Josh Brown, chief executive of Ritholtz Wealth Management, said there are still many doubters about the rebound in Chinese technology stocks, but stock prices are likely to continue to climb. CNBC’s “Halftime Report” Investment Committee chose a contrarian approach at the beginning of the year, and Brown chose the Kingsoft CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), although he did not actually buy any stocks. The fund has rebounded so far in 2024 after three straight years of losses, and Brown said on Thursday that sentiment toward Chinese stocks was too negative. He credits Rate Observer editor Jim Grant with teaching him the saying “good things happen to cheap assets.” “When no one in their wildest imagination can concoct why you would buy an entire asset class, you don’t even need much news to get a huge move in stock prices,” Brown said Thursday. Halftime Report” said. KWEB 5Y mountain The KWEB fund is set to rise in 2024 after several years of losses. KWEB rose more than 8% on Thursday, bringing its year-to-date gain to about 12%. As the fund’s full name suggests, KWEB is not a broad index fund for the Chinese market, but instead focuses on growth technology stocks. Its major holdings include Tencent Holdings and Alibaba. “These are the best Chinese stocks. These are technology and Internet companies, many of which are also traded in the U.S.,” Brown said. Brown said investor dissatisfaction with China is partly due to friction between business and political leaders, but that “some softening of regulations and rhetoric” from Chinese officials on technology and commerce could help sustain the rally. “Maybe there are some people who like (stocks) now, but I still think it’s a contrarian investment and China has realized that they actually need the stock market to work,” Brown said.
