Market news on May 3

After the release of non-farm payrolls data last Friday, US stocks experienced a sharp rise on Friday. The three major indices all closed up more than 1%. Among them, the NASDAQ index rose nearly 2%, and the S&P 500 index recorded its strongest daily rise in two months. Apple's stock price surged 6%, the biggest increase in 17 months, while biotech company Amgen rose nearly 12%. Despite the overall strong performance of chip stocks, AMD was still down more than 4% during the earnings week. The energy sector, on the other hand, has accumulated a decline of more than 3% this week, reflecting market concerns about this sector.

The US non-farm payrolls report for April showed that the number of employed people increased by 175,000, far below market expectations. The unemployment rate rose slightly to its highest point in nearly a year and a half, while wage growth also slowed. This slowdown in the labor market was interpreted by the market as being beneficial to controlling inflation, causing traders to advance the Federal Reserve's first rate cut from November to September. After the release of the non-agricultural data, US Treasury yields declined markedly, the US dollar index also hit a three-week low, and the yen rebounded sharply in the intraday period.

Meanwhile, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders' Meeting was held in 2024. The company announced a 39% year-on-year increase in operating profit for the first quarter, a new high in cash reserves, and a $2.6 billion share buyback during the quarter. Buffett hinted at the meeting that the reduction in Apple's stock holdings is to avoid the high tax rates it may face in the future. Although some Apple shares have been reduced, Apple is still one of its biggest investments.

Crude oil prices fell for five consecutive days this week, with a cumulative drop of nearly 7%, the biggest weekly decline in three months. However, after rising for a while, the price of gold fell, falling for two consecutive weeks. Copper and tin prices showed mixed results during the week. Luntong successfully ended three consecutive weeks of decline and rebounded slightly.

In the Chinese market, with the strong rebound of US stocks, the China Securities Index also recorded a 1.7% increase and continued to rise for three consecutive days, hitting a new high in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, the offshore RMB exchange rate against the US dollar rose sharply in the intraday period, breaking through 7.17 and hitting a new high in two months. The Hang Seng Technology Index rose by 2.74%, with a cumulative increase of more than 28% since its low, while the Hang Seng Index recorded the longest continuous rise since 2018.

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