what the purpose of the writing: 'Positive momentum continued ahead of tonight's FOMC meeting minutes and Nvidia's earnings: Dow Jones +0.58%, S&P500 +0.74%, Nasdaq +1.13%, with Nasdaq 100/S&P500 hitting a new high since Jan-2022/ Aug-2023. US treasuries twist-flatten following a strong $16bn 20y UST auction, with UST 2Y rising to 4.909% and 10Y falling to 4.407%. HSI is retesting the 18,000 psychological level, supported by stronger RMB and potential policy supports/sentiments.

DXY at 103.50 (-0.4%) has closed in negative territory for the year; Highlighted currency pairs: USDJPY at 148.21, USDCNH at 7.1511 and GBPUSD at 1.2513. Oil (WTI) +2.25% continued to climb and reached to $77.60 and Gold (XAU) is trading ~1988 level.

Notable stocks: Tech fueled market sentiment, where Microsoft (MSFT US) +2.05% and Nvidia (NVDA US) +2.28% have reached new highs. Palantir (PLTR US) +4.15%. KWEB +3.7%, while HXC +3.6% briefly surpassing the 6700 level. Pinduoduo (PDD US) +3.15%, reached its YTD high and Trip.com ADR (TCOM US) +3.44%, before its earnings, 9961 HK +0.3% as of writing. Please check below for more details.

More to follow: FOMC meeting minutes and US existing home sales. Key earnings: Nvidia (NVDA US). Consensus expect its revenue growth of 170%+ and attempting to spot any indication of 2024 AI demand. HK Earnings: Kuaishou (1024 HK), Kingsoft (3888 HK), Vitasoy (345 HK)

 

Macro headlines:

UST Auction: The $16bn 20-year UST auction showed strong demand from indirect bidders, stopped-out at 4.780%. The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.58x, which aligned with the average of the past four new 20Y issue auctions.
US: Fed's Barkin said more efforts are needed to bring inflation down to the Fed's target of 2%.
US White House Kirby: Biden and Xi agreed to meet again, but the date has not been specified.
China Props: Bloomberg News reported that China is drafting a list of 50 property firms for funding eligibility.
China: Premier Li Qiang named head of the Central Financial Commission.
 

Stock news:

Microsoft (MSFT US) +2.05% CEO Satya Nadella has announced that Sam Altman, the former head of OpenAI, will join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team. Altman, along with Greg Brockman, former OpenAI president and board chair, and other colleagues, will be absorbed into the Microsoft team.
Trip.com (TCOM US) +3.44% reported its 3Q earnings. EPS: RMB 7.05, adjusted EBITDA: RMB 4.6bn with +228.6% YoY and Net income: 4.62bn. Its Executive Chairman of the Board, James Jianzhang Liang, reported a strong 3Q rebound in domestic and international travel due to summer demand. The company aims to expand the global market and develop AI innovation.
Palantir Technologies (PLTR US) +4.15% has been contracted $600.6mn by the UK National Health Service to play a crucial role in handling patient data management, reported by The Guardian on Monday.
McDonald's (MCD US) +1.19% is set to acquire Carlyle's 28% stake in its China unit, aiming to simplify its regional structure. This move will raise McDonald's holdings to 48%, while a consortium led by CITIC Ltd will retain a controlling ownership stake of 52%. The acquisition comes after McDonald's sold 80% of its China and Hong Kong businesses to CITIC Ltd, CITIC Capital, and Carlyle six years ago.