2 hours ago
Chinese real estate stocks rebound for second day, hitting near four-week highs
Official data showed on Monday that real estate investment in China fell nearly 8% in the first half of the year, pointing to a widening decline in investment in a sector that accounts for about a quarter of the world's second-largest economy.
Future publishing | Future publishing | Getty Images
China's real estate stocks extended their gains on Friday, with the CSI 300 real estate sector hitting a nearly four-week high.
The index was last up 2.5% in morning trading, after rising nearly 6% on Thursday. It is up almost 12% in the last four sessions.
China's real estate stocks jumped in the previous session after the People's Bank of China, along with the Ministry of Finance, announced measures that would help increase liquidity available to property developers.
The new measures apply until the end of 2024.
Shares in Hong Kong-listed Country Garden rose 1.4%, Logan Group rose 1.6% and CK Asset Holdings rose 1.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Mainland Properties Index rose 0.3% after rising 4.3% in the previous session.
—Shreyashi Sanyal
5 hours ago
The Bank of Japan is in no hurry to change its monetary policy stance, meeting minutes show
Japan's central bank will not end its negative interest rate and yield curve control policies based on “specific numerical values”, including negotiations on wage increases.
According to minutes of the BOJ's December meeting, several board members said that exit from NIRP and YCC “will be decided at any future meeting based on various data and information obtained at any time.”
At the meeting, some members also expressed the view that the bank is not currently in a situation where it would “fall into the background” if it did not rush to raise key interest rates.
The members added that even if the BOJ made a decision after wage negotiations between workers and employers concluded in spring 2024, “it would not be too late.”
—Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Inflation in Tokyo falls for third month in a row; Core inflation lower than expected
Inflation in Japan's capital Tokyo fell to 1.6% in January from 2.4% in December.
Tokyo's inflation rate is widely considered a leading indicator of nationwide inflation trends in Japan.
Tokyo's core inflation rate, which takes into account fresh food prices, was also at 1.6%, lower than the 1.9% expected by economists polled by Portal and also lower than December's 2.1%.
The so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which takes into account fresh food and energy prices and is monitored by the Bank of Japan, fell to 2.2% from 2.7% in January.
—Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Want to protect your portfolio from a downturn? Away from cash and towards bonds, says UBS
Proactive investors should exit their cash-rich positions now and move into bonds before the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates, said Mark Haefele of UBS.
The 100 largest money market funds still yield well over 5%, but those rates will fall as the Fed cuts rates. Haefele, global chief investment officer for asset management, said that in its base case, UBS expects a return of 8.5% for high-quality intermediate-dated bonds, compared with 4.3% for cash.
Another reason to choose longer-term fixed-interest securities: In the event of a hard landing, portfolio losses would be cushioned by these bonds. In a recession scenario, UBS expects equity markets could fall more than 15% on a total return basis, but those losses would be offset by a 16% rally in bonds.
A portfolio invested 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds would only see a 3% decline under these circumstances, Haefele said.
“Investors holding excessive amounts of cash would not be as well protected in this scenario – cash does not recover and interest yields would likely decline in this scenario,” he wrote.
-Darla Mercado
6 hours ago
Transportation stocks are poised to receive a bid, according to MRB Partners
With the decline in freight shipments expected to reverse in 2024, driven in part by low inventory levels leading to a revival in manufacturing production, transportation inventories are also expected to recover, MRB Partners said in a note on Thursday. Increased global trade should also give a boost to stocks, the researcher said.
Within the industry, MRB recommends air freight and logistics companies, saying: “The recent increase in air freight sales in ton-miles bodes well for the relative future returns of air freight stocks, which are also attractively valued.”
Railroads and truckers, meanwhile, are held in check by “subdued non-intermodal rail growth, subdued pricing trends and elevated relative valuations,” wrote MRB strategist Salvatore Ruscitti.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average is up 2.3% so far this week and up 0.34% year to date, matching the S&P 500 this week but lagging the S&P's gain of 2.6% for the year Back in 2024.
—Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom
6 hours ago
Intel, AMD and Nvidia drag Nasdaq 100 futures lower
Shares of major semiconductor stocks dragged Nasdaq 100 futures lower Thursday evening. The index fell 0.5% and lost around 90 points in after-hours trading.
Semiconductor maker Intel fell about 10% after reporting disappointing first-quarter guidance.
Shares of another semiconductor company, Advanced Micro Devices, fell more than 3%, while software and manufacturing equipment provider Applied Materials fell 2.3%. Semiconductor company KLA also fell 6% after giving lower-than-expected guidance for the fiscal third quarter, and Nvidia lost 1.7% due to declines in the industry.
—Pia Singh
7 hours ago
Intel and Levi Strauss are among the companies moving in after-hours trading
Check out the companies making headlines in after-hours trading:
- T-Mobile – The telecommunications stock fell 2.9% after T-Mobile missed fourth-quarter profit expectations but beat on revenue. The company reported profit of $1.67 per share, compared to $1.90 per share expected by analysts surveyed by LSEG. Revenue for the period was $20.48 billion, above expectations of $19.64 billion, according to LSEG.
- Intel – Shares of the chipmaker fell nearly 8% in after-hours trading after the company issued disappointing first-quarter guidance. Intel expects adjusted earnings of 13 cents per share for the first quarter of 2024, while analysts surveyed by LSEG called for 33 cents per share. Expected sales of $12.2 billion to $13.2 billion also fell short of analyst expectations of $14.15 billion in sales for the period.
- Levi Strauss – Shares of Levi Strauss fell nearly 1% after the apparel company said Thursday it would cut at least 10% of its global workforce through restructuring efforts. The company said the job cuts will take place in the first half of 2024. Fourth-quarter results were also released Thursday, with Levi's adjusted earnings per share beating estimates but falling short of sales expectations.
The full list can be found here.
—Pia Singh
7 hours ago
Stock futures open in the red
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were lower on Thursday, down 67 points, or 0.18%.
S&P 500 futures lost about 0.15%. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.4%, led by declines in Intel after disappointing first-quarter guidance.
—Pia Singh