An hour ago
Consumer prices in Singapore rose more than expected in December
TOPSHOT – People walk past as the city skyline is reflected in a puddle left over from earlier rain in Singapore on February 8, 2022.
Roslan Rahman | Afp | Getty Images
Singapore's consumer prices rose more than expected in December, according to official data.
The CPI rose 3.7% in December, higher than a Portal poll estimate of 3.5%. It was higher than the 3.6% increase in November.
Singapore's core CPI rose 3.3% in December, compared with expectations of 3.1%.
The housing, food, culture and leisure segments recorded the largest increases, while the price increase for clothing and shoes moderated.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to maintain its policy when it releases its policy statement later this month.
—Shreyashi Sanyal
4 hours ago
Zee Entertainment shares fall 10% after Sony calls off merger
Zee Entertainment shares plunged 10% after Sony said on Monday it has scrapped plans for a $10 billion merger between its Indian subsidiary Sony Network Pictures India and the Indian media conglomerate.
Sony said in a statement on Monday that closing conditions would not be met within two years of the December 2021 announcement. Although Sony stated that the two sides were negotiating in good faith to extend the end date, they were unable to reach an agreement within the 30-day discussion period.
Sony said it did not expect the failed merger to have a material impact on its financial results.
– Charmaine Jacob
4 hours ago
The Bank of Japan maintains its ultra-loose policy and lowers the core inflation forecast
The Bank of Japan was expected to maintain its ultra-loose monetary policy at its first meeting this year but cut its core inflation forecast for the next fiscal year.
The BOJ unanimously decided to keep interest rates at -0.1% and stuck to its yield curve control policy, which keeps the cap on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond yield at 1%, it said in a policy statement released on Tuesday two day meeting.
In their quarterly outlook for the Japanese economy, BOJ board members cut their median growth forecast for core consumer prices – which it defines as inflation excluding food prices – to 2.4% for fiscal 2024 from April this year, compared with 2.8% the they had estimated in October.
All economists polled by Portal expected Japan's central bank to maintain its negative interest rate policy this month – making the BOJ the world's only central bank with negative interest rates. Governor Kazuo Ueda will explain this decision in a press conference later this afternoon.
Read the whole story here.
– Clement Tan
6 hours ago
Chinese authorities are reportedly weighing a $280 billion bailout for the stock market
According to Bloomberg, Chinese authorities are considering a package of measures worth 2 trillion yuan ($278.53 billion) to stabilize stock markets.
Bloomberg reported that it would come from the offshore accounts of state-owned companies, citing people familiar with the matter.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang recently chaired a Cabinet meeting in the country that called for “stronger and more effective measures to stabilize the market and boost market confidence.”
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 2%, driven by technology stocks, but mainland China's CSI 300 was slightly below zero.
—Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Hong Kong stocks are recovering after two days of declines, while tech stocks are rising
Hong Kong stocks rose sharply on Tuesday, with the Hang Seng index rising more than 3% after two straight days of declines.
Shares of technology companies led the rise in beleaguered Hong Kong markets – Asia's worst performer last year – sending the Hang Seng Tech index up nearly 5%.
Shares of NetEase rose 5.23%, Alibaba gained 4.43%, Tencent gained 4.12% and Bilibili gained 8.3%.
The Hang Seng index had fallen almost 14% in 2023, falling for the fourth consecutive year.
Real estate stocks also rose on Tuesday, with Longfor Group up nearly 10%, Logan Group up 5.7% and Country Garden up 6.56%.
9 hours ago
South Korea's producer prices rise faster in December
South Korea's producer price index rose 1.2% year-on-year in December, accelerating from November's 0.6% rise.
Month-on-month producer prices rose 0.1%, reversing the 0.4% decline in November.
Separately, the country's PPI rose 1.6% throughout 2023, a significant slowdown from the 8.4% increase in 2022.
—Lim Hui Jie
9 hours ago
Bitcoin slips below $40,000 as crypto ETF hits sell-the-news wave
A Bitcoin logo on a screen in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, fell well below $40,000 for the first time this year.
According to Coin Metrics, the price last traded at $39,690 in early Asian trading on Tuesday, which also weighed on smaller rivals such as Ethereum.
Bitcoin has fallen 14% since January 10, the day the SEC allowed ETF trading for the cryptocurrency. Ether, which has outperformed Bitcoin, has gained 3% over the same period.
“Bitcoin's months-long stay above the psychologically important $40,000 mark ends unceremoniously as ETF approval was met with a 'sell-the-news' wave, fueled by a capital flight from GBTC (Grayscale Bitcoin Trust). said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder of digital asset company Nexo.
“It feels like Bitcoin investors are riding up a descending escalator while traditional financial benchmarks enjoy the easier path to record highs. This phase where Bitcoin has to sprint to stand still could well last a few weeks as locked-in GBTC investors finally get an opportunity to exit their positions.
The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF is the largest in the world with over $25 billion in assets under management.
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, told CNBC last week that most of the approved Bitcoin ETFs will not survive.
9 hours ago
“It’s really bad”: China strategist warns of deflation and falling consumer confidence
Customers buy fruit in a supermarket on November 9, 2023.
Visual China Group | Getty Images
Deflation could soon impact Chinese growth as Beijing looks ahead to another three to six months of a “very painful economy,” said Shaun Rein, founder of China Market Research Group.
“This is something investors need to be wary of. The economy here is bad, it's pretty… it's really bad. “I've been in China for 27 years and this is probably the lowest confidence I've ever seen,” Rein told CNBC's “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.
“So deflation is starting to rear its ugly head. Consumers are waiting for discounts. They are very nervous.”
In December, falling pork prices – which account for about a fifth of China's consumer price index – were a harbinger of possible deflation.
Read the whole story here.
— Ruxandra Iordache
9 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Volkswagen and more: Barclays names European 'conviction' stock ideas – and gives one a 59% gain
Barclays has given an upbeat forecast for shares in 2024, expecting higher but more moderate returns than last year's extraordinary gains.
The investment bank believes stocks still have room to rise if inflation continues to slow, allowing central banks to eventually cut interest rates.
CNBC Pro takes a look at five companies, including Volkswagen, on Barclays' European Conviction with Catalysts list of stock ideas that offer strong upside potential.
Subscribers can read more here.
– Ganesh Rao
9 hours ago
CNBC Pro: JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are bullish on these U.S.-listed names in China's internet sector
Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan shared their top internet tips for China and the topics to watch right now.
Both Wall Street banks said the sector will be an alpha-driven market.
“Going into 2024, we believe an alpha-driven investment strategy will continue to provide good risk-reward,” JPMorgan said in a Jan. 16 note.
Both banks mentioned their preferred names in the industry. All are traded in the United States. One called it a “good contrarian long case” and gave it 107% upside potential.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Weizhen Tan
14 hours ago
Investors should prepare for an imminent market sell-off even as shares reach new highs, HSBC says
The S&P 500 may have risen to new highs at the close of last Friday's trading session, but HSBC says investors shouldn't expect the stock rally to continue for much longer.
“Cracks are emerging under the hood,” wrote analyst Max Kettner. “While it may be tempting to chase recent all-time highs, we maintain our view of a reverse Goldilocks episode hitting virtually all asset classes in the coming months.”
As evidence, Kettner pointed to “shakier” activity in markets outside of U.S. large-cap names driven by the AI frenzy. Small and micro caps, high beta and meme stocks are down this year, as are European stocks.
In addition, Kettner emphasized that the gains in US large-cap stocks have so far been driven primarily by high-quality names. On the other hand, inferior names already seem to be suffering.
—Lisa Kailai Han
16 hours ago
Oil rises after Ukraine's suspected drone attack on Russian fuel terminal
Oil prices rose more than $1 on Monday after a suspected Ukrainian drone attack on a major Russian fuel depot drew renewed attention to the threat to crude supplies.
The West Texas Intermediate futures contract for February rose $1.42, or 1.93%, to trade at $74.83 a barrel. The March Brent contract gained $1.12, or 1.43%, to trade at $79.68 a barrel.
Ukrainian drones have attacked a Russian fuel processing and export terminal on the Baltic Sea called Ust-Luga, sources in Kiev told the BBC and the Wall Street Journal.
“The Ukrainian drone attack on the Baltic Sea port raises the question: Will this be a political decision by Ukrainians to attack Russian oil infrastructure,” said Bob Yawger, managing director and energy futures strategist at Mizuho Americas. “If that’s the case, that’s a problem,” Yawger said.
–Spencer Kimball
13 hours ago
Dow Heads for Third Record Close of 2024; S&P 500 on course for 2nd place
Any closing gain for the Dow on Monday would be its second straight record and third this year, after hitting previous milestones on Jan. 2 (37,715) and Jan. 19 (37,864). The blue-chip index is also on track to clear Friday's intraday peak of 37,933.73.
The 30-stock Dow surpassed its previous high set in January 2022 on December 13, 2023, ending the month with a total of seven new all-time closing highs.
A little later, the S&P 500 came to the party and finally reached its January 2022 highs on both a closing and intraday basis on Friday, January 19th. Now he is ready to set a record for the second year in a row on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index has yet to surpass its November 19, 2021 closing record of 16,057 and its November 22, 2021 intraday high of 16,121.
See grafic…
Nasdaq Composite since intraday record on November 22, 2021