China Market Update: Hong Kong Investment Bankers Get Busy, Week In Review
Asian equities were mixed overnight as the Philippines and India outperformed with gains, while Mainland China and Taiwan underperformed.
The real fireworks today were after the close with President Trump's European Union (EU) tariff and Apple comments. I suspect the US' increased policy volatility will expedite foreign capital outflows from the US.
Apple was a Mainland news item for offering deep iPhone discounts.
CNBC reported that China's Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu and US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke yesterday. The lack of Western media attention, except for CNBC, likely indicates things are going well!
The big news today was the Hong Kong IPO of Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals (1276 HK, 600276 CH), which gained +25.2% after raising $1.3 billion from investors. This is another strong signal of Hong Kong's rebound: more mainland companies are relisting in Hong Kong, following CATL's IPO on Tuesday.
Hong Kong had a good day, except for CATL's bout of profit-taking, which sent the stock down by -2.24%, despite an afternoon drop in the Mainland that weighed on Hong Kong shares as well. Meanwhile, Hong Kong-listed internet names were mixed, though they did not fall nearly as much as their US-listed counterparts yesterday.
The electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem had a good day, led by BYD, which gained +1.97% on news of the company outselling Tesla in Europe, and strong May preliminary auto sales. Tesla's China sales continue to be pressured by local companies.
The Mainland market was having a decent day until a sharp sell-off in the afternoon, which pushed indices into the red. Speculation on reasons for the sell-off included US-Iran talks not going well, Israel wanting to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, and the G7 targeting China, though, again, no clear driver. The afternoon fall was interesting, as the PBOC's strong capital injection into the financial markets and chatter of China's insurance companies buying Mainland stocks should be seen as catalysts. Filling the Liberation Day gap continues to be a resistance level for the market.
Premier Li presided over a State Council meeting focused on the 'green and low-carbon development of the manufacturing industry' with an emphasis on promoting the implementation of green technologies. President Xi had a phone conversation with German Chancellor Merz.
The UFC will return to China with an August event in Shanghai for the first time since 2019. It is interesting that UFC founder Dana White is a supporter of President Trump.
JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon met with PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng today, as the investment bank held its China conference.
After the close, discount retailer Miniso Group (9896 HK, MSO US) missed Q1 estimates while online travel agency Tongcheng (780 HK) beat analyst expectations for Q1. Meituan will report Q1 financial results on Monday.
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Intel CEO to meet with Trump at White House, WSJ reports
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President Trump's statement that he hopes "China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders" would require China to import the vast majority of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the US," Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, told Reuters. Read more here. China is the world's largest soybean buyer, with nearly a quarter of those purchases coming from the US (and most of the rest coming from Brazil). President Trump's statement that he hopes "China will quickly quadruple its soybean orders" would require China to import the vast majority of its soybeans from the U.S. "It's highly unlikely that China would ever buy four times its usual volume of soybeans from the US," Johnny Xiang, founder of Beijing-based AgRadar Consulting, told Reuters. Read more here. US gold futures fall as traders await clarification on tariffs US gold futures (GC=F) in New York fell 2% as traders waited for the White House to clarify its tariff policy. Last week, the US Customs and Border agency surprised the market by ruling that 100oz and 1kg gold bars would face tariffs. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. US gold futures (GC=F) in New York fell 2% as traders waited for the White House to clarify its tariff policy. Last week, the US Customs and Border agency surprised the market by ruling that 100oz and 1kg gold bars would face tariffs. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Swiss economy seen weathering Trump's tariff shock for now Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Bloomberg News reports: Read more here. Commentary: Tariffs are denting profits, and maybe soon your portfolio With over two-thirds of companies having reported earnings, Yahoo Finance found more than four dozen large firms saying tariffs are impacting their businesses in some material way. Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman reports: Read more here. With over two-thirds of companies having reported earnings, Yahoo Finance found more than four dozen large firms saying tariffs are impacting their businesses in some material way. Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman reports: Read more here. A 240-year-old Swiss watchmaker's race to beat Trump's tariff deadline It was a chaotic week for the 240-year-old Swiss watch manufacturer DuBois et fils, as the company rushed to ship watches before President Trump's surprise 39% tariff rate on Switzerland went into effect on Thursday. It was a race against time for DuBois CEO Thomas Steinemann and his company to ship five high-end watches to the US before blocking orders on its US website. Overall, the US accounts for 17% of Switzerland's watch exports. As of April, goods from the country faced a much lower 10% tariff rate. Reuters reports: Read more here. It was a chaotic week for the 240-year-old Swiss watch manufacturer DuBois et fils, as the company rushed to ship watches before President Trump's surprise 39% tariff rate on Switzerland went into effect on Thursday. It was a race against time for DuBois CEO Thomas Steinemann and his company to ship five high-end watches to the US before blocking orders on its US website. Overall, the US accounts for 17% of Switzerland's watch exports. As of April, goods from the country faced a much lower 10% tariff rate. Reuters reports: Read more here. Tariffs are starting to squeeze farmers' profits President Trump has said he loves farmers, but his policies are starting to ripple across the agriculture industry. Trump's tariff policies, in particular, are beginning to raise the cost of machinery and fertilizers, weighing on profits. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. President Trump has said he loves farmers, but his policies are starting to ripple across the agriculture industry. Trump's tariff policies, in particular, are beginning to raise the cost of machinery and fertilizers, weighing on profits. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. The US has slapped a 39% tariff on Switzerland, leaving the country's leaders reeling Bloomberg took a deep dive looking at how the tariff negotiations between the Trump administration and Switzerland began with promise, but eventually led to the US slapping a devastating 39% levy on the country: Read more here. Bloomberg took a deep dive looking at how the tariff negotiations between the Trump administration and Switzerland began with promise, but eventually led to the US slapping a devastating 39% levy on the country: Read more here. 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The move threatens trade from Switzerland and other major refining centers. US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that these gold bars are now subject to tariffs, contradicting earlier industry expectations. The Financial Times first reported this change. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. The US has imposed tariffs on imports of 1kg and 100oz gold bars, unleashing fresh turmoil in the global bullion market. The move threatens trade from Switzerland and other major refining centers. US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that these gold bars are now subject to tariffs, contradicting earlier industry expectations. The Financial Times first reported this change. Bloomberg reports: Read more here.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why the Nvidia, AMD revenue-sharing pact with the White House is ripe for a legal challenge
The White House's reported deals with chipmakers Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for a cut of their chip sales to China are unorthodox and unprecedented — and likely to end up in court. The two pacts, according to multiple reports, would divert 15% of the companies' respective sales revenues earned on China-destined chips to the US government. In exchange for the profit sharing, the US would grant export licenses allowing Nvidia to resume sales of its H20 chips to China and AMD to resume sales of its MI308 chips to China. Wall Street is happy, at least in early afternoon trading on Monday: Both Nvidia and AMD stocks are up. But legal experts say that neither the president nor Congress is empowered to tax exports. Article I, Section 9, of the US Constitution, known as the Export Clause, prohibits such levies, saying, "No Tax or Duty shall be laid on Articles exported from any State.' 'The Constitution is clear that there really cannot be any tax on exports,' said Douglas Jacobson, an international trade lawyer with Jacobson Burton Kelley. 'In my view, it's a slam-dunk unconstitutional tax on exports.' And the US Supreme Court has interpreted the Export Clause to prohibit Congress from imposing duties on exports, even when they're characterized otherwise. Its controlling view on federally mandated export charges was stated in the unanimous 1998 decision in United States v. United States Shoe Corp. In that case, the high court struck down a congressionally approved ad valorem charge of 0.125% on exports imposed by the US Customs Service. The charge, calculated based on the value of commercial cargo shipped through US ports, known as the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT), was intended to fund upkeep on US harbors. On behalf of former President Bill Clinton's administration, the US Solicitor General argued that the HMT was a 'user fee,' and not a tax. But the court disagreed, reasoning that because the charge operated like an export tax, it violated the Export Clause. Siding with US Shoe, the court said in its opinion that the HMT 'bears the indicia of a tax.' Beyond the Constitution's export tax prohibition, the Export Controls Reform Act, passed by Congress in 2018, specifically prohibits charging exporters to obtain export licenses. Under US law, certain fees on export licenses have been held constitutional. Military exports, for example, are treated differently from non-military goods and fall under the administration of the US State Department, which requires manufacturers of military items to pay annual licensing fees. Even so, those fees are not based on the value of an applicant's exports. 'User fees are entirely permissible,' Jacobson said, but a deal for chipmakers to pay the government a 15% profit share acts like a reverse tariff and 'is clearly not a user fee.' "None of us have seen the government get a piece of the pie in this explicit way before," Tom Essaye, Sevens Report Research founder, told Yahoo Finance on Monday. A spokesperson for Nvidia neither confirmed nor acknowledged the reported profit-sharing agreement. 'We follow rules the US government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven't shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide,' the spokesperson said. 'America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America's AI tech stack can be the world's standard if we race." Exactly who might legally challenge revenue sharing plans is not altogether clear. Nvidia and AMD are unlikely to dispute their own accords. And so far, challenges from rival chipmakers are unlikely, as there's no indication that other exporters would be subject to similar agreements. Potential challenges, however, could come from Nvidia and AMD shareholders and possibly from state attorneys general. Jacobson, the trade lawyer, said it's possible shareholders could argue that the profit-sharing agreements create an adverse effect on the price of the companies' shares because the businesses are subject to an unconstitutional tax that decreases their revenue. State attorneys general, on the other hand, may be able to argue that the deal impacts a company operating within their state or jeopardizes the state's revenue. For Nvidia and AMD, the agreements make sense as a short-term play, Jacobson said, even though they would likely be invalidated if challenged. By signing on to the agreements, the companies may be able to get their chips flowing to China and later deal with clawing back damages they may be entitled to. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Pangaea Policy founder Terry Haines said the agreements may turn out to be a "one-off" for the administration due to concerns that the strategy could spread beyond Nvidia and AMD and because of China's concerns that US chips could contain "backdoors" that allow for US tracking. "The Chinese are saying they may not want the chips after all," Haines said. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @alexiskweed. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
