23 minutes ago
Hong Kong’s Paul Chan says HKEX explores stock trading during severe weather
Hong Kong Finance Minister Paul Chan said HKEX will consider a “range of proposals” to improve trading conditions in the city, including measures to allow stock trading during severe weather.
“The HKEX will also consider a number of proposals, including examining arrangements to keep the market operating during inclement weather,” he said, according to excerpts of his speech.
The CEO of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing told CNBC in November that if authorities issue a typhoon warning of Signal 8 or higher, the exchange “constantly” seeks to review the trading halt protocol.
– Jihye Lee
22 minutes ago
Oil prices fall slightly forward as Fed meeting minutes remain in focus
Oil prices edged lower as investors looked to minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting later in the day for signs of further interest rate hikes.
Brent crude futures were last traded 0.23% to $82.86 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.24% to $76.18 a barrel.
– Lee Ying Shan
Before an hour
Hong Kong’s economy will rebound by 3.5% to 5.5% in 2023, finance minister says
Hong Kong’s economy is expected to recover by 3.5% to 5.5% in 2023 after gross domestic product contracted by 3.5% for all of 2022.
Finance Minister Paul Chan said the “external environment deteriorated significantly in 2022,” adding that Hong Kong’s total merchandise exports fell by 13.9% in real terms last year.
This was due to “moderate growth” in major economies, slowing growth in manufacturing and trade activity in Asia, and ongoing disruptions in truck movements between Hong Kong and mainland China caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. he said.
With cost pressures likely to increase in tandem with the economic recovery, Chan forecast inflation of 2.9% in 2023. Still, he noted that Hong Kong’s economy will see “rich opportunities” in the medium to long term.
Hong Kong’s economy is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 3.7% in real terms from 2024 to 2027. The underlying inflation rate is forecast to average 2.5% per year.
— Lim Hui Jie
3 hours ago
New Zealand hikes rates 50 basis points to 4.75%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand raised interest rates by 50 basis points from 4.25% to 4.75%, in line with economists’ expectations.
In a press release, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand indicated that interest rates could still rise to ensure inflation returns to its target range over the medium term.
“While there are early signs of easing price pressures, core consumer price inflation remains too high, employment is still above sustainable levels and near-term inflation expectations remain elevated,” the bank said.
Following the announcement, the New Zealand dollar strengthened against the US dollar, trading at 0.622.
— Lim Hui Jie
27 minutes ago
Hybe shares are up over 4% even as earnings fall over 75% in 2022
Shares in K-pop agency Hybe rose 4% even as the company reported a 75.9% decline in full-year profit for 2022 compared to a year earlier.
Hybe reported net income of 33.9 billion won ($26 million), down from 2021’s 140.8 billion won – while the company’s total revenue rose to 1.78 trillion won, a 41.6% jump compared to its sales of 1.26 trillion in 2021.
The entertainment agency recently announced that it will acquire a 14.8% stake in competitor SM Entertainment from SM Founder and Executive Producer Lee Soo Man.
Lee made the move after reportedly taking legal action to prevent South Korean internet company Kakao from increasing its stake in SM to 9.05%.
— Lim Hui Jie
2 hours ago
Commonwealth Bank: Australia’s wage growth shows there is ‘no wage-price spiral’
Australia’s wage price index released on Wednesday showed the economy is not facing a wage-price spiral, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s Gareth Aird said in a statement.
“Firms that used bonuses and other one-off payments to reward, retain, and attract workers, rather than adjusting base wage upwards, didn’t have a sustained upward adjustment in input costs,” he said.
A wage-price spiral describes the phenomenon of price increases as a result of higher wages. Australia’s inflationary pressures stood at 7.8% in December, the latest data showed.
“If demand in the economy slows, these payments can be withdrawn,” Aird wrote.
– Jihye Lee
2 hours ago
Bank of Japan member sticks to monetary easing for now
Bank of Japan board member Naoki Tamura said it was appropriate for the central bank to maintain its current ultra-dovish monetary stance, according to a speech.
“At this point, I think it is appropriate to proceed with monetary easing,” he said.
He added that at some point in the future it would be “necessary to review” the framework, as well as its inflation target, “to reassess the balance between impacts and side effects.” [the] politics,” he said.
His comments come as the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond breached the upper limit of its tolerance zone, trading at 0.505% on Tuesday morning.
2 hours ago
CNBC Pro: These electric vehicle ETFs are up around 20% this year, and analysts see a lot of upside potential
The number of EV-focused exchange-traded funds has risen as interest in the industry booms.
CNBC Pro has tried to narrow the list, identifying ETFs that analysts expect will rise more than 30% over the next year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the 12 ETFs here.
— Ganesh Rao
22 hours ago
“Insure yourself against the worst”: Goldman picks stocks for a soft — and hard — economic landing
Investors are on edge after US stocks fell for three straight weeks, pointing to the possibility of higher interest rates for longer than expected.
The 6-month and 1-year Treasury yield closed at 5% on Friday, thanks to multiple economic data releases over the past week that pointed to a strong US economy.
A rise in bond yields leads to higher borrowing costs for companies, increasing downward pressure on stocks.
Despite this challenging environment, Goldman Sachs remains optimistic and expects a “soft landing” for the US economy. In this scenario, inflation will at most be brought under control with a mild recession.
To capture the upside in a soft landing scenario, the Wall Street Bank said investors should own stocks that can benefit from a decelerating inflation environment.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
4 hours ago
Australia’s wage price index misses expectations
Australia’s wage price index rose 3.3%, missing estimates in a Portal poll that had expected growth of 3.5% on an annualized basis.
Compared to the previous quarter, the wage price index rose by 0.8%, also below expectations for growth of 1%.
Wage prices rose 0.8% in the private sector and 0.7% in the public sector, the press release said.
– Jihye Lee
4 hours ago
Singapore Airlines reports record fourth quarter 2022 operating profit
Singapore Airlines reported record operating profit of $755 million for the October-December 2022 period, up 11.4% sequentially.
In a business update, SIA reported quarterly revenue of $4.85 billion, up 8% sequentially.
Net income was $628 million compared to $556.5 million in the previous quarter.
SIA said the group’s passenger capacity has reached 80% of pre-Covid levels and expects strong momentum in passenger sales for the first quarter of 2023.
But it also warned that weaker global demand and increased capacity would weigh on its air cargo segment.
— Lim Hui Jie
4 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Wall Street is loving Alibaba right now. Here’s what to expect from the tech giant’s earnings
Alibaba is a Wall Street favorite for playing China’s tech sector and the country’s reopening through Covid-19.
According to FactSet, almost all analysts — 93% — give it a buy rating. They give it an average upside potential of 43%.
The tech giant is set to announce its December quarter results on Thursday. Here’s what Wall Street expects.
– Zavier Ong
4 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Buffett-backed BYD and more: Analysts call the best “climate stocks,” giving it a 100% upside potential
Energy storage and the future of transport are two of the “most attractive” climate themes to invest in right now, according to HSBC analysts.
Among these two themes, the bank identified Buy-rated stocks as having some of the highest upside potential to their price targets.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Wheat Tan
5 hours before
Japan’s producer price index rises 1.6% in January
Japan’s PPI rose 1.6% on an annualized basis, up slightly from December’s 1.5%.
That leaves the index at 107.4, down slightly from 107.7 in December, and the first monthly decline since August 2022.
The PPI measures the average price movements that domestic manufacturers receive for goods and services sold.
The yen weakened slightly after announcing it was trading at 134.92 against the US dollar.
— Lim Hui Jie
9 hours ago
Chinese tech stocks plummet
US-listed Chinese tech stocks plummeted on Tuesday.
The shares’ pullback came amid news that e-commerce firm JD.com is reportedly launching a subsidy program to counter its rival Pinduoduo. Shares of both stocks fell more than 11% and 9%, respectively, during afternoon trade.
Other Chinese tech stocks, including Alibaba, were recently down 5%. The KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF was recently down more than 3%.
— Samantha Subin
13 hours ago
Yields reach the highest levels in three months
US Treasury yields moved past Friday’s highs and hit their highest level since November.
The 2-year rate, which is most sensitive to changes in Fed policy, hit a high of 4.725% – a level not seen since Nov. 8 when it hit 4.741%.
The 10-year benchmark, meanwhile, rose as high as 3.951%. That’s the highest level since Nov. 10, when it surged to 4.117%.
At 10:22 am ET, the 2-year Treasury yield rose 8 basis points to 4.705%. or.
— Hakyung Kim