The U.S. enters a "major data week" this week, drawing close market attention. The U.S. will release August PCE price data on Wednesday (30th), with an expected year-on-year increase of 3.8%, accelerating by 0.1 percentage points compared to last month. The core PCE price data, excluding energy and food, is expected to rise 3.4% year-on-year, also accelerating by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. On Friday (October 2nd), the U.S. will release September non-farm employment data, expected to increase by only 90,000, far below the previous month's increase of 162,000.
*Chinese ADRs and overseas-listed Chinese stocks trend weaker*
Chinese concept stocks trended weaker: Alibaba fell 0.80% to $109.74, Pinduoduo fell 0.81% to $77.57, JD.com fell 0.90% to $26.51, Baidu fell 0.85% to $87.33, Li Auto fell 2.38% to $11.50, NIO fell 1.38% to $3.58, XPeng fell 1.27% to $10.12, Beike fell 2.16% to $16.33, and Trip.com fell 1.52% to $39.43.
ADR prices showed mixed movements compared to Hong Kong closing prices last Friday: Tencent (00700) ADR was 0.03% lower than its Hong Kong counterpart, equivalent to HK$436.5; Xiaomi (01810) ADR was 0.05% higher, equivalent to HK$25.9; Meituan (03690) ADR was 0.50% lower, equivalent to HK$71.3; AIA (01299) ADR was 0.59% lower, equivalent to HK$73.3; HSBC (00005) ADR was 0.48% higher, equivalent to HK$158.4; HKEX (00388) ADR was 0.04% higher, equivalent to HK$388.5.
*Bulls quietly deploying below 25,000*
Following reports that U.S.-Iran talks have entered a technical consultation phase, Trump also announced that the two countries will restart negotiations within this week. U.S. media reported that new indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected as early as Monday, with mediators such as Qatar currently brokering. However, Trump has already rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated they would wait for the mediators to convey the U.S. final position. Asian markets showed mixed performance this morning, with Japanese stocks rising 0.6% and South Korean stocks falling over 1%. The HS50 index, reflecting expectations for Hong Kong stocks, is currently at 24,493, down 3 points, 17 points below the current Hang Seng Index spot level, suggesting the Hang Seng Index opening is expected to fluctuate within 100 points.
Last Friday, Hong Kong stocks plunged over 500 points during the session. Besides the reduced support due to the halt of northbound flows, market disappointment over the lack of significant AI cooperation agreements from the Xi-Trump meeting also contributed to the decline. The Hang Seng Index hit a new low of over two and a half months. Referring to the distribution of Hang Seng Index bull and bear warrants, after the sharp drop, bearish positions rapidly retreated downward. However, the area just above 24,000, specifically 24,100 to 24,199, has accumulated 988 corresponding futures contracts, becoming the heaviest position zone. The next level, 24,000 to 24,099, saw a net increase of 466 corresponding futures contracts to 801, becoming the zone with the most new positions, indicating bulls still tend to bet on support at 24,000. It remains to be seen whether northbound flows, with only three trading days left before the National Day holiday, will maintain their supporting strength to confirm the resilience of this round number support. (hc)