Market Highlights 💡 - 17 March 2025

Wall Street Sees a Relief Rally; Chinese Stock Market Surges on AI Optimism

Market Performance:

🇺🇸 S&P 500 Index: +2.15% 📈

🇺🇸 Nasdaq Index: +2.62% 📈

🇪🇺 Stoxx 600 Index: +1.14% 📈

🇯🇵 Nikkei 225 Index: +0.72% 📈

🇭🇰 Hang Seng Index: +2.12% 📈

🇨🇳 CSI 300 Index: +2.43% 📈

🇸🇬 Straits Times Index: -0.04% 📉

Market Highlights:

US stocks rebounded on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite gaining 2.1% and 2.7%, respectively. The rally was driven by relief over tariff-related concerns easing and the US government successfully avoiding a shutdown.

The March University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 57.9 (expected 63.1), lower than February's 64.7, reflecting weakened consumer confidence due to continued tariff uncertainty.

Asian stock markets performed strongly, with the Hang Seng Index and CSI 300 rising 2.1% and 2.4%, as investors returned to tech stocks amid renewed AI optimism and anticipation of new consumption stimulus measures from Beijing on Monday.

Upcoming Events:

Monday: China will release industrial production YoY, retail sales YoY, and unemployment rate data, while the US will publish retail sales YoY data.

Tuesday: The EU will release the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index.

Wednesday: Key events include Japan's export YoY data, the Bank of Japan interest rate decision, and the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

Thursday: Markets will watch for China's 1-year and 5-year Loan Prime Rate (LPR), Malaysia's export YoY data, and US initial jobless claims data.

Friday: The week will conclude with Japan's inflation YoY and Malaysia's inflation YoY data releases.

Key News to Know Today:

1. Swedish BNPL giant Klarna has filed for a US IPO, targeting a $15 billion valuation. The fintech firm returned to profitability in 2024, reporting $21 million in net income and $2.81 billion in revenue.

Klarna

2. Spot gold surpassed $3,000 for the first time, gaining nearly 14% year-to-date, as trade war fears and economic growth concerns increased gold's appeal as a safe-haven asset. $SPDR Gold Shares(GLD)$  $SPDR Gold MiniShares Trust(GLDM)$  

Spot Gold

3. Japan's Rengo labor union reached a wage increase agreement of 5.46% starting in April, surpassing last year's 5.28% rise. The steady wage growth trend is expected to extend to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Rengo

4. Baidu $BIDU-SW(09888)$ launched two new AI models, claiming their performance rivals DeepSeek R1 but at half the cost. The models feature advanced multimodal capabilities and "high emotional intelligence," aiming to compete with OpenAI's GPT-4 in comprehension, logic, and creativity.

Baidu AI model

5. AIA (AIA Group) $AIA(01299)$  reported a record net profit of $6.84 billion in 2024, marking an 82% YoY increase, driven by strong demand from mainland Chinese buyers in Hong Kong. The company also announced a $1.6 billion share buyback plan and a 9% dividend increase.

AIA Group

Key Takeaways:

The Trump administration's unpredictable trade policies continue to fuel market volatility, but there are no immediate recession risks, and markets are expected to stabilize in the near term.

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