Hong Kong Financial News

Alibaba Group Holding is set to lose its position as China's most valuable e-commerce firm to eight-year-old upstart PDD, a watershed moment for an internet industry that Jack Ma's firm dominated for more than a decade. Alibaba slid as much as 1.4% in Hong Kong, putting its market value at about $187 billion and on track to close below US-listed PDD Holdings' $188.3 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations. PDD, the company best known for hit US shopping app Temu and domestic bargains trailblazer Pinduoduo, closed nearly 2% higher in New York on Wednesday. The once-inconceivable shift reflects the turmoil that engulfed Alibaba after Beijing in 2020 targeted the company and its once-outspoken co-founder, kicking off a sweeping crackdown on the powerful tech sector.

The Hong Kong Securities & Futures Professionals Association, an influential industry trade group, has proposed the establishment of an initial coin offering (ICO) portal in the city. 

Stocks had a nice rally to the start day yesterday. The S&P 500 index rallied a bit more than 70 bps, but by the day’s end, all of those gains were gone, with the index finishing lower by around 10 bps. It was a bit worse on the Nasdaq with the index up nearly 1% at the open only to finish down by around 20 bps.

Geneva, New York and Hong Kong, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said on Thursday as it cautioned that the global cost-of-living crisis was not yet over. On average, prices have risen by 7.4% year on year in local currency terms for over 200 commonly used goods and services, a drop from the record 8.1% increase last year but still "significantly higher than the trend in 2017-2021," it said in a report.

By Kane Wu

Sensex rallied 727.71 points, or 1.10%, to 66,901.91, while the Nifty 50 closed at 20,096.60 level, up 206.90 points or 1.04%. “We expect the market momentum to sustain over the next few days. However, several important events including India GDP, monthly F&O expiry, state election exit polls and OPEC+ meeting on Thursday could induce some volatility over the last 2 days.

stocks listed on the BSE surpassed $4 trillion on Wednesday for the first time ever, making India the fifth country after the United States, China, Japan, and Hong Kong to achieve this milestone. The overall market capitalisation on the BSE touched ₹333.29 lakh crore on Wednesday. In the past three months, India's overall market capitalisation has gained 8.82%, the highest growth among the top 10 markets.

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HDFC Bank, and TCS could be the primary beneficiaries of a recent decision by the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, a US Pension Fund, to change its benchmark index for its International Stock Index Investment Fund. The move is estimated to result in flows worth $3.7-$3.8 billion into Indian equities in 2024, according to Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced today in a blog post that it will end support for its Binance USD (BUSD) stablecoin on December 15. The move comes after regulators ordered BUSD issuer Paxos to halt minting of the stablecoin earlier this year.

This is the view of Ravi Menon, retiring head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) who belives he is not the only one on the way out.

Meanwhile, the crypto regulatory landscape faces renewed scrutiny in Hong Kong as news surfaces of the Hounax exchange founders’ disappearance, allegedly absconding with $19 million.

Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, among others lifted the market for the second consecutive session. The Nifty Midcap 100 index hit a record high, while Nifty 50 is now just 1% away from its all-time high of 20,222.45 hit on September 15. The BSE Sensex hit its all-time peak of 67,927.23 on the same day.

By Julie Zhu and Zhuzhu Cui

Bitcoin, as it traded within the range of US$37,000 to US$37,600. The market's equilibrium during this period can be attributed to the prevailing regulatory uncertainty in the United States. Investors are digesting the fallout from regulatory actions taken against some players in the industry. Amidst this, optimism lies in the anticipation of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). However, recent indications suggest that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might defer this decision until 2024. Currently, Bitcoin is trading at the US$37,400 level, reflecting a 3% increase on the weekly chart, a 7% gain month-to-date, and an impressive 125% surge year-to-date. The cryptocurrency is consolidating its position and may initiate another rally if it successfully surpasses the US$38,000 resistance zone. If not, it could trigger a fresh decline, with immediate support situated at the US$37,200 level. Meanwhile, Ethereum is currently positioned above the US$2,000 level, consolidating gains and eyeing potential advancement toward the US$2,150 level.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks kept to a tight range on Wednesday as caution before key economic readings from China offset growing optimism over an early pivot by the Federal Reserve. 

Asian stocks briefly made one-week highs on Wednesday, bonds rallied and the dollar sank on new hints at U.S. interest rate cuts, while the New Zealand dollar jumped after its central bank said another hike may be necessary if inflation proves stubborn. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% in early trade before weakness in Hong Kong tech shares dragged it back to flat. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2%.

US Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates further. On Tuesday, domestic frontline indices ended with gains as fag-end buying helped snap two-day losing run despite mixed global cues. The Sensex ended 204.16 points, or 0.31%, higher at 66,174.20, while the Nifty 50 gained 95.00 points, or 0.48%, to close at 19,889.70.

SenseTime, a major Chinese artificial intelligence company known for its facial recognition technology, has rejected claims by a research company that it has inflated its revenue

Malaysia's government says more than 120 suspected victims of job scams have been rescued after being stranded by fighting in northern Myanmar between the military and armed ethnic groups

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee, has responded to the recent investigation into the unlicensed virtual-asset trading platform Hounax.

Interactive Brokers, an automated global electronic broker, is expanding cryptocurrency trading to retail investors in Hong Kong. The broker is now the first SFC-licensed securities broker to be approved to allow retail clients to trade cryptocurrencies in Hong Kong.