An hour ago
The Nikkei 225 led gains in Asia, led by commercial services stocks
Japan’s Nikkei 225 led gains in Asia, driven largely by gains in commercial services and utilities stocks.
The index rose 1.9% on Wednesday, with global printing company Toppan Holdings, the biggest gainer, rising 10.67%.
The other major pioneers included the energy supplier Tokyo Electric Power Company, the chip supplier Lasertec and the conglomerate Sony Group.
5 hours ago
Australia’s gross domestic product grew faster than expected in the third quarter
Australia’s gross domestic product grew 2.1% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating the 1.8% growth expected by economists polled by Portal and matching the second quarter’s growth rate.
The country’s statistics office said seasonally adjusted GDP rose 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, reflecting increased government consumption and capital investment during the quarter.
However, it also noted that household consumption and GDP growth rates have slowed quarter-on-quarter due to continued pressure on the cost of living and higher interest rates.
—Lim Hui Jie
6 hours ago
Sentiment among major Japanese companies improves in December: Portal Tankan survey
Business sentiment among major Japanese companies improved in December, according to Portal’ monthly Tankan survey.
Portal reported that “Sentiment improved for the second month in a row as the auto sector continued to recover from last year’s semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues.”
The industrial sentiment index was +12, compared to +6 in November. Separately, the survey also showed the services sector index at +26, compared to +27 in November.
A positive number means that there are more optimists than pessimists in the industry and vice versa.
The Bank of Japan’s next quarterly Tankan survey is due on December 13.
—Lim Hui Jie
7 hours ago
Not to mention the 2023 rally. Investors are still pushing for cash, according to Bank of America
According to Bank of America, stocks have posted solid gains since the beginning of the year, but investors are happy to hide in their money market funds.
“Even after a 28% rally in the SPX since its October 2022 low and an 11% rally since the index’s late October 2023 bottom, investors still love cash,” wrote Stephen Suttmeier, chief technical strategist for equities, in a Monday report.
While the S&P 500 rose nearly 19% year-over-year, total assets in money market funds rose to a record $5.84 trillion as of Nov. 29, according to the Investment Company Institute. That’s up from $4.49 trillion in October 2022, a 27% increase.
Retail investors flocked to the funds, with assets rising more than 44% from October 2022, Suttmeier said.
Who could blame them? After all, the Crane 100 Money Fund Index has a 7-day annualized return of 5.2%.
-Darla Mercado, Michael Bloom
7 hours ago
A particularly volatile 2024 will force investors to be more “flexible,” says Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research
An uncertain macroeconomic backdrop combined with the 2024 presidential election means stocks will be particularly volatile next year, according to Chris Senyek.
Such a market environment will force investors to react faster than they expected in 2023, said the chief investment strategist at Wolfe Research.
“You have to be more flexible. I don’t think it’s going to be a buy-and-hold year for any investor,” he said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.”
Next year, Senyek said he would prefer to own the groups of stocks that have lagged so far this year. His favorite sector is consumer staples, but he is also attracted to healthcare, utilities and energy.
—Lisa Kailai Han
7 hours ago
Stocks Making Biggest Moves After IPO: Box, MongoDB, and More
These are the stocks that move the most during extended trading hours:
- MongoDB – The database stock fell 5% even as MongoDB’s third-quarter earnings beat analysts’ expectations.
- Box – The cloud company slumped 11% after reporting adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share on revenue of $261.5 million in its fiscal third quarter. That was below FactSet analysts’ expectations of 38 cents per share on revenue of $262.4 million.
- Dave & Buster’s – Shares fell 4% after the company posted third-quarter sales of $466.9 million, below analysts’ forecasts of $473 million, per LSEG.
Read the full list of stock moves here.
—Lisa Kailai Han
8 hours ago