4 hours ago
Hong Kong stocks plunge over 2%, led by real estate stocks
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was the worst-performing index in Asia for a second straight day, falling 2.76% as real estate and consumer staples fell.
The biggest loser in the HSI was Chinese tech giant Alibaba's subsidiary Alibaba Health Information Technology, which fell 7.43%.
This was followed by residential property manager Longfor Group and tech heavyweight Meituan, which lost 5.68% and 5.48% respectively.
6 hours ago
China reports fourth-quarter GDP decline as retail sales disappoint in December
China reported fourth-quarter GDP numbers slightly below expectations, indicating growth of 5.2% in 2023.
The country's economy grew 5.2% in the October-December quarter, China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. That's below expectations of 5.3% growth forecast by economists in a Portal poll.
China's statistics bureau said the urban unemployment rate was 5.1% in December, while the unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 remained significantly higher at 14.9%.
The office temporarily suspended publication of the unemployment rate for the younger age group in the summer on the grounds that the calculation methods needed to be reevaluated. This unemployment rate had previously risen to record levels of over 20%.
Read the whole story here.
—Evelyn Cheng
8 hours ago
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies is declining
Business sentiment among major Japanese manufacturers fell in January for the first time in four months, according to Portal' monthly Tankan survey.
The manufacturing sentiment index was +6, up from +12 six points in December, while the services index rose to +29 in January from +26 the previous month.
The monthly Portal poll tracks the Bank of Japan's flagship quarterly Tankan survey and is calculated by subtracting the percentage of pessimistic respondents from optimistic respondents. A positive number means that there are more optimists than pessimists and vice versa.
Portal said the survey underscored concerns about weak foreign demand, particularly from China.
—Lim Hui Jie
7 hours ago
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports unexpectedly decline in December
Customers at a cafe on an almost empty street in Singapore, on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
Lauryn Ishak | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Official data showed Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell unexpectedly year-on-year in December.
Singapore's NODX fell 1.5% last month, while a Portal poll expected a rise of 3.3%. NODX was up 1% in November.
The decline was due to lower electronics shipments. Shipments of non-electronic products increased.
Exports to Singapore's key markets – Taiwan, South Korea and Japan – fell significantly in the final month of 2023.
However, NODX to China, Hong Kong, the European Union and the United States rose.
—Shreyashi Sanyal
9 hours ago
CNBC Pro: “Buy on dips”: Morgan Stanley names its favorite stocks in the European tech sector
According to Morgan Stanley, the European technology hardware sector's 2023 “rollercoaster year” has ended on a high note and a cyclical recovery is now underway.
The Wall Street bank expects investors to focus on a cyclical recovery and key themes such as artificial intelligence, advanced packaging, silicon carbide and gated all-round transistors.
These themes collectively “can drive earnings momentum this year, particularly in 2H24,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote, naming six stocks that are overweight.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
—Amala Balakrishner
9 hours ago
CNBC Pro: 'A Plenty of Recovery Opportunities': Citi and Others Bullish on Biotech and More, Name Stocks
2023 hasn't been a good year for the healthcare sector, but some investors expect it to make a comeback this year – highlighting biotech and medical devices as areas to watch.
The healthcare industry “seems poised to get back to the top given changing demographics and the benefits of artificial intelligence,” Citi said, adding that it expects “the recovery of healthcare profits in 2024 to be a key driver.” for potential outperformance in this sector.” .”
CNBC Pro takes a look at stock picks and other investing tips for the sector offered by the bank — and strategists elsewhere.
Subscribers can read more here.
– Weizhen Tan
16 hours ago
Yields are rising after Fed Governor Wallace says rate cuts could come slower than expected
The 10-year Treasury yield rose nearly 9 basis points on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggested the central bank may take its time cutting interest rates.
“As long as inflation doesn’t rise again and stays elevated, I believe [Federal Open Market Committee] “We will be able to lower the target range for the federal funds rate this year,” Waller said in a speech at the Brookings Institution.
“When the time is right to start cutting rates, I believe they can and should be cut methodically and carefully,” he added. “In many previous cycles… interest rates were cut reactively, quickly and often by large amounts. However, in this cycle I don’t see any reason to move as quickly or cut as quickly as in the past.”
– Hakyung Kim
14 hours ago
Oil falls on stronger dollar and interest rate expectations
Oil prices fell on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened after a Federal Reserve official suggested the central bank may not cut interest rates as aggressively as the market expects.
The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for February fell 56 cents, or 0.77%, to trade at $72.12 a barrel. The March Brent futures contract fell 13 cents, or 0.17%, to trade at $78.02 a barrel.
The U.S. dollar index rose nearly 1% after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said interest rates “should be cut methodically and cautiously” when the time is right.
Waller acknowledged that the cuts are likely this year as long as inflation does not rise again and remains high.
Oil prices rose at the start of Tuesday's trading session as investors watched rising tensions in the Middle East, particularly in the Red Sea.
Oil giant Shell has halted transit through the Red Sea because it fears attacks by Houthi fighters on commercial ships in the waterway, the Wall Street Journal reported.
–Spencer Kimball
15 hours ago
Microsoft and Nvidia hit new highs among 16 S&P 500 names
'Magnificent 7 Stocks' Microsoft and Nvidia were two of the 16 S&P 500 names that hit new highs on Tuesday. Microsoft shares traded at levels not seen since March 1986, while Nvidia shares traded at levels not seen since January 1999.
Here are some of the other names that hit all-time highs:
- Palo Alto Networks traded at all-time highs until the IPO in July 2012
- Eli Lilly Trading reached an all-time high back in 1952 when the company offered its first public shares
- CBOE Holdings has been trading at an all-time high since its IPO in June 2010
- The TJX companies have been trading at all-time highs since going public in 1987
- Allstate Roebuck, originally the insurance subsidiary of Sears, has been trading at all-time highs since its initial public offering in 1993
— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes
13 hours ago
Energy leads sector losses on Tuesday
The energy sector posted the biggest fall within the S&P 500 on Tuesday, falling 2.1%, as oil prices fell on a strengthening U.S. dollar. EQT, APA and EOG Resources all fell about 3.4%.
Financial stocks also fell on a series of earnings reports from major banks. Morgan Stanley, which reported its quarterly results this morning, fell 5.2%. PayPal and T Rowe Price Group fell 4.6% and 3.9%, respectively.
– Hakyung Kim