The US Dollar Index breaks above 100, Hong Kong stocks fall for three consecutive days, HSBC and Standard Chartered drop 5%

The situation in the US-Iran conflict remains tense, with the US Dollar Index rising above the 100 mark, and Hong Kong stocks falling for three consecutive days. Iran has stated it will continue to close the Strait of Hormuz, causing Brent crude oil prices to surpass $100. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq both fell by 1.6% and 1.8% respectively on the night of the 12th. At the time of writing, the yield on the US 2-year Treasury bond has dropped to 3.74%, and the yield on the US 10-year Treasury bond has fallen to 4.271%, with the US Dollar Index rising to 100.18. Dow futures are currently up 38 points or 0.08%, while Nasdaq futures are down 3 points or 0.01%. The Shanghai Composite Index fell by 33 points or 0.82% to close at 4,095 points, while the Shenzhen Component Index fell by 0.65%, with a total trading volume of 2.4 trillion yuan in the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce responded to questions regarding the China-US economic and trade consultations, stating that as agreed by both sides, Vice Premier He Lifeng will lead a delegation to France from tomorrow until next Tuesday (14th to 17th) for the sixth round of economic and trade consultations with the US side. Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China announced after the market close that new RMB loans for the first two months totaled 5.61 trillion yuan (market expectation: 5.576 trillion yuan).

The Hang Seng Index opened down 133 points, with the early market decline narrowing to 19 points at 25,697 points, before the decline expanded to 296 points at 25,419 points, closing down 251 points or 1% at 25,465 points; the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell by 28 points or 0.3% to close at 8,671 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 49 points or 1% to close at 4,978 points. The total trading volume for the day was 246.542 billion yuan. The total trading volume for northbound trading was 116.295 billion yuan, while southbound funds saw a net inflow of 18.449 billion yuan today (net inflow of 11.283 billion yuan on the previous trading day). The Tracker Fund of Hong Kong (02800.HK) fell by 1.3% to close at 25.72 yuan, with a trading volume of 20.268 billion yuan.

The Hang Seng Index has fallen by a total of 291 points or 1.1% this week, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has risen by 43 points or 0.5%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index has risen by 30 points or 0.6%. Southbound funds have seen a net inflow of 33.991 billion yuan this week (net outflow of 8.094 billion yuan last week). With the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, and Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, news has caused international oil prices to surge, raising concerns among investors about rising global inflation and challenges to supply chains across various industries.

【Hang Seng Index falls for three consecutive days; HSBC and Standard Chartered decline】

Another US financial institution has restricted redemptions from private credit funds, causing HSBC Holdings (00005.HK) to drop nearly 5% to close at 122.5 yuan, and Standard Chartered (02888.HK) to fall by 5.1% to close at 164.5 yuan. Other financial stocks, including Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (00388.HK) and AIA (01299.HK), fell by 1.2% and 3% respectively.

Foreign reports indicate that Morgan Stanley (MS.US) has restricted investors from withdrawing funds from one of its private credit funds, leading to a decline in the company's stock price; Cliffwater LLC has also imposed similar restrictions due to the amount investors attempted to redeem far exceeding the prescribed levels. Reports suggest that recent market concerns about the quality of private fund loans have intensified, especially those involving software companies threatened by artificial intelligence. Although most funds had previously attempted to meet investors' withdrawal demands, BlackRock (BLK.US) decided last week to restrict redemptions, prompting other asset management companies to follow suit 【1,400 Stocks Decline, Cathay Pacific Drops by Half】

The Hong Kong stock market has weakened, with a rise-to-fall ratio of main board stocks at 16 to 35 (compared to 20 to 30 the previous day), and 1,449 stocks declining (a drop of 2.5%). Among the Hang Seng Index constituent stocks, 19 rose and 67 fell, with a rise-to-fall ratio of 21 to 74 (compared to 31 to 67 the previous day).

Swire is planning to place 2.52% of Cathay Pacific Airways (00293.HK) shares at a discount of over 9%, netting HKD 1.79 billion. Cathay Pacific's stock price fell by 5.1% to close at HKD 12.33. Swire A (00019.HK) shares rose by 3.1%. Credit Lyonnais issued a report stating that Swire announced before the market opened today (13th) that it would place 153 million shares of Cathay Pacific at HKD 11.74 per share, a discount of 9.6% compared to yesterday's closing price. After the sale is completed, Swire will hold 2.797 billion shares of Cathay Pacific, accounting for approximately 45.12% of the issued share capital. Swire will net HKD 1.789 billion from this placement and record a gain of HKD 365 million from the sale. The placement is expected to be completed by the 17th of this month at the latest.

The bank believes the placement price corresponds to 1.2 times the projected price-to-book ratio for the calendar year 2027, or 6.7 times the projected price-to-earnings ratio for the calendar year 2027. Although the market may interpret this negatively, this sale is likely aimed at adjusting Swire's stake in Cathay Pacific. Previously, before Cathay Pacific repurchased shares from Qatar Airways, its holding ratio was 45%