Asia Pacific Markets, US Jobs Report, South Korea CPI

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 3%, led by gains in technology and consumer stocks, according to data from Refinitiv as of 10:30 a.m. HKST.

One of the main factors moving the index was the automobile company Zhongsheng Group, which rose 8.70%. Sportswear company Li-Ning added 6.72%.

Tech heavyweights Baidu and JD.Com also led the gains, jumping 5.59% and 4.26%, respectively. Meituan shares rose 4.52%. Tencent shares rose 4.5 percent and Alibaba 4.98 percent.

Lee Ying Shan

South Korea May inflation data It came in 3.3% higher than last year and in line with Reuters expectations.

The figure was down from the April inflation reading of 3.7%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.25% from 0.2% in the previous month.

The reading also marked the slowest increase since October 2021, according to Refinitiv data.

The Korean won was last trading at 1,311.4 against the dollar.

– Lee Ying Chan

Global AI revenue will reach $180 billion this year and grow to nearly $2 trillion by 2030 — and will be a major driver of semiconductor revenue, says Morgan Stanley.

Investors are already buying into the artificial intelligence buzz. Nvidia shares rose last week after it reported earnings that beat previous expectations.

Morgan Stanley has named one stock that will be a “principal beneficiary of the NVDA AI opportunity.”

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– Wizen tan

Data on nonfarm payrolls, the unemployment rate and hourly wages due on Friday will highlight the challenges the Fed faces ahead of its June policy meeting, according to Joe Davis, chief economist at Vanguard.

Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected non-farm payrolls to increase by 190K in May, which is a smaller monthly increase than the 253K added in April. They expect an unemployment rate of 3.5%, just above 3.4% in April.

Hourly wages are expected to grow 0.3% month over month and 4.4% compared to the same month last year. In April, wages increased by 0.48% on a monthly basis and 4.45% on an annual basis.

“We believe tomorrow’s labor market report will highlight the challenges the Fed continues to face in its effort to drive inflation toward target,” Davis said. “We still believe they should raise interest rates in June to enforce their resolve before pausing for some time to assess the impact on macro conditions, although the most important aspect in our views remains the Fed on hold until the end of the year.”

He added that “indications of continued labor market tightening in tomorrow’s report will provide further support for these views.”

– Alex Haring

First-quarter earnings season is over with 99% of S&P 500 companies reporting their results. Seventy-eight percent of S&P 500 companies reported a positive surprise in earnings per share for the quarter, which is above the five-year average of 77%, according to FactSet.

Earnings growth, however, was disappointing compared to the long-term average. S&P 500 companies beat earnings estimates by 6.5% overall, which is below the five-year average of 8.4%, according to FactSet.

– Yun Lee