On January 4, Standard Chartered Wealth Management released its 2024 market outlook report. Zheng Zifeng, Chief Investment Officer of Standard Chartered's North Asia region, stated that without large-scale stimulus policies and facing geopolitical uncertainties and cautious investor attitudes, it is expected that the Hang Seng Index will fluctuate between 16000 and 17500 points this year. If there are positive policy surprises or if the market returns to the right track, it is expected to recover to 18000 to 20000 points. Zheng Zifeng pointed out that the investment market in 2024 is expected to remain differentiated and diversified, and a diversified deployment across asset classes and regions is crucial. Geopolitical tensions remain high, inflation threats are still present but easing, and there may be a positive relationship between global stock markets and bonds. It is expected that policy interest rates may fall this year, global economic growth will slow down, and bond yields may decline, which could bring positive signals to high-quality bonds and global stock markets led by the United States and Japan. The prospects of the mainland China and Hong Kong stock markets depend on policy direction and stimulus measures. He advised investors to pay attention to hidden risks in the market, including ongoing geopolitical tensions such as the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, as well as the 40 elections to be held globally this year. The U.S. economy may face a recession in the second half of the year, and inflation pressures may reappear. Therefore, he recommended investors to maintain a diversified basic investment portfolio including gold and alternative strategies, as hedging risks is crucial. He also stated that he predicts a soft landing for the U.S. economy, as the negative impacts of past interest rate hikes will drag down economic growth, but a hard landing could be avoided at least in the first half of the year. In the second half of the year, there will be continued risks of recession, as the Federal Reserve hinted at its December meeting a shift in policy stance from fighting inflation to supporting growth, with expectations of a 125 basis point rate cut this year.