Market Highlights 💡 - 2 December 2024

S&P 500 Index Posts Best Monthly Performance of the Year, Chinese Factory Activity Continued to Expand in November

🇺🇸 S&P 500 Index: +0.57% 📈

🇺🇸 Nasdaq: +0.83% 📈

🇪🇺 STOXX 600 Index: +0.58% 📈

🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 Index: -0.37% 📉

🇭🇰 Hang Seng Index: +0.29% 📈

🇨🇳 CSI 300 Index: +1.14% 📈

🇸🇬 Straits Times Index: +0.05% 📈

U.S. stock markets closed higher in shortened holiday trading sessions, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively, while U.S. Treasury yields fell across the board as Trump's comments on the Treasury Secretary pick fueled hopes that tariffs would be implemented moderately.

APAC markets were mixed, with the Hang Seng Index rebounding by 0.3% due to gains across sectors, but it declined for the second consecutive month. The Nikkei 225 Index dropped by 0.4% as investors reacted to accelerating inflation data, which fueled speculation of interest rate hikes.

In November 2024, Tokyo's core consumer price index rose by 2.2% YoY, up from 1.8% last month and exceeding the market expectation of 2.1%.

In November 2024, China's official manufacturing PMI rose to 50.3, in line with expectations, after Beijing implemented a series of support measures, while the non-manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 (forecast: 50.2).

In October 2024, Japan's retail sales grew by 1.6% YoY, missing the expected 2.2%, but marking the 31st consecutive month of retail growth.

💡 Upcoming Events: 💡

Monday: U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI, EU Unemployment Rate, China Caixin Manufacturing PMI, and Malaysia S&P Global Manufacturing PMI will be released.

Tuesday: U.S. JOLTS Job Openings will be announced.

Wednesday: The U.S. will report ADP Nonfarm Employment, ISM Services PMI, and China Caixin Services PMI.

Thursday: The U.S. will release Jobless Claims, and Europe will report Monthly Retail Sales.

At the end of the week, the U.S. will release Nonfarm Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, and Michigan Consumer Confidence Index, while Japan will report the annual rate of average cash earnings on Friday.

💡 Things to Know Today: 💡

1. U.S. President-elect Trump: “We demand that these countries commit to not creating a new BRICS currency and not supporting any other currency to replace the strong U.S. dollar, or they will face 100% tariffs.”

Trump VS BRICS

2. U.S. trade officials announced new tariffs on solar panels imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, ranging from 21.31% to 271.2%, after U.S. manufacturers complained about unfairly priced goods flooding the market.

Solar panels

3. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assured President-elect Donald Trump that Canada would strengthen border controls to prevent immigration and drug smuggling, following Trump's threat to impose tariffs on Canadian imports unless the issue was addressed.

Justin Trudeau

4. U.S. retail spending on Black Friday grew only 0.7% YoY, while e-commerce sales surged by 14.6%, as shoppers preferred online shopping over in-store purchases. $Amazon.com(AMZN)$  $eBay(EBAY)$  $Nike(NKE)$  $adidas AG(ADDYY)$  $Etsy(ETSY)$  

Black Friday

5. Hextar Industries announced it had secured exclusive rights to introduce Luckin Coffee to Malaysia, signing a 10-year agreement to develop and operate the brand nationwide.

Luckin Coffee partner Hextar

✅ Key Takeaways:

This week, Wall Street will focus on November's Nonfarm Payrolls report, which is expected to show a gain of 202k, up from just 12k in October. Traders are also looking at the October JOLTS report and ADP's private employment data.

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