China inflation, China trade data, Nikkei higher

The Bank of Japan stuck to its ultra-loose monetary policy last year, keeping interest rates at -0.1% and sticking to its yield curve control policy, which keeps the upper limit on 10-year Japanese government bond yields at 1%. .

The central bank has been cautious about loosening its policy stance on fears that any premature move could undermine recent new economic developments.

“I don't think we'll see a fundamental change in monetary policy,” says Richard Kaye, portfolio manager at Comgest.

Kaye argues against the consensus that the BOJ is expected to take a policy departure soon, adding that “there's not that much pressure to change them. Again, in the inflation story, Japan is going to suddenly change its quantitative stance. I don't think the data supports that.”

Investors' focus now will be on the annual spring wage talks in March, when the BOJ may make any changes to its policy.

“But if we suddenly see a big change in wages, we're going to see a big change in inflation metrics, because wages have been right up until now. There's not as much pressure to change them,” Kaye says.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

Shares in mainland China and Hong Kong reversed losses after China's loss Consumer Price Index no It recorded a softer-than-expected fall in December.

The Hang Seng index rose 0.32%, while the CSI 300 rose 0.21%, after both opened in negative territory.

The country's inflation rate was -0.3%, compared with -0.5% in November, and also registered a softer fall compared to the 0.4% expected in a Reuters poll.

China producer price index – which measures the change in prices of goods sold by manufacturers – posted a 2.7% year-over-year drop, softer than the 3% decline in November.

– Lim Hui Jee

Oil prices rose after Britain and the United States launched military strikes against targets in Yemen's Houthi-controlled areas as tensions rose in the Red Sea.

Global benchmark Brent rose 1.87% to $78.90 a barrel in Asia trading hours on Friday, while US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 2.05% to $73.49 a barrel.

“These targeted strikes show that the United States and our allies will not tolerate attacks on our personnel or allow hostile actors to undermine freedom of navigation on one of the world's most important trade routes,” US President Joe Biden said in a statement. Thursday evening.

– Lee Ying Shan

Shares of Japan retail holding company Fast Retailing rose nearly 7%. The first quarter of the company's fiscal year will run from September to November 2023.

The company itself A huge stake In the Nikkei 225 index, it accounts for 10.45% of its weighting.

Fast Retailing's primary subsidiary is the clothing chain Uniqlo, but it also has other fixed-price brands, such as discount casual wear retailer GU.

In an earnings release, the company said Earned a net profit 107.80 billion yen ($739.57 million), an increase of 26.7% compared to the same period last year. Total revenue rose 13.2% year-on-year to 810.83 billion yen, mainly driven by increased sales at Uniqlo.

Many investors have been bullish on tech stocks over the past few months, and Goldman Sachs is no exception.

The investment bank highlighted opportunities in the Asian technology hardware sector, citing “focal points” for 2024, such as the impact of geopolitical conditions, including cyclical recovery, artificial intelligence and semiconductor supply chain changes.

“We expect a more modest cyclical recovery overall, and we continue to look for opportunities among individual stocks,” analysts at Goldman Sachs led by Daiki Takayama wrote in a note, naming buy-rated names, including four trust-listed stocks. Play the theme.

The bank's hit list includes its top buy-rated stock ideas that are expected to beat the market.

According to

– Amala Balakrishna

Investors are eagerly anticipating more rate cuts this year — with the U.S. Federal Reserve signaling at least three, ending an aggressive interest rate hike campaign over the past two years.

The question is when will the first price cut come?

BofA created a screen where global companies outperformed when rates fell, and “still haven't rallied strongly” to average historical performance following the initial easing of cycles.

It screened for companies in similar situations at a faster or slower pace than the European Central Bank – and vice versa.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weissen Don

Inflation rose more than expected in December.

The consumer price index rose 0.3% last month from November. Year-on-year, CPI increased by 3.4%. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected the CPI to rise 0.2% on the month in December and 3.2% on the year.

However, the so-called core CPI, which removes food and energy prices, points to an easing of pricing pressures.

– Fred Imbert

Slightly warmer-than-expected inflation data from December is unlikely to buck the Federal Reserve's trend from cutting interest rates later this year, economist Paul McCully said Thursday.

McCulley argued that while the consumer price index showed inflation at 3.4% higher than a year ago, the Fed's policy was “clearly progressing.”

“The next move is a cut, and it's going to be a series of cuts to get us back to neutral. That's the theme the market is working on. I think that's the right theme, and the data for the day doesn't really change. All,” McCully said during an interview on CNBC's “Squawk on the Street.” .

However, stocks fell following the inflation news.

“It's noisy in the data, noisy in the market, but we're basically already on a soft landing with a core in the rhetoric, and we're just waiting for it to come, in reality, in timing, speed and scale,” McCully added.

– Jeff Cox

Bitcoin miners gave back earlier gains as the cryptocurrency's price pulled back in volatile trading after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs to hit the market on Thursday.

The two largest mining stocks, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, lost more than 15% each. Wall Street favorites Iris Energy and Kleinspark fell 9% and 7%, respectively. Investors profited after bitcoin's price briefly rose above $49,000 for the first time since December 2021. It has retreated to $46,000.

Some of the biggest stock market gainers in 2023 are miners. This year's marathon finished almost 590% higher, while Riyadh rose more than 350%. Kleinspark and Iris Energy posted gains of over 400%.

– Tanaya Machil

The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday it has opened an investigation into Boeing after a side panel on one of its Boeing 737 Max 9 jets ejected mid-flight on Saturday.

The investigation will dig into whether Boeing “failed to ensure finished products conformed to its approved design and were in a condition for safe operation in accordance with FAA regulations,” the FAA said.

Boeing shares fell nearly 2% in midday trading.

– Leslie Josephs, Michael Fox