Weekly Market Summary

💡1. UBS reported a surge in second-quarter profit as the world’s largest wealth manager reaped the benefits of buoyant markets and a boom in mergers and acquisitions. The Swiss lender’s earnings climbed 63 per cent to $2bn, comfortably surpassing the $1.35bn analysts had forecast. Revenue beat expectations in the bank’s four main divisions, while pre-tax profit increased across all four of its geographic regions. Since joining from Dutch bank ING in November, Hamers has overseen a rebound in earnings as the global economy begins to emerge from the worst of the pandemic.

💡2. The Chinese yuan is on course to become a much more influential part of the global financial system with almost a third of central banks planning to add the currency to their reserve assets, a closely followed survey showed. The Global Public Investor survey, published annually by the London-based OMFIF think tank, showed 30 per cent of central banks plan to increase yuan holdings over the next 12-24 months, compared with just 10 per cent last year. It comes despite the differences between Western governments and China on the global stage.

💡3. Hong Kong’s New Territories, the area south of the city’s border with China, is no longer as inaccessible as in decades past, as new transport links closed the distance with Kowloon and the rest of the city. The price gap between such New Territories districts like Sha Tin, and areas on the Kowloon peninsula like Tai Kok Tsui has also narrowed, underscoring the changing trends as first-home buyers and younger couples moved out further afield from Hong Kong Island. The change began in December 2003 with the opening of the Tuen Ma line by the MTR Corporation, the city’s subway operator.

💡4. Hong Kong stocks rose in early trading as Chinese oil giants advanced while shares of debt-stricken developer Evergrande surged in a relief rally. The Hang Seng Index rose 1.8 per cent to 27,726.90 at 10.40am local time, halting a 2.8 per cent loss over the past three trading sessions this week. Markets in mainland China also gained with the Shanghai Composite and the CSI 300 gauge both adding 0.1 per cent. China’s three biggest oil majors advanced. PetroChina rose 4 per cent to HK$3.35.

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One of the must-ask interview questions for banking and finance is: “Have you read any news recently?”, with the follow-up questions: “How would you link this news to the market and what investment suggestions would you give to your clients based on this news?” .

Showing your market sense and ability to provide feasible investment ideas would help to differentiate you from other candidates. Therefore, apart from the weekly news update / investment insights, we have also generated this Weekly Market Summary for you to have a quick understanding of the market development and tips to answer some hot discussion topics. Take a look of the summary and WhatsApp us in the group if you have questions.