3 hours ago
China’s exports increased by 8.5% and continued to grow at a slower pace
China’s exports grew 8.5% year-on-year in April, marking a second straight month of growth after the economy posted a surprise jump of 14.8% in March, government data showed. Imports fell by 7.9% over the month.
Economists polled by Portal estimated exports would rise 8% in April, while imports are expected to remain flat after falling 1.4% yoy the previous month.
China’s trade surplus rose to $90.21 billion from March’s surplus of $88.2 billion. A Portal poll forecast a surplus of $74.3 billion for the month.
– Jihye Lee
5 hours before
Bank of Japan’s Ueda says ‘no preset idea’ about how review will affect future decisions: Portal
Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said there was no preliminary idea of how the planned policy review would affect the central bank’s future monetary policy decisions.
Ueda was referring to the BOJ’s announcement after its first monetary policy meeting, at which the bank announced that it had “decided to conduct a broad review” of its easing measures.
Ueda reportedly told parliament that “at each of our interest rate reviews, we will take the necessary policy steps, with a view to financial and price developments, even as we conduct the review.”
Ueda has maintained current BOJ policies but is expected to gradually roll back the ultra-domestic policies of his predecessor Haruhiko Kuroda.
The Japanese yen weakened marginally to 135.13 against the US dollar on Tuesday morning.
5 hours before
Australia’s retail trade fell in the first quarter
Australian retail sales fell 0.6% in the first quarter of this year compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, government data showed on Tuesday.
The decline marked the second consecutive month of contraction and was in line with estimates by a Portal poll of economists.
Seasonally adjusted sales volume for the quarter was A$96.2 billion.
The Australian Dollar traded at slightly weaker levels at 0.6778 against the US Dollar.
6 hours ago
Taiwan’s trade surplus hit the highest since October 2020 as exports fell less-than-expected
Taiwan’s trade surplus rose to $6.71 billion, the highest since October 2020, as exports from the island for April fell less-than-expected, government data showed on Tuesday.
Exports fell 13.3% year over year to $35.96 billion, less than a Portal poll of economists who had expected an 18.5% decline. Meanwhile, imports fell even further, falling 20.2% to $29.25 billion, broadly unchanged from the previous month’s 20.1% drop.
Taiwan’s finance ministry said all exports to its main trading partners except Japan fell in April.
Exports to Japan rose 19.8%, while exports to mainland China and Hong Kong saw the largest declines, down 22%.
Imports from major trading partners also fell, with imports from the ASEAN region posting the largest losses, falling 26.1% year-on-year.
— Lim Hui Jie
8 hours ago
Short-term Treasury yields are rising, but don’t overlook the medium-term problems
Forget the searing yields on short-dated Treasuries, especially as the debt ceiling chatter intensifies. Investors should look to longer-term themes instead, said Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.
“The guidance for some time has been to lengthen duration,” she said, noting that she understands why investors might be more inclined to chase 5% yields in Treasury bills or certificates of deposit than hold a five-year bond.
“Historically, intermediate-dated bonds — that 5-7 year maturity band — tend to outperform on a total return basis once the Fed has passed the peak of tightening, which we think is likely after the peak is reached,” she said.
Jones added, “You could be exposed to reinvestment risk if you’re invested in something that doesn’t secure at least some of that return over the next three to five years.”
Even with interest rates as attractive as they are now, investors should know that these Treasury yields alone will not keep pace with inflation over the long term. Be sure to keep your portfolio diversified.
– Darla Mercado
8 hours ago
The bar for prohibiting short selling is “pretty high,” says Yellen
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pointed out in CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” that federal officials are nowhere near major policy changes to stop regional bank stocks from plummeting, such as a targeted ban on short selling.
“This is something that has rarely been used, and when it has been used … it’s not clear that it has made things any better,” Yellen said of prohibiting short selling, noting that such a decision falls within the purview of would the Securities and Exchange Commission.
“For shorting more broadly, the bar is pretty high to control for this,” Yellen added.
Yellen also said the Treasury Department is reviewing an FDIC report on a possible expansion of deposit insurance and is ready to work with Congress on any changes.
The SPDR Regional Banking ETF (KRE) fell 2% on Monday and is now down almost 12% for the month. Yellen said the recent decline in regional lenders’ shares was not indicative of banks’ balance sheets.
“Share prices are a bit under pressure, but our banking system is well capitalized,” Yellen said.
— Jesse Pound
8 hours ago
Stocks make the biggest moves after hours
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves after hours:
- Lucid – The electric vehicle maker fell 8% after the company posted mounting losses in the first quarter, but said it has enough cash to continue operations next year.
- Palantir — Software stock rose 22% after Palantir beat analysts’ expectations for the first quarter and issued upbeat guidance. The company also provided a strong outlook for full-year profitability.
- PayPal — Shares slipped about 5.5%. PayPal issued weak expectations for the current quarter for earnings per share while raising its full-year guidance for the metric. Separately, the digital payments company beat first-quarter expectations for revenue and profit, according to Refinitiv.
The full list can be found here.
– Alex Harring
8 hours ago
Dow and S&P 500 futures are trading almost flat
Futures tied to the Dow and the S&P 500 were both little changed just after 6pm ET.
Futures linked to the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.2%.
– Alex Harring