Asset Market Trends and Key Issues - 240116

Asset Market Trends:

1. The New York stock market started weakly, waiting for the statement of Christopher Waller, the Fed director, who is perceived as a hawkish figure, despite the positive performance of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. (Dow -0.16%, S&P500 -0.29%, Nasdaq -0.35%)

2. The bond yield turned upward, waiting for the statement of Christopher Waller, the Fed director. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.01%. The 2-year Treasury yield rose to 4.21%. The 5-year inflation expectation rate rose to 2.22%, the highest in two months. The dollar rose to the highest level in a month.

3. The international oil price rose, reflecting the geopolitical risk. Crude oil rose 0.8% to $73 per barrel. Brent oil rose 2.09% to $79 per barrel. Gold fell 0.4% due to the dollar's strength. Copper rose 0.8% in a slight recovery.

Key Issues:

1. Christopher Waller, Fed Director: He is expected to make a statement as a hawkish figure among the majority of Fed officials who are wary of the market's expectations that are too ahead of the curve.

2. Donald Trump: In the first primary of the Republican Party in Iowa, which is scheduled for November, former President Donald Trump won by a landslide with 51% of the vote, overwhelming second-place Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, within 30 minutes of the start of the count.

3. Geopolitical Risk: As the Yemeni Houthi rebels' attack on a ship in the Red Sea escalates into a bigger geopolitical risk with the intervention of the U.S. and Britain, Reuters reported that the U.S. military's bombing did not have a significant impact on the Middle East's oil supply.

Today's Featured Stocks and Focus Companies

1. Tesla (TSLA): Elon Musk, CEO, said that it would be uncomfortable to grow Tesla into a leader in artificial intelligence and humanoid robot engineering without having 25% voting rights of Tesla's shares, and fell more than 1% after the remark.

2. Apple (AAPL): Apple launched an 'unprecedented discount' event for the iPhone, citing weak demand and intensified competition in China, raising concerns among investors. Apple announced a discount event for its flagship products, such as the latest model iPhone 15 series, MacBook, and iPad, from the 18th to the 21st.