To The Moon

Last Week's Recap

The US Market - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq refreshed new highs

• The S&P 500 and Nasdaq freshed their records on Friday after November jobs data came in slightly better than expected. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq notched third straight positive week, rising 0.96% and 3.34%, respectively. The Dow slipped 0.6% during the period.

• The November labor report, released Friday morning, revealed that nonfarm payrolls increased by 227,000 last month, above the Dow Jones estimate of 214,000 and marking a huge hike from October’s upwardly revised gain of 36,000. The unemployment rate nudged up to 4.2%, as expected.

• Following the not-too-hot, not-too-cold unemployment data, fed funds futures trading data reflected an 85% likelihood of another rate cut in two weeks, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

• Bitcoin briefly shot up above $100,000 for the first time, buoyed by President-elect Trump's pro-crypto SEC pick and Fed chief Jerome Powell's comments on the "digital gold."

The US Sectors & Stocks - AAPL、AMZN and META logged all-time highs

• Only 3 S&P 500 sectors closed the week in green to help the benchmark to a new high, which were the consumer cyclical, communication services and technology sectors. Apple (AAPL)、Meta Platforms (META) and Amazon (AMZN) touched new all-time highs during the session and closed at records.

• Amazon (AMZN) climbed 9.2% last week to record highs following AWS announced that Apple is among enterprises using its Trainium2 AI chip, while a Trainium3 chip will launch next year. Chief Executive Andy Jassy also announced a new line of AI models called Amazon Nova, which AWS will offer to enterprise customers.

• Tesla (TSLA) jumped nearly 13% last week to close at $389.22. BofA Securities analyst John Murphy visited Giga Austin factory and raised its price target to $400 from $350. “The trip gave us increased confidence that TSLA is well-positioned to grow in 2025+ with its core EV business and launch of its robotaxi offering, and longer-term from its investments in Optimus,” He wrote in a note to investors.

• Salesforce (CRM) beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Tuesday and raised the lower end of its annual revenue forecast, helped by robust spending on its enterprise cloud portfolio. Salesforce shares soared 10%.

• Lululemon Athletica (LULU) increased its full-year revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting on resilient demand for its athletic wear in the U.S. during the holiday shopping season. Its shares jumped about 24.6%.

• Palantir Technologies (PLTR) rose 13.8% last week as the data analytics firm got a higher rating for secure cloud computing services from the federal government. Meanwhile, Palantir formed a partnership with Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), a key government consultant.

• Cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty(ULTA) raised its annual profit forecast on Thursday, signaling a bounce back in demand for perfumes and makeup during the holiday shopping season. ULTA shares up more than 10%.

• Credo Technology (CRDO) spiked more than 50%, after its fiscal Q2 earnings leaped 600% while revenue rose 64% to $72 million. For the January quarter, Credo forecast revenue of $120 million, blasting past estimates of $85 million. Credo's biggest customers for AECs are Microsoft and Amazon.com.

• Marvell Technology (MRVL) earnings beat its expectations and guided up in fiscal Q4, amid strong demand for custom artificial intelligence chips. The company makes custom AI chips for Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

• Veeva Systems (VEEV) jumped 10% after reporting adjusted EPS grew 31% while sales advanced 13% to $699.2 million. The lion's share of revenue came from Veeva's subscription services business. The medical software company also raised its full-year outlook.

• Asana (ASAN) surged nearly 45% and registeredits largest daily percentage increase on record. The work management software company turned in quarterly results that left Wall Street feeling optimistic.

Hong Kong Market - HSI rallied 2.28%

• Hong Kong stocks capped the best weekly performance in two months as investors gear up for a key tone-setting Chinese economic policy meeting next week. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) rose 2.28% to 19,865.85 for the week.

• “Next week’s CEWC may offer the first hints about [a second round of] stimulus, but it should stay modest in size and supply-centric as it could take time for policymakers to decisively shift from the old mindset,” said Laura Wang, a strategist at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong. “We recommend monitoring policy announcements and exercising caution.”

• China’s November data may show an uneven picture of the economy, with home sales and export growth cooling, and retail sales and investment accelerating, according to UBS Group.

Singapore Market - STI rebounded 1.52%

• Singapore stocks rose this week, with the STI up 1.52% as renewed optimism around the city-state’s banks gives a lift to the wider market. Analysts highlighting the ability of lenders to maintain profitability despite expectations of lower interest rates. Banks’ stable dividend payouts are also enticing investors. DBS Group rose 2.95% this week, while UOB rose 1.43%.

• Singapore-based internet services company Sea Limited's U.S.-listed stock surged to a 52-week high on Thursday. The stock price has surged more than 187% this year. The huge rally has been helped by Shopee's momentum.

• Singapore Post (SingPost) has entered into a share purchase agreement to divest its Australian business at an enterprise value of A$1 billion (S$870 million).

Australian Market - ASX slided from its record high

• Australia’s share market lost 0.2% for the week as Wall Street turned cautious about whether the Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates this month. However, the ASX 200 reached a record high of 8514.5 points on Tuesday.

• Australia’s economic growth remained anemic in the three months through September, as a surge in government spending only just managed to overcome weak exports and restrained consumer demand. Q3 GDP advanced 0.3% from the prior quarter, below economists’ estimate for a 0.5% increase.

• Bloomberg Economics expects growth will remain sluggish, and continue contracting in per-capita terms as the cumulative impact of higher rates damps household demand and housing-related activity.

• Northern Star Resources Ltd. will buy De Grey Mining Ltd. in an all-share takeover valuing the target at about A$5 billion ($3.3 billion), as gold producers seek to secure more supply amid soaring prices for the precious metal. Shares of De Grey Mining surged 25.66% this week.

The Week Ahead

Macro Factors - CPI on focus

• In the week ahead, a crucial reading of inflation, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), is slated for release on Wednesday. A reading on wholesale inflation, the Producer Price Index (PPI), will follow on Thursday. The CPI and PPI price data will be the main determinant of the Fed’s interest rate decision this month.

• Wall Street economists expect headline inflation rose 2.7% annually in November, an increase from the 2.6% in October. On a "core" basis, which strips out food and energy prices, CPI is expected to have risen 3.3% over last year in November. This would mark the fourth straight month of a 3.3% reading of core CPI. Monthly headline reading and core price increase are expected to clock in at 0.3%.

• In corporate earnings, quarterly results from Broadcom (AVGO), Costco (COST), C3.ai (AI), and GameStop (GME) will highlight a quiet week of scheduled company updates.

• The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), has been hovering around 13, its lowest level since before the market drawdown seen in early August. The P/E ratio in the S&P 500 has risen to 26, a level that is 32% greater than the average P/E in data going back to 1989, according to Oppenheimer. Still, that doesn’t mean investors expect any pullback to last long.

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