APAC Market Wrap – Dec 24
Mainland China stock market: At the close, the Shanghai Composite rose 0.53%, the Shenzhen Component rose 0.88%, and the ChiNext Index rose 0.77%.
From a sector perspective, commercial aerospace concepts continued to surge. On the downside, precious metals, insurance, dairy and others led declines.
Hong Kong stock market: At the close, the Hang Seng Index rose 0.13% to 25,808.9 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index rose 0.14% to 5,496.52 points; the H-Shares Index fell 0.03% to 8,911.15 points.
From market performance, semiconductors, optical communications, nuclear power, lithium batteries and others strengthened, while aviation continued weakness.
Japanese stock market:The Nikkei Index fell 0.14% to 50,344.10 points.
By industry, non-ferrous metals, land transport, shipping and others rose, while air transport, insurance, transportation equipment and others declined.
Korean stock market:The KOSPI fell 0.21% to 4,108.62 points. Aviation, steel, communications equipment and others rose, while North Korea-related, non-ferrous metals, aerospace and others declined.
Australian stock market:The S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.38% to 8,762.700 points. Alcoholic beverages, real estate, agriculture and others rose, while homebuilding, biotechnology, interactive media and others declined.
Singapore stock market:The FTSE Singapore Straits Times Index STI fell 0.06% to 4,636.34 points. Apparel, restaurants, personalized services and others rose, while forestry products, building materials, business services and others declined.
Malaysian stock market:The FTSE Malaysia KLCI rose 0.10% to 1,678.31 points. Construction, transport & logistics, plantations and others rose, while business trusts, real estate, telecom & media and others edged lower.
Key Events
JPMorgan: iPhone 17 lead times already shortening significantly – demand clearly cooling
Near year-end, JPMorgan analysts observed Apple iPhone 17 series lead times beginning to shorten, indicating clear cooling in market demand for the new iPhones.
Chatterjee also said strong iPhone 17 sales momentum is expected to support higher volume and revenue through the remaining product cycle. Chatterjee rates Apple “Buy” with a $305 target — 12% above current price.
Gold bull market to continue in 2026? More bullish voices: Could rise even without major crisis
This year, international gold prices have repeatedly hit records — spot gold first topped $4,500/oz Wednesday Asia session. Gold is up over 70% YTD, on track for its best year since 1979. This momentum is expected to carry into 2026.
Analysts forecast gold maintaining upside next year, driven by structural factors rather than purely reactive volatility from events.
Sun Zhengyi’s eldest daughter enters VC market – sparking widespread commentary
This week, struggling Japanese biotech unicorn Spiber disclosed a business support announcement that drew collective attention from Asia’s VC market and onlookers: the counterparty is SoftBank founder and former world’s richest man Masayoshi Son’s eldest daughter.
Spiber announced signing a business support contract with Ms. Maya Kawana. Upon precondition fulfillment, Kawana will provide support in H1 2026, with Spiber’s business continuing to synergize with Kawana’s ventures for further growth and value creation.
Background: Spiber is one of Japan’s few unicorns (valuation over $1B), specializing in plant-derived artificial proteins for bio-fibers. Due to yen weakness and severe U.S. inflation, its U.S. intermediate materials plant faced surging costs. In 2024, revenue was only ¥414M against ¥29.5B net loss.
Memory price surge spreads! Samsung, SK Hynix raise HBM quotes 20%
Per Korea’s Chosun Ilbo today, memory suppliers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have raised 2026 HBM3E prices by nearly 20%. Typically, suppliers lower previous-generation prices before new launches, making this hike unusual.
Behind this: supply and demand interplay. On supply, vendors expect 2026 HBM4 demand growth, shifting capacity and squeezing HBM3E. On demand, orders from Google, Amazon, and others have surged beyond Nvidia.
Institutional Views
Mizuho Securities: Gold and silver hit new highs – geopolitical spillover, but momentum questionable
Analysts note international gold and silver futures both set records. U.S. seizure of Venezuelan tankers injected new uncertainty into an already tense geopolitical landscape with Russia-Ukraine and other pressures.
However, in this holiday-shortened week, the situation may not sustain record highs. Mizuho Securities U.S. analyst Robert Yawger wrote: “Expecting Venezuelan safe-haven flows to push gold much higher may be overly optimistic.”
Mitsubishi UFJ: Yen intervention unlikely to succeed without addressing fiscal risks
Mitsubishi UFJ FX Research Head Derek Halpenny said Japanese authorities intervening to support the yen would likely fail without properly managing fiscal risks. Japan’s government is expected to pass the FY2026 budget Friday, and investors worry it may include outsized departmental spending.
If so, it could trigger JGB price drops and further yen depreciation. He warned: “The Finance Ministry may be forced to intervene, but success is highly uncertain.”
IG Group: Geopolitical friction offsets oil technical pullback
Due to potential technical pullback, crude futures dipped slightly in Asia early session. However, ongoing U.S.-Venezuela tensions may limit downside. IG Group analyst Axel Rudolph said in an email that supply concerns persist.
The senior technical analyst added that the U.S. Navy continues intercepting Venezuelan tankers to cut government revenue.