(1) Stock Market News

-U.S. Market

The U.S. market closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up by 242 points or 0.61%, at 40,008 points; the S&P 500 rose by 0.38%, marking a 5-day winning streak, 

at 5,455 points; the NASDAQ Composite turned positive by 0.03%, at 17,192 points. European stocks stabilized, with the UK, France, and Germany's stock markets closing up by 0.56%, 0.79%, and 0.41% respectively.

-Hong Kong Market

The Hang Seng Index closed down by 60 points, at 17,113 points. The total turnover for the day was reduced to over 68 billion Hong Kong dollars. The Hang Seng Tech Index fell by 33 points, closing at 3,395 points.

-Mainland China Market

The Shanghai Composite Index opened low and closed lower, ending the day at 2,850 points, down by 17 points or 0.6%, with a turnover of 207.458 billion yuan. 

The Shenzhen Component Index opened down by 5 points, and the decline gradually widened, closing at 8,311 points, down by 98 points or 1.17%, with a turnover of 269.996 billion yuan. 

The CSI 300 Index stood at 3,309 points, down by 25 points or 0.75%; the ChiNext Index was at 1,584 points, down by 22 points or 1.42%.

(2) Economic News

- U.S. July Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% month-on-month, in line with market expectations; the year-on-year increase was 2.9%, with both the expectation and the previous value being a 3% increase. 

During the period, the core CPI rose by 0.2% month-on-month; the year-on-year increase was 3.2%, both in line with market expectations.

- The Macao Financial Bureau announced that the central account - budget execution data showed that in the first 7 months of this year, the lucky gaming revenue was approximately 51.619 billion patacas (same below), 

a year-on-year increase of 57.97%, reaching 61.7% of the annual revenue budget of 83.609 billion patacas. In July alone, Macao's lucky gaming revenue was about 6.829 billion patacas, a year-on-year increase of 16.06%.

- Morgan Chase Managing Director and Chief Asia and China Equity Strategist Liu Mingyi pointed out that the early yen unwinding tide has driven a small amount of foreign capital from other stock markets to Chinese stocks, 

but warned that the U.S. election in the second half of the year may pose risks to Chinese stocks. If the economic growth in mainland China is ideal in the second half of the year, she does not rule out that the MSCI China

 Index may have a single-digit increase, but emphasizes that stock selection is far more important than predicting the index increase.

- Morgan Chase Chief Economist for China and Head of Greater China Economic Research Zhu Haibin expects that the mainland can record a 4.7% economic growth for the whole year, but he is cautious about 

the economic prospects for the second half of the year in mainland China. He explained that mainland exports will weaken in the second half of the year, coupled with the U.S. election or the uncertainty it may bring to

 the export prospects of China, so he believes that stimulating consumption is very important for the mainland economy.

(3) Company News

- Cheung Kong Infrastructure Group (01038) earned more than 1% in the first half of the year. In addition, Cheung Kong announced that it will acquire UK onshore wind power assets with Cheung Kong Group (01113) and

 Power Assets for 3.5 billion yuan. Amid a weak global economy and a high-interest environment, Cheung Kong continued to maintain a robust performance in the first half of the year through diversified infrastructure businesses,

 with strong recurring income. Cheung Kong's interim net profit was 4.31 billion yuan, an increase of more than 1%, with revenue falling by 2% to about 19 billion yuan, and the interim dividend increased to 0.72 yuan.

- Power Assets (00006) just released the mid-year performance for 2024. The group's unaudited surplus for the six months ending June 30, 2024, was HKD 30.06 billion (2023: HKD 29.59 billion), an increase of 2% year-on-year.

 Despite the rise in global market interest rates and the impact of the new price control on the UK Power Networks (UKPN) business, the group achieved a robust performance with strong resilience. The board of directors

 announced an interim dividend of 78 Hong Kong cents per share, which will be distributed on September 24, 2024, to shareholders registered in the company's share register on September 12, 2024.

- Tencent Holdings (00700) earned nearly 82% more in the last quarter. As of the end of June, the second quarter, the net profit was more than 47.6 billion yuan, with an 8% increase in revenue to more than 161.1 billion yuan. 

According to the non-IFRS standards, the adjusted profit was more than 57.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 53%, beating expectations.

- FWD Group announced 11 community care grant programs to support communities across Asia. CEO Huang Qingfeng said that the group has grown and expanded its business in the Asian region over the past 11 years,

 with "careful care" as the core value of the company, the grant program focuses on financial education, employment preparation, social entrepreneurship, and mental and physical health initiatives. In Hong Kong,

 it will support the Qi Li Fu Qing Association, through peer support training, to improve the mental health of high school students.

(4) Company Performance Announcements

- Chinese Estates Holdings (00127) turned from profit to loss in the first half of the year. The group lost 422 million yuan, compared with a profit of more than 140 million yuan in the same period last year. During the period, 

revenue fell by 27% to 195 million yuan, and no interim dividend was paid.

- Toridoll Japan, the parent company of Tam Jai International (02217), announced its performance. Among them, Tam Jai's revenue for the three months ending June fell by 0.3% year-on-year, and the after-tax profit fell sharply

 by more than 61% to 13 million yuan.

- Evergrande Property (06666) expects a more than 30% decline in mid-term profits. Evergrande Property estimates that the net profit for the first half of the year ending in June fell by about 37% year-on-year, mainly due 

to non-operational expenditures such as tax overdue fines and the adoption of a more cautious revenue recognition method, rather than business operations. It is estimated that the monetary funds increased by about 22 million yuan 

compared to the end of last year, and the assets increased by about 437 million yuan compared to the end of last year.