Weekly Market Summary

💡1. The UK economy hardly grew in October as supply chain disruption hit activity and the rebound in many services stuttered, strengthening the likelihood of a delay to an interest rate rise. UK output rose just 0.1 per cent per between September and October, data from the ONS showed on Friday. This fell short of the 0.4 per cent forecast by economists polled by Reuters and was a sharp decline from the 0.6 percent expansion the previous month. The slowdown in growth was due to a combination of factors, according to the ONS. Considering the stronger trade performances in other countries “it appears that UK exporters have continued to lose market share this year”.

💡2. Hong Kong will see property investment grow by a fifth in 2022, with hotels and serviced apartments set to become investors’ main acquisition target. Multifamily conversions such as serviced apartments and hotel properties are proving an attractive investment while industrial buildings and development sites were among the most active sectors, each accounting for about 30 per cent of the total volume according to Cushman & Wakefield. There will be 200 major transactions next year valued at around HK$100 billion the highest since 2018, according to the global property service firm’s “Hong Kong and GBA Property Market Review.

💡3. Hong Kong stocks opened lower on Thursday and Chinese stocks were flat despite gains on Wall Street overnight as investors worried that Washington might blacklist more Chinese companies. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index opened 0.6 lower while China’s CSI 300 was little changed in early trading after the Financial Times reported on Wednesday that the US would add eight Chinese companies to its investment blacklist. Stocks elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region were stronger on positive sentiment in the US after the Federal Reserve signalled that it would begin cracking down on inflation.

💡4. Financial instruments linked to sustainability will form the next phase in the evolution of green fundraising in Asia, as investors demand companies show their commitment to fighting climate change, whereas green bonds designed to fund projects that are environmentally friendly are a “test of the waters” for firms in the sustainable finance space, the more ambitious companies will be looking at issuing sustainability-linked products, according to Swiss bank UBS. Borrowers of sustainability-linked instruments need to set predetermined sustainability performance targets that are both relevant and important. If the targets are not met, the debtors will have to bear a penalty in the form of a higher coupon or interest rate.

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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.