Hot News

• On Thursday, in Pre-Market Trading of the USA, the number of initial jobless claims for the week ending December 21 was 0.219 million, with an expected 0.224 million and a previous value of 0.22 million; after the data release, the three major index futures fluctuated little and remained collectively lower.

Several auto stocks in the USA rose in Pre-Market Trading. $Toyota Motor (TM.US)$ Increased by more than 9%. $Honda Motor (HMC.US)$ 、 $Li Auto (LI.US)$ Increased over 4%, $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ Increased by 1%.

The drone concept in the USA's Pre-Market Trading surged, $Archer Aviation (ACHR.US)$ Increased by 2.31%, $SES AI Corp (SES.US)$ Increased by 36.62%, $Palladyne AI (PDYN.US)$Increased by 19.59%, $Unusual Machines (UMAC.US)$ Increased by 4%.

Bitcoin has fallen below $96,000, and the crypto concept stocks are correcting. $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ 、 $Bitdeer Technologies (BTDR.US)$ Dropped over 3%, $Coinbase (COIN.US)$ 、 $MARA Holdings (MARA.US)$ Dropped over 2%.

• Jensen Huang is coming with the RTX 5090 'nuclear bomb', the B300 will debut shortly.

At 10:30 AM Beijing time on January 7 next year, Jensen Huang will launch the RTX 50 series graphics card based on the BlackWell architecture during his keynote speech at CES in Las Vegas. $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ The graphics cards include the 5090 and 5080, and the 5070 Ti and 5070 may also be unveiled, but their release time will be later.

Although the specifications of the new graphics cards have been mentioned multiple times in various leaks, a photo of the "5090 PCB board" on the technology forum Chiphell this week still provides a fresh perspective. According to previous leaks, the GB202 chip used in the RTX 5090 graphics card will have an area of 744 square millimeters, a 22% increase compared to the AD102 of the 4090. The 16 pads around the GPU also correspond to the mentioned 32GB video memory.

• The "Technology Spring Festival" CES in 2025 is approaching, where NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel may release new products.

From January 7 to 10, 2025, the CES Global Consumer Electronics Show, referred to as the "Spring Festival" of Consumer Electronics, will be held in Las Vegas, USA.$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ A large number of new products are expected to be released, including mobile Zen5 X3D processors, Ryzen 9000X 3D processors, RDNA4 graphics cards, namely the RX8000 series, and the Strix Halo and Krackan APUs may also be officially released.$Intel (INTC.US)$ A keynote speech will be held to focus on the next-generation AIPC technology, showcasing a series of AI-empowered experiences including the latest Intel Core Ultra platform, and possibly launching a new generation of mobile platform, the Core 200 series.

• Another $42 billion will be used to buy Bitcoin! MicroStrategy plans to issue more Stocks.

In a filing submitted to the SEC this Monday, $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ the aim is to increase the authorized shares of Class A common stock and preferred stock to raise more funds to purchase Bitcoin. This also drove up the price of Bitcoin, which increased on Thursday. Currently, the Bitcoin held by MicroStrategy is valued at approximately $43 billion, accounting for about 2.2% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Sean McNulty, trading director at liquidity provider Arbelos Markets, stated that MicroStrategy's announcement to issue more stock next year to buy Bitcoin has pushed the price of Bitcoin higher. The market is optimistic about MicroStrategy's Bitcoin purchasing behavior, and this is the main reason for the market rise. Due to Bitcoin's decline to below $96,000 in Pre-Market Trading, $MicroStrategy (MSTR.US)$ it fell more than 3% in Pre-Market Trading.

• Is there going to be a push for a $4 trillion Market Cap tonight? Two major Banks have raised Apple's Target Price.

$Apple (AAPL.US)$ The stock price has repeatedly hit new highs in recent days, and the total Market Cap has now reached $3.9 trillion, just one step away from $4 trillion. Analyst Daniel Ives from Wedbush has raised the Target Price for Apple from $300 to $325 while maintaining an 'Outperform' rating. Wedbush has raised its Target Price to the high end of the Range, indicating a 26% increase compared to the previous price. Wedbush has raised Apple's Target Price from $300 to $325.

Analysts indicate that the seeds of Apple's 'Apple AI' strategy are being sown, which will change its Consumer growth trajectory in the coming years. They estimate that hundreds of applications being developed around 'Apple AI' should generate billions in revenue from services annually.

• Honda's stock rose over 4% in Pre-Market Trading, as it plans to finalize a business merger framework with Nissan by the end of January next year.

According to Kyodo News, both parties will focus on discussions in the merger preparation committee to be established in the future. Honda and Nissan announced on the 23rd the full launch of talks, planning to sign the merger contract in June next year, and establish a holding company that includes both parties and list it in August 2026. If the merger is realized, the new company will have annual sales exceeding 30 trillion yen (approximately 1.4 trillion yuan), becoming the third-largest automotive group by sales globally. Mitsubishi Motors, the largest shareholder, will decide by the end of January next year whether to join the talks, and the merger framework finalized by Honda and Nissan will serve as an important basis for judgment. As of the time of publication, $Honda Motor (HMC.US)$ Pre-Market Trading rises over 4%.

• Alibaba plans to merge its South Korean business with the E-Mart E-Commerce platform.

According to Bloomberg, informed sources revealed that $Alibaba (BABA.US)$ The group is about to reach an agreement to merge its South Korea operations with E-Mart Inc.'s E-Commerce platform to better compete in the online retail sector in South Korea. According to sources, the valuation of the new entity will be around 4 billion USD. Since the discussions are private, the sources requested anonymity. The sources said that the two companies are finalizing the details of the joint venture agreement, which could be announced as early as this week. As of publication, Alibaba is up over 0.48% in Pre-Market Trading.

• Confident in completing the acquisition! The plans of Nippon Steel to acquire United States Steel have been postponed until March next year.

According to CCTV, on December 26 local time, Nippon Steel Corporation stated that it cannot complete the acquisition within this year. $United States Steel (X.US)$ The acquisition will be delayed until March 2025. In 2023, Japan's Nippon Steel announced plans to acquire the century-old United States Steel Corporation and turn it into a wholly-owned subsidiary. This acquisition has faced multiple obstacles in the US political sphere. On December 2 of this year, elected president Trump posted on social media opposing the acquisition of United States Steel by Nippon Steel. Trump stated, "As president, I will prevent this deal from occurring." On December 20, Nippon Steel accused the US government of exerting "improper excessive interference" during the national security review of their acquisition of United States Steel and warned that legal action would be taken if the deal was blocked.

• Kingsoft Cloud rose over 11% in Pre-Market Trading, and recently, the Qinghai Intelligent Computing Center officially began running.

$Kingsoft Cloud (KC.US)$ In Pre-Market Trading, it rose over 11%. On the news front, in mid-December, the lighting event for the Kingsoft Cloud Qinghai Intelligent Computing Center was held at the CHINA TELECOM (National) Digital Qinghai Green Big Data Center in Haidong City, marking the official opening of the Kingsoft Cloud Qinghai Intelligent Computing Center. The total investment in this project is approximately 0.88 billion yuan, with a total of 256 computing server clusters planned, and a total computing scale exceeding 4000P. The first phase of the project was launched in mid-September this year and provided computing services to the outside world. As of December, 158 computing server clusters have been invested in the intelligent computing center nodes, with a computing scale exceeding 2048P and an investment completed of 0.4 billion yuan.

• Color Star Technology saw a surge of 100% in Pre-Market Trading as a member of the UAE royal family joined the company's Board of Directors.

$Color Star Technology (ADD.US)$ Color Star Technology is an entertainment technology company with a global network focused on the application of Technology and AI in the Entertainment sector. Today, it announced that Shaikh Humaid Abdulla Rashed Ahmed Almualla, a well-known member of the UAE royal family, officially joined the company as an independent director on the Board of Directors. As of the time of reporting, the company rose by 99.54% in Pre-Market Trading.

Global macro

• Citigroup released its Q1 stock strategy: it is recommended to increase holdings in sectors such as Medical Care, Communications Services, and Energy.

This week, Citigroup analysts announced their stock strategy for the first quarter of 2025, stating that in the face of unclear and changing macroeconomic conditions and policies, a more balanced approach should be adopted. Citigroup recommends increasing holdings in the Medical Care, Communications Services, and Energy sectors, and has upgraded the rating for the Medical Care sector to 'Increase Holdings', with special attention given to pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology due to moderate valuations and fundamentals nearing a turning point. Analysts are also bullish on Semiconductors in the information technology field, citing the industry's inherent growth potential and ongoing profit margin expansion capability. Meanwhile, Banks remain a preferred cyclical sector for Citigroup, receiving an 'Increase Holdings' rating, benefiting from improved deposit growth and loan repricing trends. Additionally, analysts downgraded Consumer Discretionary to 'Reduce Holdings.'

• Can U.S. stocks continue to rise? Research institutions say it depends on the performance of U.S. bonds and the dollar.

Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, pointed out in this week's report that based on recent trading levels, the dollar is currently only posing a 'slight' resistance to the US stock market, while the 10-year Treasury yield poses a 'moderate' resistance. However, if the dollar and Treasury yields rise further from now, it could pose greater challenges for the US stock market. Essaye believes that the trends in Treasury yields and the dollar may determine whether the stock market can stabilize in the near future. He wrote: 'In summary, a calm forex market and bond market are necessary conditions for the stock market to continue rising, while last week's situation was exactly the opposite (the dollar and Treasury yields both surged).'

• Is the "Trump Effect" already at work? Several states in the USA are considering establishing a Bitcoin Global Strategy reserve.

Since the day of the US election, Bitcoin has become one of the hottest commodities in the investment market. The elected president, Trump, promised to become the 'crypto president' and is said to build 'the most pro-Bitcoin government ever', which has caused Bitcoin prices to soar. With the date of Trump's inauguration approaching, some states in the USA have already begun to consider trial runs: so far, proposals to establish Bitcoin strategic reserves have been made by three states, namely Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

• The outlook for interest rate cuts is filled with uncertainty! Is the Federal Reserve really going to act based on Trump's opinions?

The Federal Reserve may need to observe the impact of elected president Trump's economic policies (including import tariffs) to more accurately predict the direction of inflation and interest rate changes in the first half of next year. Last week, the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark federal funds rate to 4.5%, marking its third consecutive rate cut; nevertheless, it raised its recent inflation expectations and mentioned the 'highly uncertain economic policy impact assessment' from the new government. Given the anticipated new economic realities, the Federal Reserve also halved its 2025 rate cut predictions, with the market currently expecting only two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve within the next 12 months.

• National Bureau of Statistics: China's 2023 GDP revised upward by 3.4 trillion yuan compared to preliminary estimates, an increase of 2.7%.

In accordance with the national economic accounting system and international practices, the National Bureau of Statistics utilized data from the fifth national economic census and relevant departmental information, and simultaneously implemented reforms to the accounting method for urban residents' own housing services. The GDP for the census year (2023) has been revised. The revised GDP for 2023 is 129427.2 billion yuan, an increase of 3369 billion yuan compared to the preliminary accounting, with a growth rate of 2.7%.

Bilibili rose more than 3% pre-market trading and was upgraded to "buy" by UBS, which raised its EPS estimate per share.

Editor/Rocky