(1) Stock Market Highlights

* U.S. Market

On September 17th, the U.S. stock market closed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down by 15 points, at 41,606 points; 

the S&P 500 (S&P) edged up by 0.03%, at 5,634 points; the Nasdaq Composite (Nasdaq) rose by 0.2%, at 17,628 points; the Golden 

Dragon Index, reflecting the performance of Chinese concept stocks, rebounded by 1.83%.

On September 18th, the U.S. stock market saw the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points, but Fed Chairman 

Powell stated that there is no rush to ease policy. The three major indices surged and then fell back, eventually closing slightly lower, 

with both the DJIA and S&P 500 hitting new highs during the session. The DJIA fell by 103.08 points, at 41,503.10 points; the Nasdaq

 fell by 54.76 points, at 17,573.30 points; the S&P 500 fell by 16.32 points, at 5,618.26 points.

* Hong Kong Market

On September 17th, the Hang Seng Index (HSI) closed up by 237 points, at 17,660 points. Despite the continued absence of Northbound 

capital, the market's daily turnover slightly increased to over 63 billion yuan. The Technology Index rose by 39 points, closing at 3,536 points.

On September 18th, the market was closed due to a holiday.

* Mainland China Market

On September 17th, the market was closed due to a holiday.

On September 18th, the Shanghai Composite Index (SCI) closed at 2,717 points, up by 13 points or 0.49%, with a turnover of 213.091 billion yuan. 

The Shenzhen Component Index (SCI) closed at 7,992 points, up by 8 points or 0.11%, with a turnover of 266.238 billion yuan. The CSI 300 Index 

reported at 3,171 points, up by 11 points or 0.37%; the ChiNext Index (CNE) reported at 1,533 points, down by 1 point or 0.11%.

(2) Economic Highlights

* The President of the German Bundesbank, Nagel, stated that the Eurozone's inflation rate has not yet reached the level desired by the European 

Central Bank (ECB), hence interest rates need to remain sufficiently high to alleviate price pressures.

* U.S. industrial production increased by 0.8% month-on-month in August, exceeding expectations of a 0.2% rise. During the period, manufacturing 

output grew by 0.9% month-on-month, outpacing the expected 0.3% increase; the capacity utilization rate was at 78%, slightly higher than the anticipated 77.9%.

* Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank, believes that whether the Federal Reserve decides to cut rates by 0.25% or 0.5% on Wednesday, 

it will not be earth-shattering. Dimon stated at a seminar that the Fed must cut rates, but such moves are minor compared to the fundamental economic changes, 

including whether the economy experiences a soft or hard landing. He emphasized that geopolitical conflicts and the relationship between China and the U.S. 

are the issues he is most concerned about, a view consistent with his remarks in July.

* BNP Paribas expects that in the event of a global economic recession, the Euro could appreciate against the U.S. Dollar, contrary to past patterns. According 

to Reuters, Sam Lynton-Brown, Global Head of Macro Strategy at BNP Paribas, has put forward several reasons for this controversial view, including that the U.S. 

Dollar is currently used as a high-yielding currency, which was not the case in the past, making it more susceptible to depreciation as U.S. interest rates fall. 

Additionally, the Fed has pushed rates above the neutral level by a greater margin than many other central banks.

(3) Corporate News

* China Construction Bank (00939) announced that due to work transfer, Li Min has submitted his resignation to the board of directors, stepping down from 

his position as Vice President. He confirmed that there are no disagreements with the board.

* Meituan (03690) CEO Wang Xing issued an internal letter stating that over the past three years, the company has hired more than 5,000 new graduates each 

year, with plans to recruit 6,000 for the class of 2025. He also mentioned that the internal promotion ratio has reached 69%. Wang Xing said that last year, 

approximately 7.45 million riders earned income through the Meituan platform, with total remuneration exceeding 80 billion yuan.

He also stated that Meituan's self-developed drones have been deployed in 31 routes in cities such as Shenzhen and Shanghai, completing over 300,000 orders. 

Meituan's autonomous delivery vehicles have been tested and operated in multiple locations including Beijing and Shenzhen, completing nearly 4 million delivery orders.

* Alibaba (09988) was recently included in the Southbound Trading (Stock Connect), which the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (00388) believes will benefit the 

southward flow of capital. However, some investment banks believe that a single stock cannot drive the turnover of the Hong Kong stock market.

After Alibaba completed its dual primary listing, it was quickly included in the Southbound Trading, officially attracting "northbound capital." HKEX CEO Nicolas 

Aguzin believes this is good news for stimulating the turnover of the Hong Kong stock market.

However, Bank of America Securities pointed out that on the first day of Alibaba's inclusion in the Southbound Trading, southbound capital accounted for only 4% of 

the total turnover, which then dropped to between 1% and 2% in the following days. It is difficult to assess whether the funds invested in Alibaba are new capital or have 

shifted from other tech stocks. It is estimated that a single stock is unlikely to drive the overall turnover of the Hong Kong stock market.