Local Carmakers Beat Out Tesla As Sales Surge In February, Xpeng Says Flying Cars Possible By 2026
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Key News
Asian equities were mixed but mostly lower overnight following the selloff on Wall Street. Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand outperformed, while Indonesia and Thailand underperformed. China’s markets were little changed, though Hang Seng Tech saw profit taking from yesterday.
Some computing-related stocks rose as optimism grew before an AI conference in Hangzhou on Thursday. Alibaba managed a small gain on its partnership with Manus, an AI agent platform, though the broader internet sector was mostly lower. Semiconductor Manufacturing and Hua Hong Semiconductor were both lower, though.
Shares in Automakers extended gains after wholesale vehicle sales increased 34.4% year over year in February, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). Tesla only accounts for about 5% of sales. The positive sales data comes just after Xpeng said that it could have its first flying car models available as soon as next year.
Government bond yields picked back up, reversing some of the declines from a selloff in recent days. There is a strong case for China’s yields to stay low as issuance increases and monetary policy remains “loose”.
Mainland investors nearly reached their record buy number from Monday in Hong Kong. They purchased a massive net $3.4 billion worth of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs. This year, Mainland investors have been excellent dip buyers through the Southbound Stock Connect program.
The US-China political relationship continues to evolve in the lead-up to a Trump visit, which could be as soon as next month. Fentanyl control continues to take center stage. Substance control authorities in China said that they have successfully complied with all applicable international drug control obligations. They also said that they are ready to return to dialogue on drug control as soon as possible. Meanwhile, Walmart has asked its China-based suppliers to lower their prices in response to tariffs, and the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is holding talks with Walmart on its demands. Perhaps, tariffs will get resolved soon enough so that the suppliers do not have to lower prices by much. We shall see.
Alibaba’s Tong Yi Lab said it has created an AI model that can discern a human's emotional state through visual cues.
There was some chatter overnight about the government’s plan to allow municipalities more leeway in how they purchase unsold homes and use properties and proceeds and its potential impact on Beike, owned by KE Holdings, which is an online real estate platform. The company reports 2024 earnings on Monday.
The Hang Seng and Hang Seng Tech indexes both closed lower by -0.76% and -2.04%, respectively, on volume that decreased -9% from yesterday. Mainland investors bought a net $3.4 billion worth of Hong Kong-listed stocks and ETFs. The top-performing sectors were Materials, which gained +2.33%, Utilities, which gained +1.26%, and Energy, which gained +0.16%. Meanwhile, the worst-performing sectors were Information Technology, which fell -3.27%, Consumer Staples, which fell -1.92%, and Health Care, which fell -1.14%.
Shanghai, Shenzhen, and the STAR Board diverged to close -0.23%, +0.13%, and -0.73%, respectively. The top-performing sectors were Communication Services, which gained +0.71%, Financials, which fell -0.11%, and Utilities, which fell -0.17%. Meanwhile, the worst-performing sectors were Consumer Staples, which fell -1.10%, Real Estate, which fell -1.10%, and Energy, which fell -1.04%.
Last Night's Performance
| Country/Index | Ticker | 1-Day Change |
|---|---|---|
| China (Hong Kong) | HSI Index | -0.8% |
| Hang Seng Tech | HSTECH Index | -2% |
| Hong Kong Turnover | HKTurn Index | -9.3% |
| HK Short Sale Turnover | HKSST Index | 10.9% |
| Short Turnover as a % of HK Turnovr | N/A | 16.9% |
| Southbound Stock Connect Net Buy/Sell (US $ Millions) | N/A | 287.2 |
| China (Shanghai) | SHCOMP Index | -0.2% |
| China (Shenzhen) | SZCOMP Index | 0.1% |
| China (STAR Board) | Star50 Index | -0.7% |
| Mainland Turnover | .chturn Index | 13.7% |
| Nouthbound Stock Connect Net Buy/Sell (US $ Millions) | N/A | Not Available |
| Jing Daily China Global Luxury Index | CHINALUX Index | -0.1% |
| Japan | NKY Index | 0.1% |
| India | SENSEX Index | -0.1% |
| Indonesia | JCI Index | 1.8% |
| Malaysia | FBMKLCI Index | -2.3% |
| Pakistan | KSE100 Index | -0.3% |
| Philippines | PCOMP Index | -0.2% |
| South Korea | KOSPI Index | 1.5% |
| Taiwan | TWSE Index | 0.9% |
| Thailand | SET Index | -2.3% |
| Singapore | STI Index | 0.2% |
| Australia | AS51 Index | -1.3% |
| Vietnam | VNINDEX Index | 0.1% |
| MSCI China All Shares Index | # of Stocks | Average 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong Listed | 152 | -0.63 |
| Communication Services | 9 | -1.08 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 30 | -0.2 |
| Consumer Staples | 13 | -1.91 |
| Energy | 7 | 0.17 |
| Financials | 23 | 0.17 |
| Health Care | 13 | -1.13 |
| Industrials | 19 | -0.27 |
| Information Technology | 10 | -3.26 |
| Materials | 10 | 2.35 |
| Real Estate | 6 | -1.08 |
| Utilities | 12 | 1.27 |
| Mainland China Listed | 432 | -0.5 |
| Communication Services | 9 | 0.7 |
| Consumer Discretionary | 31 | -0.48 |
| Consumer Staples | 27 | -1.12 |
| Energy | 16 | -1.05 |
| Financials | 63 | -0.13 |
| Health Care | 40 | -0.93 |
| Industrials | 69 | -0.53 |
| Information Technology | 85 | -0.37 |
| Materials | 68 | -0.6 |
| Real Estate | 7 | -1.11 |
| Utilities | 17 | -0.18 |
| US & Hong Kong Dually Listed | Ticker | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Tencent HK | 700 HK Equity | -1.1 |
| Alibaba HK | 9988 HK Equity | 0.9 |
| JD.com HK | 9618 HK Equity | -2.1 |
| NetEase HK | 9999 HK Equity | -0.5 |
| Yum China HK | 9987 HK Equity | -1.3 |
| Baozun HK | 9991 HK Equity | 0.6 |
| Baidu HK | 9888 HK Equity | -2.4 |
| Autohome HK | 2518 HK Equity | -2.5 |
| Bilibili HK | 9626 HK Equity | -6.8 |
| Trip.com HK | 9961 HK Equity | -3.5 |
| EDU HK | 9901 HK Equity | -2.4 |
| Xpeng HK | 9868 HK Equity | -2.3 |
| Weibo HK | 9898 HK Equity | -3.6 |
| Li Auto HK | 2015 HK Equity | -0.6 |
| Nio Auto HK | 9866 HK Equity | 5.5 |
| Zhihu HK | 2390 HK Equity | 1.2 |
| KE HK | 2423 HK Equity | -3.9 |
| Tencent Music Entertainment HK | 1698 HK Equity | -9.6 |
| Meituan HK | 3690 HK Equity | -1.9 |
| Hong Kong's Most Heavily Traded by Value | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|
| ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 0.9 |
| TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD | -1.1 |
| XIAOMI CORP-CLASS B | -3.4 |
| MEITUAN-CLASS B | -1.9 |
| KUAISHOU TECHNOLOGY | -0.8 |
| SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING | -1.6 |
| XPENG INC - CLASS A SHARES | -2.3 |
| HONG KONG EXCHANGES & CLEAR | 1.2 |
| BYD CO LTD-H | 1.4 |
| JD.COM INC-CLASS A | -2.1 |
| Shanghai and Shenzhen's Most Heavily Traded by Value | 1-Day Change (%) |
|---|---|
| SHANGHAI STONEHILL TECHNOL-A | -2.9 |
| EAST MONEY INFORMATION CO-A | 1 |
| ZTE CORP-A | 4.6 |
| TALKWEB INFORMATION SYSTEM-A | 1.9 |
| ZHEJIANG HAIKONG NANKE HUATI | 1.7 |
| HYGON INFORMATION TECHNOLO-A | 2.8 |
| HANGZHOU IRON & STEEL CO-A | 5.1 |
| GUANGDONG AOFEI DATA TECHN-A | -0.3 |
| INESA INTELLIGENT TECH INC-A | -3 |
| KEHUA DATA CO LTD -A | 6.4 |
Last Night's Exchange Rates, Prices & Yields
- CNY per USD 7.24 versus 7.23 yesterday
- CNY per EUR 7.89 versus 7.90 yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year Government Bond 1.83% versus 1.88% yesterday
- Yield on 10-Year China Development Bank Bond 1.86% versus 1.91% yesterday
- Copper Price +2.08%
- Steel Price +0.59%
