U.S.

Headline news this week revolved around the US president Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, equities reacted positively towards the new Biden Administration. Upon taking office, Biden has signed numerous executive orders, including a return to the Paris Agreement, re-joining WHO, and policies to fight against COVID, which are signals of a return from populist politics back to traditional politics. As market participants look forward to the pending fiscal stimulus, all 3 major US equity indexes gained 0.37% - 3.06% over the past 5 days ending Thursday. The expected appointment and confirmation of former Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen as the new Treasury Secretary should also be positive for the market, as the current dovish stance of the US Fed should remain unchanged, excess liquidity should still provide ample support to the equity markets. Next week, the US Fed will hold its first interest rate meeting, the US will release its 2020 Q4 GDP, and figures for Conference Board Consumer Confidence and Michigan Consumer Sentiment will be released.

Europe

Headline news this week revolved around the US president Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday, equities reacted positively towards the new Biden Administration. Upon taking office, Biden has signed numerous executive orders, including a return to the Paris Agreement, re-joining WHO, and policies to fight against COVID, which are signals of a return from populist politics back to traditional politics. As market participants look forward to the pending fiscal stimulus, all 3 major US equity indexes gained 0.37% - 3.06% over the past 5 days ending Thursday. The expected appointment and confirmation of former Federal Reserve chairperson Janet Yellen as the new Treasury Secretary should also be positive for the market, as the current dovish stance of the US Fed should remain unchanged, excess liquidity should still provide ample support to the equity markets. Next week, the US Fed will hold its first interest rate meeting, the US will release its 2020 Q4 GDP, and figures for Conference Board Consumer Confidence and Michigan Consumer Sentiment will be released.

China

Hong Kong stocks had a strong week early on, but saw a slight correction on Friday. CSI 300 index was up 2.05% over the week, while the Hang Seng Index managed to hit the 30,000 mark during the week. Southbound capital continue to stay strong, which was one of the main contributors for Hong Kong’s strong equity performance over the week. Mixed news for Chinese companies came out from the US side, while it was reported that several Chinese telecom companies sought review of the NYSE delisting decision, while MSCI announced on Friday that the index company will remove CNOOC from some of its indexes, the oil producer saw a sharper fall upon the news release, which also brought Xiaomi down due similar risk. Economic figures released during the week were mixed, as fixed investment and retails sales figures fell short of market expectations. Investors could hopefully get a better grasp on the market outlook next week, as China will release industrial profit figures, and the official manufacturing and non-manufacturing PMIs by then.