providing 407 kilometers of range. BYD also plans to construct over 4000 'Megawatt Flash Charging Stations.'

Today's focus.

Keywords: NVIDIA GTC 2025 conference's China AI Day, USA February import price index month-on-month, Xiaomi/Xpeng Motors performance.

On Tuesday, in terms of economic data, investors can pay attention to USA February new housing starts annualized, USA February building permits total, USA February import price index month-on-month, USA February industrial production month-on-month, and other data.

In terms of financial events, the China AI Day "Cloud and Internet online Chinese session" at NVIDIA GTC 2025 conference is scheduled to officially commence at 9:30 AM Beijing time on March 18. This session gathers leading cloud and internet companies in China, including ByteDance, Volcano Engine, Alibaba Cloud, Baidu, ANT GROUP CO., LTD., JD.com, MEITUAN, Kuaishou, Baichuan Intelligence, Laiye Technology, and Votee AI.

In terms of Earnings Reports, $XIAOMI-W (01810.HK)$ 、 $CHINA UNICOM (00762.HK)$ 、 $HKELECTRIC-SS (02638.HK)$ 、 $KE Holdings (BEKE.US)$ 、 $XPeng (XPEV.US)$ The results will soon be announced.

Futubull Morning Reading:

I like simple things.
——Warren Buffett

Editor/Rocky