APAC Market Wrap - Nov 14
China stock market: By the close, Shanghai Composite fell 0.97%, Shenzhen Component fell 1.93%, ChiNext fell 2.82%. Sectors: Hainan, gas, pharma, Fujian led gains; memory chips, CPO led losses.
Hong Kong stock market: This week the three major HK indices moved in different directions. By the close, Hang Seng Index up 1.26% cumulative to 26,572.46 points; Tech Index down 0.42% cumulative to 5,812.80 points; State-owned Enterprises Index up 1.41% cumulative to 9,397.96 points.
From today’s session, gold, autos, brokers, semis and tech stocks looked weak.
Japan stock market: Nikkei 225 fell 1.77% to 50,376.53 points.
By sector, mining, textiles, oil, real estate led gains; non-ferrous metals, electrical equipment, machinery fell.
Korea stock market: KOSPI fell 3.81%. Healthcare, internet, tobacco rose; life insurance, semis, electrical equipment fell.
Australia stock market: S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.36% to 8,634.500 points. Home building, packaging, aerospace rose; semis, hardware, agriculture fell.
Singapore stock market: FTSE Singapore Straits Times Index STI fell 0.65% to 4,546.07 points. By sector, education, industrial distribution rose; forestry products, interactive media, industrial products fell.
Malaysia stock market: FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell 0.40% to 1,625.67 points. By sector, transport & logistics, real estate rose; tech, industrial products dipped slightly.
Key events
Korea’s currency defense heats up: top finance officials talk intervention, pension fund may step in
The won this week again neared its lowest since 2009, so Korean authorities stepped up defenses and promised to coordinate with the country’s biggest institutional investor—the National Pension Service.
The hint that “the pension fund might act” helped the won bounce intraday from 1,470 to 1,460 per dollar.
But on the weekly chart the won is still near subprime-crisis and 1997 Asian-crisis lows, and finance officials say the won faces structural depreciation pressure.
Egypt eyes Asian markets to grow tourism, targets $30 billion revenue
Egypt rolled out a new tourism strategy, aiming to draw 30 million visitors in 2030-31 and lift tourism revenue to about $30 billion by 2028.
The tourism board expects a 20% jump in international arrivals in 2026 on better regional stability and a packed calendar of entertainment and sports events.
Egypt Tourism Authority CEO Ahmed Youssef told reporters on the sidelines of the TOURISE 2025 forum in Riyadh that the latest strategy focuses on high-population, high-spending markets, especially China and India.
To hit the goal, Egyptian tourism officials are creating marketing content in local languages for potential visitors and teaming up with influencers in target markets to boost relatability and cultural resonance. On the other side, they’re tightening ties with airlines to make arrivals easier.
US and Korea release trade-deal details: Korea pours $350 billion in investment and pushes nuclear-sub plan
On Friday (Nov 14), the US and Korea finalized trade-deal details. The pact includes $150 billion from Korea into US shipbuilding plus $200 billion for industrial areas, and a pledge to buy $25 billion in arms by 2030; the US will cut Korea auto import tariffs from 25% to 15% and give favorable tariffs on semis and other categories.
Afterward the two countries issued a joint statement—the first written agreement two weeks after the US-Korea presidential meeting.
Down 23%! Japan’s Kioxia bombs, drags whole sector—storage boom cooling?
Thursday this week, Japan’s Kioxia released its Q2 FY2025 (Jul-Sep) results: quarterly adjusted net profit plunged more than 60% year-on-year to just ¥40.7 billion, far below the ¥47.4 billion analysts expected.
Same quarter revenue fell 7% year-on-year to ¥448.3 billion, operating profit fell 48% to ¥85.9 billion.
The disappointing numbers sparked a chain reaction in US storage—Thursday close in the US: Seagate -7.29%, Western Digital -5.39%, Micron -3.25%.
By today’s close, Kioxia shares were down 23%.
Institution views
Goldman predicts: next decade US stock returns bottom globally, emerging markets lead
Reports say Goldman chief global equity strategist Peter Oppenheimer and his team think high US valuations will cap future gains, putting US stocks at the bottom among major markets over the next decade. They see S&P 500 10-year annualized return at just 6.5%, while emerging markets could hit 10.9%, with China and India the main drivers of EM earnings growth.
Goldman view: A-shares and HK stocks offer solid long-term upside, APAC markets worth allocating
Goldman keeps an “overweight” rating on Chinese stocks, believing the market will keep drawing global capital. Analysts say A-shares and HK stocks could return up to 30% by end-2027, a good entry point now. They also expect MSCI Asia ex-Japan to rise 8% in the next 12 months, with Asia ex-Japan annualized returns at 10.3%.
Morgan Stanley predicts: healthy US pullback in 1-2 years, growth chances in three APAC countries
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick says US stocks face a 10%-15% pullback in the next 12-24 months. The adjustment isn’t from a “macro cliff” but normal cycle health, with tech likely hit hardest by high valuations. The firm likes China, Japan, and India, seeing unique growth stories there, and suggests investors use the US dip to rotate into these markets.
Bank of America warns: US AI bubble risk stands out
Reports say BofA strategist Michael Hartnett warns of clear bubble in US AI, with S&P 500 forward P/E at 23x, well above the 20-year average of 16x. He thinks AI stock leadership holds short-term, but gold and Chinese stocks are the best hedges against this bubble risk.