Demand for US assets among Hong Kong and regional clients remained strong this year, with overnight trading in American shares doubling over the past year, driven by large-cap technology stocks and AI infrastructure, Friedland said.
“The US has effectively been on a bull run for more than 15 years,” he said in an interview with the Post. “That’s where the liquidity is, and that’s where names like Tesla and Nvidia have become high fliers and driven a lot of business.”
While early “cracks” were appearing as gains in influential stocks and bitcoin plateaued, retail behaviour was firmly in “buy the dip” mode, with US market sell-offs often met by quick inflows from individual traders, according to Friedland.
His comments come amid a sharp market pullback in recent weeks as concerns over an AI bubble have shaken investor confidence, following months of AI-driven momentum that propelled benchmark indices to new highs.
A series of prominent AI stocks, including Nvidia, saw double-digit declines in November, while broader indices such as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 retreated as much as 8.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively, from their October peaks.
