3 hours ago
Coinbase shares rose 14% in after-hours trading after posting its first quarterly profit in two years
Shares of Coinbase Global rose more than 14% in after-hours trading after the crypto exchange posted its first quarterly profit since 2021 on Thursday, helped by increased trading volumes.
Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas attributed the strong returns to recent enthusiasm in the crypto market after spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in the US last month.
“We are now proud stewards of 90% of all ETF cryptocurrency and that directly benefits our platform, but I would say we have seen growth across the board with this.” [bitcoin ETF] Excitement,” she told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime.”
Bitcoin price rose more than 50% in the final three months of last year, while Coinbase's transaction volume rose 64% to $529.3 million in the same period.
Coinbase's momentum “remains strong” as it enters the first quarter, Owen Lau, executive director and senior analyst at Oppenheimer, said on CNBC's “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
“We still have a lot of uncertainty from a regulatory perspective, but we are moving in the right direction,” he said. “We forecast fairly sustainable profitability over the next few quarters.”
—Dylan Butts
4 hours ago
Japan's finance minister says the yen's performance needs to be monitored with “urgency.”
According to a Portal report, Japan's finance minister said on Friday that he was monitoring the yen's movements “with great urgency,” adding that a weak yen had both advantages and disadvantages.
“Currency rates are set by markets that reflect fundamentals. Rapid movements are undesirable and stable movements are desirable,” Suzuki reportedly told a session of the lower house of parliament.
The yen weakened on Friday, trading at the psychologically important level of 150 per dollar, a day after the country entered a technical recession.
—Lee Ying Shan, Portal
5 hours ago
“Clearer signals” from Beijing are needed for aggressive policy easing, analyst says
Beijing needs to show “clearer signals” for aggressive policy easing to halt the growth downturn, China market expert Yan Wang said on Friday.
“Otherwise, I doubt the market can recover sustainably,” Wang, chief emerging markets and China strategist at global investment research and strategy firm Alpine Macro, said on CNBC's “Street Signs Asia.”
Investment banks expect China's economy to grow more slowly in 2024 compared to 2023 – even last year, China's economy recovered more slowly than expected after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
“The government has refused to provide very strong stimulus to support the economy, and structurally, the policy shift that Beijing has made in recent years has damaged confidence,” Wang said.
Markets in China are closed this week for the Chinese New Year holiday.
–Sheila Chiang
5 hours ago
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rise in January
Official data showed Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 16.8% in January from a year earlier, off a one-year low.
The reading comes after a 1.5% decline in December. According to a statement released by Enterprise SG, exports of both electronics and non-electronic products increased.
“NODX [non-oil domestic exports] to the top markets overall grew in January 2024, mainly due to China, the US and Hong Kong; although NODX declined for the EU-27, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand,” it said.
On a seasonally adjusted month-on-month basis, Singapore's NODX rose 2.3%, non-electronic goods grew while electronics exports fell.
–Lee Ying Shan
6 hours ago
Nikkei heading to all-time high, says Morgan Stanley
The Nikkei 225 is expected to reach an all-time high with a price of over 38,600 points and a 34-year high.
A new all-time high for the Nikkei is “imminent,” Morgan Stanley wrote in a Feb. 15 research note, maintaining its bullish stance on Japanese stocks.
“The Nikkei index has risen above 38,000 and now appears likely to break the all-time high of 38,916 set back in December 1989 in the near term,” Morgan Stanley economists wrote.
The index is currently trading 1.37% higher.
–Lee Ying Shan
7 hours ago
The timing of ending negative interest rates is the prerogative of the central bank, says Japan's finance minister
According to a Portal report, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on Friday that it would be up to the Bank of Japan to decide when to end its negative interest rate policy.
Japan's economy has lost its place as the world's third-largest economy to Germany, sliding into a technical recession and raising hopes that the central bank could stick to its ultra-loose monetary policy for longer.
“I am aware that there are different opinions in the market,” Suzuki reportedly said when asked whether the weak gross domestic product data could impact the timing of the central bank's policy changes.
-Lee Ying Shan, Portal
11 hours ago
The S&P 500 hits a new record closing high
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Brendan McDermid | Portal
All three major stock indexes ended the day higher, with the S&P 500 hitting a new record high.
The broad market index rose 0.58% to close at 5,029.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 348.85 points, or 0.91%, to close at 38,773.12. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.30% to close at 15,906.17.
—Lisa Kailai Han
8 hours ago
CNBC Pro: “The bubble may be far from burst”: Capital Economics reveals bullish S&P 500 target
The S&P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time last week. But as the index rose, so did concerns about its valuation.
However, investors need not worry as the rally could still have plenty of room to run, according to Capital Economics.
The research firm's senior market economist revealed his price target in a note to clients titled: “The bubble may be far from bursting.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Ganesh Rao
13 hours ago
Oil Defies Weak Demand Forecast, Rebounds on Weaker Dollar
H&P Rig 488 drilling rig and pump in Stanton, Texas, on June 8, 2023.
Suzanne Cordeiro | AFP | Getty Images
Oil prices rebounded on Thursday on a weakening dollar, after shaking off earlier losses on a weak demand forecast for 2024.
The March West Texas Intermediate contract rose $1.46, or 1.91%, to $78.10 a barrel. The April Brent contract traded at $82.83 per barrel, up $1.23 or 1.51% per barrel.
Oil prices found support from a weakening dollar after U.S. retail sales fell more than expected in January, said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.
Futures fell about 1% early in the trading session after the Paris-based International Energy Agency forecast demand would rise by 1.2 million barrels a day this year, a nearly 50% drop from growth 2.3 million bpd in 2023.
–Spencer Kimball
8 hours ago
CNBC Pro: 'Underrated Beneficiaries' of AI: Morgan Stanley Splits Asian Names, Gives One Up 113%
Many U.S. companies have caught the attention of investors as part of the artificial intelligence boom, but there are “underappreciated beneficiaries” in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Morgan Stanley.
It says Japan stands out with 53% of companies considered to be AI beneficiaries – almost on par with 54% in the United States, over 50% in Europe and 39% in Asia Pacific excluding Japan.
Here are some names from Morgan Stanley's screening of AI enablers – enablers, adopters and those who are both – that it says have “the greatest potential for outperformance over the next 12 months.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Weizhen Tan