Last Week's Recap
The US Market - SPX was marked largest weekly decline since September
The stock market experienced its worst week in several months as investor confidence was shaken by tariff policies and heightened market volatility. The benchmark S&P 500 recorded its largest weekly decline since September, dropping 3%, while the Dow fell 2.4% over the week. The Nasdaq slid below its 200-day moving average and closed the session 10% below its recent peak.
Friday was marked by significant volatility, with the S&P 500 dropping 1.26% to session lows before recovering somewhat in the afternoon. The Nasdaq briefly fell below the 18,000-point threshold during its lowest points of the day.
February's nonfarm payrolls report showed an increase of 151,000 jobs, falling short of expectations. The unemployment rate edged up to 4.1% from 4%, while federal government jobs declined by 10,000, contributing to the overall drag. Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar had its worst week in over two years, reflecting broader economic uncertainties.
The US Sectors & Stocks - The financial sector was the worst performing
The financial sector was the worst-performing sector in the S&P 500 this week, declining nearly 5%, marking its largest weekly loss since the regional banking crisis in March 2023. Major banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Citigroup (C), and Bank of America (BAC) all slid more than 10%.
Among the "Magnificent 7", Alphabet (GOOGL) was the top performer, gaining 2% for the week. In contrast, Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) tumbled roughly 10%, while Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) lost more than 6%. Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) saw smaller declines of around 1%.
Tesla (TSLA) erased all its gains since November 5, Election Day, and extended its losing streak to seven consecutive weeks, the longest since its IPO.
McDonald’s (MCD) and Yum Brands (YUM) emerged as the top performers in the consumer cyclical sector, with both stocks trading at all-time highs.
Custom AI-chip makers Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) saw contrasting investor reactions to their quarterly earnings. Broadcom delivered a strong beat-and-raise report, helping its stock recover some of its weekly losses. Meanwhile, Marvell slightly beat expectations but provided a cautious outlook, causing its stock to tumble more than 20% during the week.
Sea Limited (SE) exceeded expectations with its Q4 results, driving its shares up 6.6% for the week. The stock has surged over 100% in the past 12 months.
Moderna (MRNA) surged 15% after its CEO, Stephane Bancel, purchased $5 million worth of company stock. This move was particularly notable given the stock’s 68% decline over the past year.
Hong Kong Market - HSI continues to outperform
Hong Kong stocks continued their strong performance, marking the largest weekly gain in nearly two months. This surge was driven by increasing optimism that China will implement additional stimulus policies to bolster economic growth and support technological innovation. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) rose by 5.6% over the week, reaching its highest level in three years since February 2022.
China set a growth target of about 5% this year and promised support for technology innovation led by the application of large language models in the government report delivered to the annual legislative National People’s Congress.
In a joint briefing by China’s top economic officials during the NPC on Thursday afternoon, central bank governor Pan Gongsheng said that interest rates and the reserve requirement ratio would be cut at an “appropriate time” this year and that more collaborations would be made with the securities regulator to support the long-term development of the capital market.
CK Hutchison Holdings (0001.HK) notched a record rally of 27%, sparked by the sale of port assets. Li Ka-shing‘s infrastructure empire has agreed to sell its port operations spanning 23 countries, including Panama, for $22.8 billion including debt, to a consortium led by BlackRock.
Singapore Market - SGX launched 3 more HK SDRs
Singapore's shares ended the week on a positive note, with the Straits Times Index (STI) rising 0.48%. Singapore's official foreign exchange reserves grew to SG$511.6 billion in February, from SG$510.6 billion in January, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore showed.
Retail sales in Singapore saw a 4.5% year-on-year increase in January, rebounding from the decline observed at the end of the previous year, according to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics. The uptick was attributed to the lead-up to Chinese New Year.
The Singapore Exchange (SGX) expanded its Hong Kong Single Stock Depository Receipts (HK SDRs) offerings by adding three more stocks: Xiaomi (SGX: HXXD), Meituan (SGX: HMTD), and Ping An (SGX: HPAD). This follows the initial launch of five HK SDRs on October 30, 2024, which included Alibaba, Tencent, electric carmaker BYD, state-owned Bank of China, and HSBC.
Australian Market - ASX 200 lost 2.7%
The Australian stock market declined as concerns over earnings expectations, weighed down by uncertainty surrounding Trump's tariff policies, impacted investor sentiment. The ASX 200 fell 2.7% for the week.
Major banks, which are key components of the index, saw significant sell-offs. Commonwealth Bank dropped more than 5%, while Westpac retreated nearly 4% during the week. Energy stocks also continued to struggle, hitting their lowest levels since December, as fears grew over the potential impact of U.S. tariffs on crude oil demand, further pressuring prices. On a brighter note, consumer staples stocks emerged as a relative safe haven, with traders shifting to this typically more defensive sector amid the broader market downturn.
The Week Ahead
Macro Factors - Inflation check
U.S. daylight saving time begins on March 9, 2025. The U.S. market trading hours will be moved forward 1 hour.
In the week, the fresh readings on Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday and the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday, will be in focus as investors look for any clues on how tariffs may impact the path forward for prices.
Wall Street economists expect February's CPI to show headline annual inflation of 2.9%, down from the 3% seen in January. The core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 3.2%.
Economists forecast a 3.2% year-over-year increase for the PPI and a 3.5% rise for the core PPI. This compares with gains of 3.5% and 3.6%, respectively, in January.
"Chaos creates opportunities, ‘Buying the dip’ has been our playbook for decades." added Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush. "In my opinion tariffs don't change the demand cycle. In other words, this is not going to end the tech bull market. It's a scare. But I believe it's more opportunities than the time to head for the hills." Ives added.
Earnings
Earnings season winds down with a very light reporting calendar for the week, highlighted by two megacap software companies, which are Adobe (ADBE) and Oracle (ORCL).
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