- Bridgette Randall
- 20 May, 2024
- Frankfurt
In Monday's trading, indexes in Europe advanced after falling in the previous week as investors debated the timing and amount of future rate cuts.
Benchmark indexes in Paris, London, and Frankfurt inched higher after resource stocks advanced in London, copper prices soared to a new record high, and crude oil prices turned volatile.
Crude oil prices edged slightly higher after Iran's state television confirmed the death of the president, Ebrahim Raisi, after the helicopter carrying the president, foreign minister, and a regional governor crashed while crossing mountainous climates, foggy weather, and icy conditions.
In other international news, the People's Bank of China held its one-year and 5-year loan prime rates steady, removed the floor on mortgage rates, and lowered down payment requirements for first-time home buyers.
Europe Indexes and Yields
The DAX index increased by 0.4% to 18,772.69; the CAC-40 index rose by 0.4% to 8,202.07; and the FTSE 100 index inched higher by 0.3% to 8,443.72.
The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.51%; French bonds inched higher to 3.00%; the UK gilts edged higher to 4.13%; and Italian bonds inched higher to 3.81%.
The euro edged higher to $1.086; the British pound inched higher to $1.270; and the U.S. dollar gained to 90.88 Swiss cents.
Brent crude decreased $0.22 to $83.75 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas rose by €1.13 to €31.90 per MWh.
Europe Stock Movers
Keywords Studios PLC soared 62% to 2,382.90 pence after the Irish video game company said that it is in talks with European private equity company EQT Group for a possible cash offer of 2550 pence per share.
Ryanair Holdings plc declined 1.3% to €19.05 after the discount airline reported a 34% increase in its annual profits but offered cautious views for the current year.
British Land Company declined 0.8% to 400.0 pence after the real estate developer agreed to sell its stake in Meadowhall Shopping Center in Sheffield, UK, for £360 million to Norges Bank Investment Management.
Resource stocks advanced after China announced supportive measures to revive property market transactions.
Anglo American, Glencore, and Antofagasta advanced between 1% and 2% after copper futures rose to a record high of $5.15 per pound before stabilizing at $5.10.
- Akira Ito
- 20 May, 2024
- Tokyo
Benchmark indexes in Japan advanced tracking gains in Friday's trading on Wall Street.
Stocks edged higher in Tokyo in Monday's trading as investors reviewed the rise in energy and metals prices.
Brent crude oil prices jumped 6 cents to $84.0.2 a barrel after Iran's state-controlled television channel said that President Ebrahim Raisi's helicopter crashed while traveling to East Azerbaijan province and crossing mountainous terrain, foggy weather, and icy conditions.
Iran's foreign minister and governor of the province, along with bodyguards, are feared to have died in the helicopter crash.
Closer to home, investors are looking forward to a busy week of economic releases, including international trade, inflation, and business activity updates.
Japan Stock Movers
Benchmark indexes in Tokyo extended a 4-week rally powered by technology stocks and exporters.
The yen edged 14-sense higher 155.75 against the U.S. dollar on the worries of persistently wide interest rates between the U.S. and Japanese bonds.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 1.1% to 39,211.83, and the Topix index gained 0.9% to 2,771.51.
Automakers were among the leading gainers in Monday's trading, and Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Socionext, and Screen Holdings advanced between 0.5% and 1.2%.
Banks were also among the most actively traded stocks.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 0.6% to ¥1,563.50, Sumitomo Mitsui advanced 1.2% to ¥9,839.0, and Mizuho Financial gained 2.4% to ¥3,210.0.
Resource-linked stocks led the gainers in Tokyo trading after copper prices flirted near record highs.
Inpex, Mitsubishi Materials, and Sumitomo Metal Mining advanced between 3.5% and 5%.
Shin-Etsu Chemical gained 5.3% to ¥6,152.0 after the chemical company announced stock repurchase plans of 22 million shares not to exceed 100 billion yen before the end of November.
At the end of April, the company had 1.99 billion outstanding shares, excluding 5.61 million held in the Treasury.
Revenue in the financial year ending in March 2024 decreased 14% to 2.4 billion yen from 2.8 trillion yen, ordinary income dropped 22.8% to 787.2 billion yen from 1.02 trillion yen, and diluted earnings per share fell to 259.13 yen from 347.87 yen a year ago.
Sumiseki Holdings Inc. jumped 20.5% to ¥2,354.0, and the stock extended the previous week's gain of 93% after the coal mining company reported its financial results last week.
Revenue in the financial year 2024 declined 42% to 22.6 billion yen from 39.9 billion yen, ordinary net income soared 117% to 8.1 billion yen from 3.7 billion yen, and diluted earnings per share advanced to 124.94 yen from 59.33 yen a year ago.
- Li Chen
- 19 May, 2024
- Hong Kong
Market indexes in Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced and extended weekslong gains after the People's Bank of China announced measures to support the property market.
The People's Bank of China lowered the down payment requirement, removed the floor on mortgage rates, and provided 300 billion yuan to regional authorities to buy unsold existing homes.
China's central bank announced a total of 1 trillion yuan in additional financing for the property sector, which includes 300 billion yuan to support the regional government's move to expand affordable housing market activities.
The multi-prong move is likely to inject much-needed liquidity into the faltering property market, encourage buyers to acquire property, and support the regional governments' plans to provide more affordable housing.
Benchmark indexes edged higher in Shanghai and Hong Kong in Monday's trading and extended gains of 5-week and 4-week, respectively.
Economists and market watchers welcomed the central bank's supportive measures, but those steps are likely to fall short of reviving consumer confidence and repairing the balance sheets of troubled real estate companies.
In addition, on Monday, the People's Bank of China left its two key lending rates steady after announcing measures to revive the property market.
The one-year loan prime rate was held at 3.45%, and the five-year loan prime rate was held at 3.95%, meeting financial market expectations.
A five-year rate is used as a reference rate for setting the mortgage rate, and a one-year loan prime rate is the guiding rate for consumer and business loans.
China Stock Movers
The CSI 300 index added 0.2% to 3,685.63, and the Hang Seng index advanced 0.4% to 19,637.32.
Property stocks advanced for the second day in a row after the announcement of supportive measures from the People's Bank of China.
China Vanke soared 5.6% to HK$7.25, Longfor Group decreased 1.6% to HK$15.06, and China Resources Land edged up 0.5% to HK$32.90.
Henderson Land Development gained 3.2% to HK$27.30, and CK Asset Holdings advanced 1.6% to HK$36.35.
Bank of China added 1.6% to HK$3.92, Agriculture Bank of China was unchanged at HK$3.81, ICBC inched higher 0.2% to HK$4.72, and HSBC Holding added 0.6% to HK$68.95.
Tech stocks led the gainers in Hong Kong trading.
Tencent Holdings decreased 1.4% to HK$394.60, JD.com advanced 3.2% to HK$138.20, and Meituan Holdings added 0.3% to HK$125.90.
- Scott Peters
- 17 May, 2024
- New York City
Take Two Interactive declined 0.7% to $145.05 after the online game developer said Grand Theft Auto is now scheduled for its next release in the fall of 2025.
Total net revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter declined to $1.399 billion from $1.44 billion, net loss expanded to $2.9 billion from $610 million, and diluted loss per share soared to $17.02 from $3.62 a year ago.
GameStop Corp. declined 21.6% to $21.70 after the video game retailer posted weaker-than-expected preliminary quarterly results.
Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter ending on February 3 declined to $1.794 billion from $2.226 billion, and net income increased to $63.1 million from $48.2 million a year ago, respectively.
The specialty retailer also plans to sell as many as 45 million shares in a secondary offering.
- Barry Adams
- 17 May, 2024
- New York City
Stocks and benchmark indexes rested in early trading on Friday, and the yield on U.S. Treasury notes rebounded.
The bond yield edged higher after three Federal Reserve officials stressed the need for higher interest rates until more evidence emerges indicating that inflation is trending towards the 2% target rate.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite traded at new highs in Wednesday's trading, and benchmark indexes traded down on Thursday and extended the weakness in Friday's trading.
Market indexes are hovering near record highs amid widespread beliefs that inflation is not likely to rebound in the months ahead, providing enough elbow room for policymakers to cut rates twice in the second half of the year.
However, rate-cut optimism may be misplaced if wages continue to rise above 4% and service sector inflation hovers close to 4%.
Moreover, home prices are still rising at a rapid pace across the nation, contributing to overall inflationary forces.
U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields
The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1% to 5,294.90, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.1% to 16,682.22.
The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 4.81%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 4.41%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged higher to 4.54%.
WTI crude oil increased $0.01 to $79.24 a barrel, and natural gas prices increased 2 cents to $2.51 a thermal unit.
Gold increased by $10.74 to $2,388.44 an ounce, and silver rose 9 cents to $29.77.
The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 104.75.
U.S. Stock Movers
Take Two Interactive declined 0.7% to $145.05 after the online game developer said Grand Theft Auto is now scheduled for its next release in the fall of 2025.
Total net revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter declined to $1.399 billion from $1.44 billion, net loss expanded to $2.9 billion from $610 million, and diluted loss per share soared to $17.02 from $3.62 a year ago.
GameStop Corp. declined 21.6% to $21.70 after the video game retailer posted weaker-than-expected preliminary quarterly results.
Revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter ending on February 3 declined to $1.794 billion from $2.226 billion, and net income increased to $63.1 million from $48.2 million a year ago, respectively.
The specialty retailer also plans to sell as many as 45 million shares in a secondary offering.
- Inga Muller
- 17 May, 2024
- Frankfurt
European markets halted three-week rally after investors scaled back rate-cut expectations following comments from policymakers.
The DAX index decreased by 0.4% to 18,667.67; the CAC-40 index fell by 0.4% to 8,154.76; and the FTSE 100 index inched lower by 0.4% to 8,407.41.
The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.48%; French bonds inched higher to 2.98%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.11%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 3.78%.
Richemont SA increased 5.8% to CHF 145.40 after the Swiss luxury goods company announced several management and board changes.
Richemont appointed Nicolas Bos, currently serving as chief executive of Van Cleef & Arpels, as the company's new chief executive, replacing Jerome Lambert.
SCOR SE declined 7.7% to €29.70 after the French reinsurance company said first-quarter net income dropped 37% to €196 million from €311 million a year ago.
Engie SA decreased 1.6% to €15.53 after the French electric utility reported a slight decline in its operating earnings in the first quarter amid broad weakness in revenue.
Revenue dropped 24.6% to €22.0 billion from €29.6 billion, and operating earnings edged down 0.1% to €5.4 billion.
The company reiterated its 2024 recurring income outlook between €4.1 billion and €4.8 billion and its operating earnings, excluding nuclear division, to range between €7.5 billion and €8.5 billion.
Land Securities declined 2.8% to 670.50 pence after the company said annual rental income declined to £371 million from £393 million in 2023.
Pre-tax losses shrank to 341 million from 622 million, and the basic loss per share fell to 43 pence from 83.6 pence a year ago.
The company hiked the dividend by 2.6% to 39.6 pence from 38.6 pence a year ago.
Unilever advanced 0.6% to 4,307.0 pence after the consumer products company launched its €1.5 billion stock repurchase plan.
- Bridgette Randall
- 17 May, 2024
- Frankfurt
European markets edged lower for the second day in a row after a nine-day rally in the previous session.
Market sentiment was cautious after several U.S. and European policymakers cautioned against rate cuts.
Benchmark indexes in Frankfurt, Paris, and London extended weekly losses after comments from the European Central Bank rate-setting committee cautioned against additional rate cuts after June.
In addition, three U.S. policymakers stressed the need to keep rates higher for longer until solid evidence emerges that inflation is on the way to 2%.
The eurozone consumer price inflation was confirmed at 2.4% in April, matching the rate in March, the statistical agency Eurostat reported Friday.
French Jobless Rate Held at 7.5%
France's jobless rate held steady at 7.5%, matching rates in the previous two quarters.
The unemployment rate in the first quarter increased by 6,000 to 2.3 million, the statistical agency INSEE reported Friday.
The jobless rate among people between 15 and 24 inched up 0.6% to 18.1% and increased 0.1 percentage point to 5.1% for those older than 50.
The unemployment rate between the ages of 25 and 49 eased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.8%.
Moreover, mixed economic data from China also weighed on market sentiment.
China's Property Market Woes Deepen, Retail Sales Growth Slows
China's retail sales rose less than expected by 2.3% in April, but the jobless rate declined to 5.0% from 5.3% in March.
Industrial output, one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy, rose faster-than-expected by 6.7% in April.
China's fixed-asset investment rose 4.2% from a year ago in the January–April period, slower than 4.5% in the January–March period.
Property investment deepened to 9.8% in the first four months from 9.5% in the first quarter, prompting calls for wider and faster regulatory reforms.
Meanwhile, overall residential floor space sold in April declined by 20.2%, and the sales value of new homes dropped by 28.3% from a year ago.
Europe Indexes and Yields
The DAX index decreased by 0.4% to 18,667.67; the CAC-40 index fell by 0.4% to 8,154.76; and the FTSE 100 index inched lower by 0.4% to 8,407.41.
The yield on 10-year German bonds edged up to 2.48%; French bonds inched higher to 2.98%; the UK gilts edged lower to 4.11%; and Italian bonds inched lower to 3.78%.
The euro edged higher to $1.084; the British pound inched higher to $1.266; and the U.S. dollar gained to 90.92 Swiss cents.
Brent crude increased $0.07 to $83.34 a barrel, and the Dutch TTF natural gas rose by €0.29 to €30.86 per MWh.
Europe Stock Movers
Richemont SA increased 5.8% to CHF 145.40 after the Swiss luxury goods company announced several management and board changes.
Richemont appointed Nicolas Bos, currently serving as chief executive of Van Cleef & Arpels, as the company's new chief executive, replacing Jerome Lambert.
SCOR SE declined 7.7% to €29.70 after the French reinsurance company said first-quarter net income dropped 37% to €196 million from €311 million a year ago.
Engie SA decreased 1.6% to €15.53 after the French electric utility reported a slight decline in its operating earnings in the first quarter amid broad weakness in revenue.
Revenue dropped 24.6% to €22.0 billion from €29.6 billion, and operating earnings edged down 0.1% to €5.4 billion.
The company reiterated its 2024 recurring income outlook between €4.1 billion and €4.8 billion and its operating earnings, excluding nuclear division, to range between €7.5 billion and €8.5 billion.
Land Securities declined 2.8% to 670.50 pence after the company said annual rental income declined to £371 million from £393 million in 2023.
Pre-tax losses shrank to 341 million from 622 million, and the basic loss per share fell to 43 pence from 83.6 pence a year ago.
The company hiked the dividend by 2.6% to 39.6 pence from 38.6 pence a year ago.
Unilever advanced 0.6% to 4,307.0 pence after the consumer products company launched its €1.5 billion stock repurchase plan.
- Akira Ito
- 17 May, 2024
- Tokyo
Stocks in Tokyo struggled in Friday's trading as investors digested the latest update on GDP and the movement in currency trading.
Market sentiment in Tokyo was cautious a day after Japan's GDP report showed an annual contraction of 2%, and private sector consumption fell for the fourth quarter in a row.
The ongoing natural disaster-related challenges and scandal-ridden production halts at Toyota's Daihatsu Motor also contributed to the economic contraction.
The yen eased to 155.76 against the U.S. dollar after the currency faced renewed pressure on speculation that the Bank of Japan continued to buy Japanese government bonds in the amount matching the previous operation.
Bank of Japan Governor Ueda is widely anticipated to announce the central bank's bond buying program at the next meeting in June.
Earlier in the month, Governor Kazuo Ueda confirmed that the central bank has no plans to sell its exchange-traded fund holdings.
Japan Stock Movers
Stocks in Tokyo traded lower, and tech stocks led the decliners and reversed the previous day's gains.
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.6% to 38,703.95, and the Topix index advanced 0.1% to 2,740.22.
For the week, the Nikkei index increased 1.7% and extended this year's gain to 16.4%.
The Topix index added 0.8% in the week and advanced 15.2% in the year so far.
Tokyo Electron, Advantest, Screen Holdings, and SoftBank declined between 1% and 3%.
Banks were in focus in Friday's trading after investors debated the future rate paths and assessed the impact of a weaker yen on corporate profits.
Mitsubishi UFJ and Mizuho Financial Group rose about 1.7%, but Sumitomo Mitsubishi Financial declined 1.8%.
Japan Steel Works rose 6.5% to 4,434.0 yen, and earlier in the week, the steelmaker reported slower annual revenue growth in the fiscal year ending in March.
Revenue increased 5.8% to 252.5 billion yen from 238.7 billion yen, profit attributable shareholders rose 19.2% to 14.3 billion yen, and earnings per share increased to 194.02 yen from 162.75 yen a year ago.
The company declared an annual dividend of 29 yen, matching the previous year, and the total dividend increased to 59 yen from 58 yen a year ago.
- Li Chen
- 17 May, 2024
- Hong Kong
Stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong faced selling pressure after the latest economic data highlighted weak consumer demand.
On Friday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported retail sales, fixed investments, home prices, and industrial output data.
The latest economic data, coupled with credit demand data released last week, highlighted that the government may face challenges in meeting its annual economic growth target of 5% this year.
Weak consumer domestic demand, slowing private sector investment, and ongoing property sector weakness are contributing to the weakening economic growth profile of the second-largest economy.
Retail sales rose less-than-expected 2.3% in April, a 15-month low, as consumers avoided large purchases amid job market uncertainty and ongoing property market weakness.
Retail sales growth slowed from a 3.1% rise in March a year ago.
Industrial output, one of the few bright spots in the Chinese economy, rose faster-than-expected by 6.7% in April.
China's fixed-asset investment rose 4.2% from a year ago in the January–April period, slower than 4.5% in the January–March period.
Property investment deepened to 9.8% in the first four months from 9.5% in the first quarter, prompting calls for wider and faster regulatory reforms.
Meanwhile, overall residential floor space sold in April declined by 20.2%, and the sales value of new homes dropped by 28.3% from a year ago.
Prices of new homes in large and well-developed cities, generally known as first-tier cities, decreased by 0.6% from March, the 11th month of decline in a row, the statistical bureau reported Friday.
At the same time, existing home prices decreased by 0.9% from March.
The National Statistics Bureau said new home prices declined in 64 of 70 medium and large cities in April, an increase from 57 cities in March.
However, existing home prices fell in 69 cities in April, matching the number in March.
Despite the weakening in investment, the jobless rate declined to 5.0% in April from 5.2% in March, the statistical bureau said on Friday.
China Stock Movers
The CSI 300 index decreased 0.2% to 3,633.04, and the Hang Seng index advanced 0.3% to 19,433.14.
Ping An Insurance Group advanced 1.6% to HK$43.70 on widespread rumors that China's insurance giant is considering its stake in UK-based HSBC Holdings.
HSBC decreased 3.1% to HK$67.95.
Property developers were in focus for the second day in a row after property investment in the first four months fell at a faster pace than in the first quarter.
The weakness in property sector investment raised hopes of concrete steps from the government.
China Vanke rose 4.2% to HK$5.97, China Resources Land decreased 1.1% to HK$31.55, and Longfor Group soared 7.4% to HK$14.80.
Banks were among the most actively traded stocks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
ICBC decreased 0.6% to HK$4.68, Bank of China declined 0.1% to HK$3.87, and Agriculture Bank of China fell 0.2% to $3.81.
Tencent Holdings advanced 0.5% to HK$395.60 and Baidu Inc. fell 0.5% to HK$111.50 after the two leading tech companies reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
- Arun Goswami
- 17 May, 2024
- Mumbai
Stocks in Mumbai edged lower and trimmed weekly market gains, and investors reacted to the latest batch of mixed quarterly results.
The Sensex index decreased by 0.2% to 73,503.03, and the Nifty index fell by 0.2% to 22,365.05.
On the Mumbai stock exchange, 89 stocks traded at their 52-week highs, and 12 stocks traded at their 52-week lows.
The yield on the 10-year Indian government bonds inched lower to 7.07%, and the Indian rupee edged lower at ₹83.49 against the U.S. dollar.
IIFL Securities rose 5.4% to ₹166.0 after the financial services company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Revenue in the March quarter increased 68.2% to ₹575.5 crore from ₹342.1 crore, and net income more than doubled to ₹180 crore from ₹86.3 crore a year ago, respectively.
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences decreased 3.3% to ₹1,889.80 after the hospital chain operator reported a decline in earnings in its latest quarter.
Revenue in the March quarter rose 10% to 633.8 crore from 576 crore, and net income declined 29.8% to 65.4 crore from 93 crore a year ago, respectively.
Prince Pipes & Fittings advanced 2.5% to ₹662.50 despite the tubular products company reporting lower revenue and earnings in its latest quarter.
Revenue in the March quarter decreased by 3.2% to ₹740.1 crore from ₹764.4 crore, and net income decreased by 42% to ₹54.6 crore from ₹94.1 crore a year ago, respectively.
Triveni Turbine increased 3.2% to ₹624.55 after the power generation equipment maker reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
Revenue in the March quarter jumped 24% to ₹458.1 crore from ₹369.8 crore, and net income jumped 36.2% to ₹75.6 crore from ₹55.5 crore a year ago, respectively.
Endurance Technologies soared 8.6% to ₹2,200.00 after the company reported strong gains in revenue and earnings in its latest quarter.
Revenue in the March quarter increased 20.2% to ₹2,648.7 crore from ₹2,234.3 crore, and net income soared 54% to ₹210.1 crore from ₹136.4 crore a year ago, respectively.
Eclerx Services increased 4.7% to ₹2,411.0 despite the business process outsourcing company reporting a decline in earnings in its latest quarter.
Revenue increased 10.6% to ₹766.5 crore from ₹693.1 crore, and net income declined 1.5% to ₹130.5 crore from ₹132.5 crore a year ago, respectively.
Container Corporation of India, or CONCOR, decreased 2.8% to ₹1,007.75 after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
Revenue in the March quarter increased 6.5% to ₹2,325 crore, and net income advanced 13.5% to ₹317 crore from ₹279 crore a year ago, respectively.
Ratnamani Metals & Tubes fell 2.4% to ₹3,067.0 after the metal processing company reported muted results in its latest quarter.
Revenue in the March quarter fell 0.2% to ₹1,495.7 crore from ₹1,499.1 crore, and net income edged up to ₹192.2 crore from ₹191.6 crore a year ago, respectively.
- Brian Turner
- 16 May, 2024
- Washington, D.C.
Building permits declined by 3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million in April, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday.
The annual pace of building permits dropped to the lowest level since 1.4 million in December 2022.
High interest rates and high land and construction costs continued to dent the market.
Single-family authorization declined by 0.8% to 976,000, and multi-family authorization dropped 9.1% to 408,000.
Permits in the Midwest fell by 18.1% to 167,000, in the West by 14.4% to 292,000, but rose in the South by 4.2% to 827,000 and increased by 5.5% in the Northeast to 154,000.
Housing starts in April increased 5.7% to an annual rate of 1.36 million from the revised March estimate of 1.287 million but below the April 2023 rate of 1.368 million.
Single-family housing starts in April were at a rate of 1.031 million, a decline of 0.4% from the revised March rate of 1.035 million.
Privately-owned housing completions in April were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.623 million, an increase of 8.6% from the revised March estimate of 1.495 million and 14.6% higher than the rate of 1.46 million in April 2023.
Single-family housing completions were at a rate of 1.092 million, an increase of 15.4% from the revised rate of 946,000 in March.