Breakfast | US stocks ignore Wall Street's warning of a downturn and rise across the board, HarmonyOS surpasses iOS for the first time in the Chinese market

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US Stock Market: All three major indices closed higher, Apple's new product leads to a V-shaped recovery

The market is closely watching the US presidential debate on Tuesday, as well as the release of US CPI on Wednesday and PPI on Thursday. Especially, the CPI data may have a significant impact on interest rate decisions before the FOMC meeting, as although the market generally expects a 25 basis point rate cut, the specific rate cut amount has not been determined.

All three major US indices rebounded by over 1%, with the Dow rising by 1.2%, the S&P 500 rising by 1.16% to 5471.05 points, and the Nasdaq rising by 1.16%.

Verizon Communications rose by 3.8%, Boeing by 3.35%, leading the Dow. Nvidia rose by 3.54%, Tesla by 2.63%, and Apple by 0.04%.

Most Chinese concept stocks rose, with Bit Digital up by 11.34%, Nio surging nearly 11%, rising for five consecutive days to a four-month high. XPeng fell by 0.23%, while Li Auto rose by 3.06%.

Five Highlights of Apple's New Product Launch Event

1. Released AirPods 4, equipped with the H2 chip, featuring active noise cancellation, starting at $129, available on September 20.

2. Introduced the redesigned Apple Watch Series 10, powered by the S10 SIP chip, with sleep apnea detection function, starting at $399, available on September 20.

3. Released an upgraded version of AirPods Max, with USB-C charging support, and three new colors: orange, purple, and starlight, priced at $549, available for pre-order starting Monday, officially on sale on September 20.

4. Confirmed that Apple Intelligence will be launched in October, first in the US, then in English-speaking countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, UK) in December, and will expand to China, France, Japan, and Spain next year.

5. Introduced the iPhone 16 series, with a new camera control button and the new A18 chip series: iPhone 16 starting at $799, iPhone 16 Plus starting at $899, iPhone 16 Pro starting at $999, and iPhone 16 Pro Max starting at $1199.

Strong Orders for Apple's A18 Chip Driving TSMC's 3nm Process Revenue to Grow by 34% YoY

Reports indicate that Apple will use the A18 and A18 Pro chips in the iPhone 16 series, and the increase in orders for these chips will significantly boost TSMC's 3nm process revenue. Previously, it was forecasted that TSMC's 3nm process revenue would grow by 26-29% in 2024. With major customers like Apple increasing orders, this forecast has been revised upwards to 31-34%.

Report: HarmonyOS Overtakes iOS for the First Time in the Chinese Market

According to Counterpoint's statistics, HarmonyOS continued its strong growth momentum in the first quarter of 2024, successfully surpassing a 4% global market share. In the Chinese market, HarmonyOS has surpassed iOS for the first time, becoming the second largest operating system in the market The 5G penetration rate of HarmonyOS has also surged from 9% in the first quarter of 2023 to 50%.

The U.S. plans to implement mandatory security reporting system for advanced AI and cloud service providers

The U.S. Department of Commerce proposed detailed reporting requirements for advanced artificial intelligence developers and cloud computing providers to ensure technological security and resilience against cyber attacks. The proposal will also require reporting on network security measures and the results of "red-teaming" work, such as testing dangerous capabilities, including the ability to assist in cyber attacks, or reducing the threshold for non-professionals to develop chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear weapons.

Citi: Customer positioning reflects bearish sentiment in the U.S. stock market

The closure of long positions in the S&P 500 Index combined with an increase in short positions in the Nasdaq 100 Index indicates a shift in risk appetite towards a more direct bearish bias. Risk reduction operations by hedge funds in the S&P 500 Index have reduced the total exposure to half of the peak in mid-July. Forced closure of long positions may exacerbate or accelerate selling in the short term, and if this trend continues, the newly added short positions on Friday will likely turn the technology-heavy index into a net short position.

Morgan Stanley: Further unwinding of arbitrage trades or risks facing the U.S. stock market if the Fed significantly cuts interest rates

If the Federal Reserve significantly cuts interest rates this month, the U.S. stock market may face the risk of further unwinding of yen carry trades. If the initial rate cut exceeds 25 basis points, it may support the yen. This will prompt yen traders to withdraw from U.S. assets after domestic interest rates rise, leading to a replay of the pattern that caused global market turmoil last month.

Alibaba officially included in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, effective September 10

The Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges announced that due to adjustments to the Hang Seng Composite LargeCap Index, MidCap Index, and SmallCap Index, the list of securities eligible for the Hong Kong Stock Connect has been adjusted and will take effect from September 10, 2024. Alibaba, ZhiXing Auto Technology, SF Technology, and 33 other stocks have been added.

Ant Group to distribute dividends to all shareholders

Ant Group will distribute dividends to all shareholders, and employees holding equity incentive tools will also enjoy the corresponding economic benefits of dividends. Ant Group stated that after comprehensive consideration of reasonable returns to shareholders, sustainable operational capabilities, and continued investments for the future, it has formulated this profit distribution plan. The dividends will not affect future investments, and Ant Group will continue to reinvest in strategic areas such as AI.

HSBC considers merging commercial and investment banking to reduce costs

This is part of the efforts by the new CEO, Georges Elhedery, to eliminate internal role overlaps and reduce expenses. The merged department will become HSBC's largest source of revenue, contributing approximately $40 billion annually to HSBC, surpassing its wealth and personal banking business.

China Passenger Car Association: In August, the retail sales of new energy vehicles increased by 43.2% year-on-year and 17% month-on-month; Tesla's market share was 6.2%, a decrease of 2.8 percentage points year-on-year.

Media: Capital surcharge requirements for large U.S. banks to be halved

According to sources familiar with the matter, after U.S. regulatory agencies agreed to comprehensively revise the proposed package of rules, including Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, eight large U.S. banks will face a halving of capital surcharge requirements, from 19% to 9% Significantly reducing capital requirements is more likely to appease banks