Weekly Market Summary

💡1) Nomura and Credit Suisse have warned of large losses after a fire sale of about $20bn of Chinese and US stocks, as their client Archegos Capital Management was forced into a huge unwinding of positions. Profits at Japan’s largest investment bank could be wiped out for the second half of the financial year, while Credit Suisse said on Monday that the wave of selling may have a “highly significant and material” impact on its first-quarter results. The warning sent shares in both banks tumbling, with Nomura closing 16 per cent lower in Tokyo, their worst one-day fall. 

💡2) DBS is bullish on Hong Kong stocks. The Singapore-based lender believes the market could reach a record high over the next 12 months despite the recent reversal. Hong Kong stocks are in correction mode, having fallen for five straight days. The benchmark has eased more than 10 per cent from its recent high on February 17. However, DBS forecasts the Hang Seng Index could reach the 33,400 level over the coming 12 months. The benchmark peaked at 33,154.12 on January 26 in 2018. 

💡3) Goods being shipped in and out of Hong Kong were likely to be delayed by at least three weeks and could potentially cost more as a result of the blockage at the Suez Canal, industry figures warned on Friday. The 200,000-tonne container ship Ever Given, which is operated by Taiwan’s Evergreen Marine, was stranded at the southern end of the canal on Tuesday, and Willy Lin Sun-mo, chairman of the Hong Kong Shippers’ Council, said that had taken a heavy toll on the global supply chain. Trade experts also warned of the prospect of higher container shipment charges as a result, disrupting a global shipping system already strained by the coronavirus pandemic.

💡4) Fundraising via new share listings in Hong Kong soared more than nine fold to a record in the first quarter, pushing the city’s main board to second place behind Nasdaq in the global rankings for initial public offerings (IPOs).The 822 per cent increase was largely thanks to a massive surge in the number of mainland Chinese technology giants listing their shares. The strong momentum is likely to continue in the second quarter, according to analysts, as many more firms have already filed their listing applications. Things may tail off in the second half of the year, however, as uncertainty caused by recent stock market sell-offs stifles sentiment.

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.