Market Overview - The US stock market continues to rise, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 48,000 points, gaining 334 points at one point [9] - The Federal Reserve has reduced interest rates by 0.25%, bringing the rate range to 3.75% to 4% [11] - The end of quantitative tightening (QT) is set for December 1 [11] - Spot gold prices have exceeded $4,030, reflecting a 1.97% increase due to heightened demand for safe-haven assets [9] - London copper futures have reached a new high, increasing by 1.56% to $11,200.4 per ton, surpassing last year's peak [9] Key Company Updates - Alphabet's third-quarter operating profit was $31.23 billion, below analyst estimates, but net profit surged by 41%, exceeding expectations [11] - Microsoft reported a 12% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first fiscal quarter, significantly lower than the previous quarter's 24% growth [11] - Meta's third-quarter revenue reached $51.24 billion, higher than expected, but net profit plummeted by 83% to $2.71 billion due to a one-time tax expense [11] Hong Kong Market Highlights - The Hang Seng Index opened at 26,508 points, reaching a high of 26,519 before closing down 87 points, or 0.33% [13] - China Merchants Bank reported a profit of 113.77 billion yuan for the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 0.52% [13] - Sinopec's profit for the first nine months fell by 28.9% year-on-year to 32.065 billion yuan [13] - MGM China reported an adjusted EBITDA of 2.373 billion yuan for the third quarter, a year-on-year increase of 19.6% [13] Economic Data Releases - South Korea's GDP growth for Q3 is estimated at 1.50% year-on-year [20] - India's industrial production for September showed a year-on-year increase of 2.30% [20] - The US FHFA house price index for August remained unchanged [20]

Market Trends & Fed Policy - The Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 25 basis points and decided to end quantitative tightening starting December 1st [1] - Historically, the stock market has performed well in the 12 months following similar rate cuts during periods of index highs, with an average gain of nearly 20% [1] - Despite the Fed rate cut, bond yields rose, indicating that bond prices fell, reflecting an inverse relationship with Fed rates [1] Bond Market Dynamics - Bond price fluctuations are primarily driven by four factors: inflation expectations, growth expectations, bond supply and demand, and distrust in the Federal Reserve [1] - Inflation expectations erode the real return on bonds, making them less attractive, especially long-term bonds [1] - Expectations of economic growth lead investors to prefer stocks over bonds with lower yields [1] - Increased bond issuance by the US government can lead to oversupply, causing bond prices to fall and yields to rise to attract buyers [1] - Some investors believe the Fed is "behind the curve," suggesting that the rate cut is too late and inflation may rebound, potentially leading to future rate hikes [1] Investment Strategy - The industry advises against speculating on bonds, particularly long-term bonds (e g, TLT), due to potential misunderstandings about bond market dynamics [1] - The yield on a 5-year bond can be seen as the market's average interest rate expectation for the next five years [1]