Weekly｜Strong US Jobs Reset Fed Expectations; HK, SG Outperform while Australia Pulls Back

Last Week's Recap

1. Weekly Market Digest: Stocks Flat, Jobs Roar Back, Yields Hit YTD Highs, Oil Surges

• Late summer doldrums — Major U.S. indexes traded in a narrow range for a fourth straight week: $NASDAQ(.IXIC)$ +0.4%, $Dow Jones(.DJI)$ -0.2%, $S&P 500(.SPX)$ essentially flat. No big moves since the July 30 rally.

• Jobs comeback — August nonfarm payrolls surged 162,000 (roughly triple consensus), a sharp turnaround from July's upwardly revised 21,000. Largest gain in five months; unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%.

• Rate outlook — CME FedWatch: ~58% probability of a 25bp hike at the September 16 FOMC meeting (up from roughly 50-50 the day before the jobs report), 42% odds of no change.

• Yield pressures — 2-year Treasury hit a YTD high of 4.39%, 10-year at 4.80% on Tuesday before pulling back. The 30-year closed at 5.24% Friday, just below the recent 5.31% peak and near the highest in two decades.

• Oil rally — U.S. crude rose above $91 Friday (from $83 a week earlier), highest in ~six weeks, driven by Middle East and Strait of Hormuz developments.

• Bitcoin rises — $Bitcoin(BTC.USD.CC)$ briefly traded above $81,000 Thursday (highest since mid-May), retreating to ~$80,000 Friday, up ~3% for the week.

• August's solid gains — S&P 500 posted its fourth monthly gain in five months, adding ~2.6% in August. NASDAQ outperformed at +3.9%, Dow +1.3%.

• CPI report ahead — August CPI due Friday, one of the last major data points before the September 16 FOMC meeting. July CPI was 3.4% (down from June's 3.5%).

2. US Market – SPX edges 0.09% higher as semiconductor rally offsets mega-cap tech weakness

The $S&P 500(.SPX)$ gained 0.09% and closed at 7,718, as strong performance across semiconductor names and selected high-beta stocks helped offset weakness in several mega-cap technology shares. The week also highlighted a broader rotation into cyclical and defensive industries, with commercial printing, coal & consumable fuels, and soft drinks leading the sector table.

Industry leaders: Commercial Printing (+28.57%), Coal & Consumable Fuels (+15.02%), Soft Drinks (+14.29%), while semiconductor-related names also delivered strong gains.

9 Popular Stocks:

• $SK hynix(SKHY)$ +9.91% — The memory-chip maker was the strongest performer among the highlighted stocks, reinforcing continued investor interest in the AI-driven memory and semiconductor cycle.

• $Meta Platforms, Inc.(META)$ +6.70% — Meta led the mega-cap group, outperforming the broader technology complex during the week.

• $NVIDIA(NVDA)$ +5.89% — The AI-chip leader advanced strongly, helping support the broader semiconductor trade.

• $SpaceX(SPCX)$ +4.56% — The space and AI company continued to attract strong momentum as investors remained focused on its AI and space-related growth opportunities.

• $Broadcom(AVGO)$ +2.95% — Broadcom gained alongside the semiconductor complex, supported by continued enthusiasm around custom AI chips and infrastructure.

• $Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing(TSM)$ +2.73% — The world's leading foundry advanced as investors continued to favor companies positioned to benefit from sustained AI semiconductor demand.

• $Alphabet(GOOGL)$ +2.35% — Alphabet posted a modest gain, outperforming several other mega-cap technology names.

• $Microsoft(MSFT)$ -2.69% — Microsoft declined despite the broader market finishing higher, highlighting the uneven performance within mega-cap tech.

• $Amazon.com(AMZN)$ -2.97% — Amazon was among the week's laggards, weighing on the broader technology and consumer-growth complex.

Performance is subject to market volatility.

3. Hong Kong Market – HSI edges up 0.26% as bank rally offsets tech and battery weakness

$HSI(HSI)$: The Hang Seng Index gained 0.26% and closed at 25,650.87, as a powerful rally in Chinese banks offset declines in tech giants and battery names. The index held above the 25,600 level.

The $HSTECH(HSTECH)$ declined 0.77% and closed at 4,569.80, with platform-economy and EV supply-chain names dragging the tech benchmark lower.

Industry leaders:

Homebuilding (+18.45%), Infant and Child Product (+16.21%), and Advertising (+11.43%).

9 Popular Stocks:

• $CM BANK(03968)$ +8.83% — Led the banking sector higher on improving wealth-management fee income and asset quality.

• $BANK OF CHINA(03988)$ +8.69% — Surged on defensive dividend-yield positioning and deeply discounted valuation.

• $CCB(00939)$ +6.78% — Advanced on state-owned lender rotation and NIM stabilization hopes.

• $ABC(01288)$ +5.06% — Tracked the banking-sector rally on high-dividend attraction.

• $CHINA LIFE(02628)$ +5.03% — Rose on investment-yield stabilization and defensive positioning.

• $ICBC(01398)$ +3.36% — Gained on income-investor demand.

• $HSBC HOLDINGS(00005)$ +3.28% — Advanced on Asian franchise resilience and dividend yield.

• $TENCENT(00700)$ -2.72% — Declined on gaming and fintech valuation compression.

• $CATL(03750)$ -6.81% — The battery giant tumbled on lithium oversupply fears and EU tariff concerns.

Performance is subjected to market volatility

4. Singapore Market – STI gains 1.79% as banks and Chinese SDRs lift the index to 5,802

The $Straits Times Index(STI.SI)$ surged 1.79% and closed at 5,801.96, as a broad rally across local banks, Chinese banks, and property names propelled the index above the 5,750 resistance level.

Sectors:

Homebuilding (+13.33%), Technology Distributors (+12.11%), Communications Equipment (+9.09%), Gas Utilities (+8.89%), and Alternative Carriers (+6.47%).

10 Popular Stocks:

• $Bank of CN HK SDR 1to1(HBND.SI)$ +8.84% — The Chinese state-owned bank's SDR surged on defensive dividend-yield positioning and rotation into high-dividend financials.

• $BBCA ID SDR 1to2(IBKD.SI)$ +5.8% — The Indonesian private bank's SDR advanced on regional emerging-market inflows.

• $OCBC Bank(O39.SI)$ +3.86% — The banking heavyweight gained on resilient regional credit demand.

• $DBS(D05.SI)$ +3.28% — Singapore's largest bank continued its post-earnings ascent on record Q1 profit and 17.0% ROE.

• $HSBC HK SDR 5to1(HSHD.SI)$ +3.05% — The UK banking giant's SDR tracked its Hong Kong listing higher on Asian franchise strength.

• $UOB(U11.SI)$ +3.02% — The third-largest local bank rose on ASEAN commercial banking momentum.

• $HongkongLand USD(H78.SI)$ +4.4% — The prime commercial property landlord advanced on Hong Kong office leasing stabilization hopes.

• $CityDev(C09.SI)$ +3.12% — The Singapore property developer gained on residential market stability.

• $ThaiBev(Y92.SI)$ -3.23% — The financial services arm pulled back on profit-taking after recent strength.

Performance is subjected to market volatility

5. Australia Market – XJO falls 0.95% as mining weakness offsets broad gains across banks and defensives

The $S&P/ASX 200(XJO.AU)$ fell 0.95% over the week ended September 4, closing at 9,005.9. The market showed a clear divergence beneath the headline decline: banks, telecoms, insurers and consumer staples advanced, while heavyweight mining stocks dragged on the index.

Industry leaders:

Commercial Printing (+28.57%), Coal & Consumable Fuels (+15.02%), and Soft Drinks (+14.29%) led the sector performance table, pointing to strong rotation toward selected cyclical and defensive pockets of the market.

10 Popular Stocks:

• $SUNCORP GROUP LTD(SUN.AU)$ +5.04% — The insurer was the strongest performer among the highlighted stocks, reflecting continued strength across the financial and defensive segments.

• $TELSTRA GROUP LTD(TLS.AU)$ +4.12% — The telecommunications leader gained strongly, adding to the week's defensive-sector momentum.

• $ANZ GROUP HOLDINGS LTD(ANZ.AU)$ +3.32% — ANZ advanced alongside the broader Australian banking sector.

• $WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION(WBC.AU)$ +3.13% — Westpac posted another solid gain, reinforcing the strength of major Australian banks.

• $QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD(QBE.AU)$ +3.15% — QBE moved higher with the insurance sector, contributing to the broader financial-sector strength.

• $WOOLWORTHS GROUP LTD(WOW.AU)$ +3.02% — The consumer-staples heavyweight gained as investors rotated toward more defensive areas.

• $NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LTD(NAB.AU)$ +2.51% — NAB also advanced, extending the broad-based rally across the major banks.

• $COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA(CBA.AU)$ +2.02% — CBA gained despite the weakness in the broader index, highlighting the resilience of Australia's large financial stocks.

• $BHP GROUP LTD(BHP.AU)$ -5.50% — BHP was the biggest drag among the highlighted names, with the heavyweight miner falling sharply and weighing heavily on the index.

• $PLS Group Ltd(PLS.AU)$ -4.16% — Pilbara Minerals declined alongside weakness in the resources space, contrasting with the strength in financials and defensives.

Performance is subjected to market volatility

The Week Ahead: Aug 17-21

1. Macro Factors:

• Monday: US market closed for Labor Day holiday

• Wednesday: $Apple(AAPL)$ “Surprise and shine” launch event held at Apple headquarters

• Friday:

  • US August CPI (Consumer Price Index) inflation data release

  • Quarterly earnings: Kroger

2. Earnings Focus

• Tuesday： $GameStop(GME)$、 $Braze, Inc.(BRZE)$、 $Casey's General(CASY)$、 $ServiceTitan(TTAN)$

• Wednesday： $Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc.(ASO)$、 $AeroVironment(AVAV)$、 $American Eagle Outfitters(AEO)$、 $Chewy, Inc.(CHWY)$

• Thursday： $Oracle(ORCL)$, $Adobe(ADBE)$, $Copart(CPRT)$, $Macy's(M)$, $RH(RH)$