Understanding the Market | WuXi AppTec's stock rose more than 7%, leading the CRO concept stocks. The Federal Reserve may still cut interest rates this year, and overseas demand is expected to recover

Concept stocks related to CRO performed well in the morning session. As of the time of writing, Tiger Medicine rose by 6.82% to HKD 36.8, Pharmaron BioTech rose by 5.87% to HKD 36.45, Kanglong Chemical rose by 4.92% to HKD 10.44, and Pharmaron Concord rose by 3.14% to HKD 37.75. On the news front, the U.S. April non-farm payroll data fell far short of expectations. CITIC Securities believes that before the U.S. unemployment rate rises above 4%, the focus of the Federal Reserve's policy remains on inflation, with the possibility of further interest rate cuts expected within the year. The timing of the first interest rate cut still needs to be "watched while walking" with inflation data, and the $3 trillion reserve size may be the threshold for the end of this round of balance sheet reduction. GF Securities pointed out that there is an improving trend in global investment and financing in the first quarter of 2024, with the potential for recovery in demand for the overseas innovative drug industry chain, while domestic investment and financing show significant monthly fluctuations. Front-end CXO companies are digesting industry competition, while back-end CXO companies are waiting for improvements in capacity utilization and operational efficiency. The upstream performance of the biopharmaceutical industry is under short-term pressure, awaiting a recovery in demand