4 hours ago
The Reserve Bank of Australia hikes rates by 25 basis points
Surprisingly, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its interest rate target by 25 basis points to 3.85%, noting that inflation in the country was “still too high”.
Economists polled by Portal widely expected the central bank to keep interest rates steady at 3.6%.
“While recent data showed a welcome decline in inflation, the key forecast remains that it will take a few years for inflation to return to the top of the target range; inflation is projected to be 4½ percent in 2023 and 3 percent in mid-2025,” the central bank said in its statement.
The RBA added that its priority “remains getting inflation back on target” and left the door open for more rate hikes.
“Further monetary tightening may be needed to ensure inflation returns to target within a reasonable timeframe, but that will depend on how the economy and inflation develop,” it said.
The yield on the 10-year Australian government bond was 3.472% shortly after the decision.
4 hours ago
HSBC reports that first-quarter profit before tax rose to $13 billion
HSBC’s pre-tax profit rose $8.7 billion to $12.9 billion in the first quarter, the bank said in a earnings release.
The bank said it was a $2.1 billion write-up related to a proposed sale of its retail banking business in France and a preliminary $1.5 billion gain from its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm included.
“We remain focused on further improving our performance and maintaining strict cost discipline, but we also saw an opportunity to invest in SVB UK to accelerate our growth plans,” CEO Noel Quinn said in the press release, referring to Silicon Valley Bank UK as “natural”. fit” for the bank.
Hong Kong-listed shares of HSBC rose 2.7% on Tuesday afternoon.
– Jihye Lee
5 hours before
Asian currencies strengthen sharply, Aussie rises ahead of RBA meeting
Asia-Pacific currencies rallied alongside the Australian dollar, which appreciated slightly ahead of the central bank’s interest rate decision.
The Aussie was up 0.6632 against the US dollar and the New Zealand dollar was up 0.2% against the greenback to 0.6180.
The Japanese yen also edged up to 137.37, while the US dollar index fell 0.12% to 102.3.
The Korean won was also up 0.2% against the greenback to 1,340.2.
6 hours ago
Hong Kong’s John Lee said the economy grew 2.7% in the first quarter
Hong Kong posted economic growth of 2.7% in the first quarter, Chief Executive John Lee said at a news conference on Tuesday.
The economy shrank by 4.2% year-on-year in the final quarter of 2022.
“Although the first-quarter export figures are still falling, China’s economy is steadily growing rapidly and the recovery of Hong Kong’s air traffic capacity is accelerating,” Lee said.
“I believe that the economy in HK will be better in the second quarter than in the first quarter, and this year’s economy will be better than last year,” he said.
– Vivian Kam
6 hours ago
DBS reports record sales and net income for the first quarter
DBS Group Holdings has reported record sales and earnings for the first quarter of 2023.
Revenue was SG$4.9 billion, a 34% increase over the prior year, while net income was SG$2.57 billion, a 43% increase over the same period last year.
In a press release, DBS said this was due to “higher net interest margin, continued business momentum and resilient asset quality.”
Shares of DBS rose 0.55% on Tuesday.
7 hours ago
Factory activity mainly expands to five ASEAN countries in April
S&P Global private surveys showed that factory activity in five ASEAN countries rose for most of April.
Production expanded in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, with Thailand leading the gains
Thailand’s manufacturing sector grew the fastest in April, with the purchasing managers’ index at 60.4.
However, Malaysia was the only outlier with a manufacturing PMI of 48.1 marking its eighth straight month of contraction.
— Lim Hui Jie
7 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Analyst Mark Mahaney shares his top two picks for tech stocks with upside potential of 152%
While other markets have been volatile this year, the technology sector has rebounded – the Nasdaq is up 16% year to date.
Evercore ISI’s top tech analyst Mark Mahaney gives a tech stock another nearly 50% upside and says it’s “super attractively” valued.
He gave his No. 2 pick another 152% gain.
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— Wheat Tan
7 hours ago
South Korea’s factory activity remains in contraction territory for 10 months: S&P Global
South Korea’s manufacturing PMI rose to 48.1 in April from 47.6 in March, a private survey showed on Tuesday.
Despite the improvement, this was the tenth straight month that S&P Global’s PMI for South Korean manufacturers stayed below the 50 mark, which separates contraction and growth.
S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Usamah Bhatti said in Tuesday’s news release, “Subdued domestic and international customer demand has been central to the recent deterioration and contributed to a solid decline in new orders,” he added
Bhatti also pointed out that South Korean manufacturing companies would then cut output levels, intermediate purchases and employment.
— Lim Hui Jie
Sunday, April 30, 2023 11:59 pm EDT
Australia is expected to keep interest rates steady at 3.6%
Australia’s central bank is expected to keep interest rates on hold at 3.6% when it announces its decision on Tuesday.
A Portal poll of 34 economists showed that 26 of them expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to leave interest rates on hold, while the remaining eight forecast a 25 basis point hike.
If the RBA hikes rates to 3.85%, that would be the highest level since April 2012.
Australia’s inflation — a key data point for the RBA — eased to 7% in the first quarter, down from the 7.8% recorded at the end of 2022.
— Lim Hui Jie
8 hours ago
South Korea’s inflation falls to 14-month low of 3.7%
South Korea’s inflation rate eased to 3.7% in April, down from 4.2% in March.
It was also the slowest pace of inflation in 14 months and the third straight month of decline.
The figure of 3.7% was also broadly in line with economists’ expectations of 3.75%.
In April, the South Korean central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 3.5%.
— Lim Hui Jie
8 hours ago
ARM’s IPO filing raises speculation of a SoftBank acquisition
SoftBank’s chipmaker Arm privately filed for a US listing, sparking speculation of a management buyout of SoftBank, Nikkei reported.
The report added that SoftBank Group has raised billions of dollars with its holdings, including its stake in Alibaba — and that the Japanese firm could use Arm’s stock instead, which would allow the Vision Fund to start investing again.
Nikkei also reported that SoftBank could go private if it sells about half of its stock portfolio, and a high valuation of Arm would further widen the gap between SoftBank Group’s valuation and that of its assets, making a buyout all the more likely.
SoftBank shares were up 0.7% Tuesday morning in Tokyo.
18 hours ago
The dollar is gaining momentum against the yen
The dollar rose against the Japanese yen on Monday, hitting a high of 136.98 per USD. The greenback is trading at its highest level against the yen since March 10 when the dollar-yen pair was at 136.99.
The dollar is also now within striking distance of a high not seen since March 9th when the greenback was trading at 137.37 against the yen.
Elsewhere, the euro also rallied against the yen, hitting 150.94, its highest trading level since September 30, 2008.
-Brian Evans, Gina Francolla
19 hours ago
Dimon ends “that part of the crisis” after JPMorgan acquires First Republic
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sees the crisis that contributed to the collapse of three banks in recent weeks as largely over after banking giant acquired First Republic.
“There might be a smaller one, but that pretty much solves them all,” he said during a call with analysts after the deal was announced. “That part of the crisis is over.”
Dimon’s comments come after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over the bank, which has fallen victim to deposit flight in recent weeks following the collapse of Silicon Valley Banks. JPMorgan will acquire most of the embattled company’s assets and take control of its deposits.
– Hugh Son, Samantha Subin
21 hours ago
Regional bank stocks are quiet after First Republic failure
First Republic’s failure over the weekend hasn’t had a major impact on other regional bank stocks so far.
The SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) was down less than 0.4% in premarket trading. PacWest Bancorp shares fell 2.4%, but Western Alliance edged up. First Horizon and Zions Bancorp each lost about 0.2%.
First Republic fell sharply and is now trading below $2 a share and the stock is likely to be written down to zero. However, as of Friday’s close, First Republic had a weighting of less than 0.15% in the KRE.
See grafic…
regional bank stocks
18 hours ago
The ISM manufacturing gauge rose more than expected in April
U.S. manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth straight month in April, albeit less than expected, according to a report by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday.
The ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index came in at 47.1%, representing the proportion of companies reporting expansion for the month. That was higher than March’s 46.3% and better than the Dow Jones’ 46.7% estimate.
However, the details could be unsettling for Federal Reserve officials trying to control inflation.
The price index rose 4 points to 53.2%, back in expansion territory, while the employment index rose 3.3 points to 50.2%. Inventories, which held back growth significantly in the first quarter, fell 1.2 points to 46.3%, while new orders rose 1.4 points to 45.7%.
– Jeff Cox