Market Highlights 💡 - 20 November 2024

U.S. markets rise on optimism about earnings; Asian markets climb on expectations of more stimulus measures

🇺🇸 S&P 500 Index: +0.40% 📈

🇺🇸 Nasdaq Index: +1.04% 📈

🇪🇺 Stoxx 600 Index: -0.45% 📉

🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 Index: +0.51% 📈

🇭🇰 Hang Seng Index: +0.44% 📈

🇨🇳 Shanghai Shenzhen 300 Index: +0.67% 📈

🇸🇬 Straits Times Index: +0.68% 📈

U.S. Stock Market Overview

On Tuesday, U.S. stocks broadly rose, with the S&P 500 $S&P 500(.SPX)$  and Nasdaq $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ rising by 0.4% and 1.0%, respectively. Tech stocks led the gains as investors eagerly awaited Nvidia's earnings report later this week, while Walmart's stock climbed after the retailer raised its annual forecast.

Eurozone Inflation

The Eurozone's final CPI and core CPI increased by 2.0% and 2.7% year-over-year, respectively, in line with expectations.

Asia-Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed broadly higher, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index $HSI(HSI)$  and China's Shanghai Shenzhen 300 Index rising by 0.4% and 0.7%, respectively, on optimism that China will provide more support for Hong Kong's financial markets, reinforcing its position as a major financial center after its colonial history.

💡 Upcoming Events: 💡

Wednesday: China will announce its 1-year and 5-year Loan Prime Rate.

Thursday: The U.S. will release initial jobless claims and the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index.

Friday: The U.S. will report preliminary Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI; Europe will release preliminary Manufacturing PMI and Services PMI; Japan will report nationwide Core CPI (YoY).

💡 Things to Know Today: 💡

1. The G20 summit is set to take place on Tuesday, focusing on sustainable development and the transition to clean energy, aiming to increase the chances of a successful global warming agreement.

G20 Summit

2. After Ukraine was permitted to strike Russian territory, Russia signaled to the West its readiness for nuclear confrontation, but soon after, the Russian foreign minister stated that they would do everything possible to prevent nuclear war.

Nuclear war? Hopefully no

3. Walmart $Wal-Mart(WMT)$ reported earnings above expectations and raised its full-year sales and profit forecast for the third time this year, driven by increased grocery and merchandise purchases.

Walmart

4. Microsoft $Microsoft(MSFT)$  announced the development of two new types of infrastructure chips for its data centers, aimed at accelerating AI operations and enhancing data security.

Microsoft

5. China announced that it might include commodity trading in its cross-border investment plan, now allowing overseas investors to purchase RMB-denominated stocks, bonds, and financial products via Hong Kong.

✅ Key Takeaway:

The main focus today is to remain cautious about the situation in Ukraine. Most investors are flocking to large-cap stocks, which is somewhat surprising ahead of Nvidia's  $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$  earnings report, but these stocks have high liquidity.

Nvidia

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