Hong Kong stocks led losses in Asia due to Chinese unrest, and oil is at a low in 2022

Martin Yang, senior emerging technologies analyst at investment firm Oppenheimer, told CNBC that it is “not easy at all” to shift production of the latest Pro iPhones from the Zhengzhou factory as workers’ revolt against China’s no-Covid policy damages supply chains. “Street signs asia. “

“iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max remain exclusively produced in Zhengzhou,” he said, noting that some production of lower-tier phones such as the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 has been moved to factories in Shenzhen, China, and India.

“This suggests to me that high-end iPhones have a different set of production processes, which isn’t very easy to transfer to another location. A lot of times that suggests highly customized equipment and a trained workforce that isn’t readily available anywhere else,” Yang said. .

However, he said he had “high confidence” that customers would not switch to rival Samsung because of Apple’s “competitive advantage”.

He said that the perceived value of iPhones over Android phones has grown because Apple is able to secure higher-quality parts at lower costs while everyone else is under pressure from margins.

– Sheila Chiang

Hong Kong-based Casetify is now “close to 1 billion,” said co-founder and CEO Wesley Ng. CNBC Make It.

This follows its first round of fundraising in 2021 after 10 years of operations – with the tech accessory company reportedly making “eight figures” from C Capital.

with global inflation And the Imminent economic windsNg said Casetify was “lucky” that it wasn’t heavily subsidized, or it would have set the company “unrealistic goals”.

“We haven’t overinvested in things for unnecessary growth. So fortunately we are healthy but remain very cautious.”

Read more about Ng’s multi-million dollar company and his trading tips over here.

– Goh Chew Tong

China is likely to reopen in April next year after the National People’s Congress convenes, but there is a chance authorities will reopen earlier due to difficulties keeping Covid issues under control, according to Goldman Sachs.

China’s chief economist Hui Shan said there is a 60% chance that the above scenario will occur.

“There is also a 30% chance of reopening early precisely because of the difficulty of keeping Covid under control, and the lack of medical preparedness suggests it could be a somewhat chaotic process,” she said.

“The medical preparations are not ready yet, while the virus has evolved in this way [that] It becomes very costly to continue to implement this dynamic no-Covid policy,” she said.

She said policymakers need to weigh the costs and benefits of tough Covid restrictions as protests erupt across the country.

“This isn’t something they’ve tried before [or] She had a lot of experience dealing with the previous courses.”

– Su Lin Tan

US crude futures and Brent crude futures both fell more than 2% each in morning trade in Asia, focusing on concerns about faltering demand from China.

West Texas Intermediate Futures It fell to $73.86 a barrel, its lowest level since December 2021, while Brent Crude Futures It fell to $81.16 a barrel, the session low so far.

WTI was down 2.58% at $74.31 a barrel, while Brent was down 2.37% at $81.65 a barrel.

– Abigail Ng

Helen Qiao, chief China economist at Bank of America Securities, said household confidence will rebound once China reopens, thanks to surplus savings and pent-up demand.

“We’ve seen household savings cumulatively year-to-date at the end of October amount to about RMB5 trillion, compared to a normal year, it’s only about RMB2 trillion,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia”.

“People are reducing their loans but actually increasing their family’s deposits, because they have nowhere to spend,” she said.

– Su Lin Tan

China’s latest move to cut reserve requirement ratio For banks, 25 basis points will not matter much to their economy without a radical shift from tough Covid restrictions, according to The Economist Corporate Network.

“Consumer and investor sentiment has been hit so badly by these policies that you won’t see a recovery in any meaningful sense until there is a turnaround,” Matty Peckink, the organization’s China director, said on CNBC. “Squawk Box Asia”.

Bekink emphasized how sensitive investor sentiment has affected markets in the past.

“We’ve already seen markets move quite a bit on rumors that Beijing is going to relax — that was only a few weeks ago,” she said.

“The lockdowns seem endless and relentless,” Peking said.

– Jihe Lee

Global currencies will also be at risk of weakness along with the offshore Chinese yuan amid turmoil in China over its anti-Covid policies due to how supply chains will be affected, according to Standard Chartered Bank.

“The main question about how the world will react is how does the Chinese supply chain respond,” Stephen Englender, managing director of Standard Chartered Bank, said on CNBC. “Squawk Box Asia”.

“If there is more disruption, I think it’s very risky,” he said. “Not only CNH, but other currencies will be at risk.”

Englander added that traders may be looking to reduce their exposure to further risk.

– Jihe Lee

Stocks at mass-market retailers will decline as profit margins shrink, and consumers will cut spending next year, according to Plurimi Wealth’s chief investment officer.

Patrick Armstrong told CNBC’s Pro Talks that he was betting against a Japanese retailer, multinational apparel company and Canadian e-commerce platform by shorting their shares.

Armstrong believes that consumers will hold back on spending next year amid rising interest rates and household bills.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Crude oil futures fell early in Asia as COVID cases, virus restrictions and unrest in China rose, raising concerns about demand from the world’s second largest oil consumer.

West Texas Intermediate Futures It decreased by 0.35%, to $76.01 per barrel, while Brent Crude Futures It lost 0.26%, to $83.41 a barrel.

Oil prices fell sharply last week as increasing lockdowns in China stoked demand concerns, ANZ Research’s Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes wrote in a note on Monday.

“This continues to be a headwind for oil demand,” they said, adding that the impact of rising Covid cases was reflected in China’s mobility data as well.

– Abigail Ng

One Big Tech stock is at an “attractive” price point to buy right now, according to Brian Arkes of Foord Asset Management.

Arcese, a portfolio manager with the company, expects growth in the “mid-teens” despite cyclical headwinds in its industry.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan

The offshore Chinese yuan It weakened sharply against the US dollar amid negative sentiment over unrest in China due to Covid restrictions.

The currency fell about 0.8% against the US dollar to 7.2529 in Asian morning trade.

The dollar index It rose 0.32% to 106.29, with investors likely to view the dollar as a safe-haven asset as concern grows over China.

– Jihe Lee