Tech stocks lead Hong Kong index rise; Baidu up more than 10%
The Hang Seng index led gains in the Asia-Pacific region on Friday, driven in part by the rise in technology stocks.
Baidu was up nearly 12% after US-listed shares surged overnight, following the launch of its Chinese-language ChatGPT alternative – named Ernie bot.
Shares of streaming platform company bilibili also jumped nearly 8% in early trading.
The HSI itself was up 1.21%, while the tech-heavy Hang Seng Tech index was up 3.13%.
— Lim Hui Jie
New Zealand bans TikTok for devices with access to the parliamentary network
New Zealand will ban TikTok for devices with access to the parliamentary network, Reuters reported, citing Rafael Gonzalez-Montero, chief executive of the parliamentary service.
Gonzalez-Montero told Reuters in an email that the decision was made after consultations with cybersecurity experts and discussions within the government.
The move comes after CNBC confirmed reports that the US has asked TikTok’s Chinese parent company Bytedance to divest its stake in the app or it may be banned in the US. The United Kingdom has also announced plans to ban the video app on government devices.
— Arjun Kharpal, Jihye Lee
Indonesia’s central bank keeps interest rates unchanged at 6.5%
The Central Bank of Indonesia maintains its 7-day reverse repo rate at 5.75% and its lending rate at 6.5%.
In a press release, the bank explained that the decision is “consistent” with its monetary policy stance to ensure lower inflation expectations and inflation.
The central bank aims to return core inflation to a range of ±1% from 3% in the first half of 2023, and headline inflation to the same range in the second half of the year.
The Indonesian rupiah was trading close to the US dollar at 15,375 on Friday after the announcement.
— Lim Hui Jie
CNBC Pro: Short sellers are doubling down on these European banks – and Credit Suisse is not their main target
Forecasts for Japanese wage growth in 2023 have risen by more than 3%, research shows
The Japan Center for Economic Research said the consensus forecast for the economy’s wage growth in 2023 was raised to 3.05% in March after an expected increase of 2.85% in January.
This would be Japan’s strongest growth since 1994, Nikkei reported.
In the survey survey, most respondents revised their estimates upward for total wages and the base salary component, the publication found.
Japan’s shunto wage negotiations concluded on Wednesday, Reuters reported – marking the largest wage increase not seen in decades as inflation rises.
– Jihy Lee
Baidu shares soar in US trading after releasing ChatGPT rival
Chinese technology company Baidu unveiled its ChatGPT rival on Thursday, dubbed Ernie bot in English.
Stocks closed 3.8% higher in the US, as opposed to a sharp drop of nearly 6.4% in Hong Kong trading on Thursday.
Baidu’s Ernie bot works primarily in Chinese, although the chatbot can also understand English. The company’s business partners were given priority for initial access to Ernie bot.
House prices in China are rising monthly at the fastest pace since July 2021
House prices in China rose 0.3% in February compared to January, but fell 1.2% compared to a year ago, according to Refinitiv data from 70 cities from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Month-over-month, house prices rose at their fastest pace since July 2021, as investors look to more easing policy from the government. In January, prices rose by 0.1% on a monthly basis.
Data from 55 cities reported increases in new home prices in February compared to 36 cities that reported increases in January.
– Jihy Lee
Singapore’s domestic exports excluding oil continue to decline
Singapore’s domestic exports excluding oil fell 15.6% in February compared to a year ago – less than expected with a 16% drop. In January, the value was down 25% year-on-year.
Compared to a month ago, domestic exports excluding oil fell 8%, more than expected with a fall of 0.5%. The monthly stock rose slightly last month by 0.9%.
Domestic exports excluding oil for Singapore’s top 10 markets as a whole declined in February 2023, based on government data – particularly to the European Union, Hong Kong and Taiwan, while exports to the US, Japan and Thailand increased.
– Jihy Lee
CNBC Pro: Tesla vs. BYD: Market pros pick their favorite electric vehicle giant
Tesla has long been an investor favorite for exposure to the electric vehicle transition, but not everyone is convinced. Endorsed by Berkshire Hathaway BYDfor example, is often touted as a better bet than Tesla.
Ray Wang of Constellation Research believes that Tesla versus BYD is “really going to be a story for the ages”.
Pro subscribers can find out which stock is their favorite here.
— Zavier Ong
South Korea says Japan has agreed to lift export restrictions on chips
South Korea said Japan has agreed to lift export restrictions on three semiconductor materials to Seoul, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in a statement.
Seoul also said it will drop its Tokyo dispute with the World Trade Organization once the lift takes place, the ministry said.
Japan removed South Korea from its “white list” of preferred trading partners in 2019, after South Korea’s court rulings ordered Japanese companies to pay wartime forced labor compensation.
– Jihy Lee
European Central Bank increases by 50 basis points despite turmoil in banks
The European Central Bank went ahead with the 50 basis point rate hike it announced at its previous meeting, despite continued volatility in the banking sector.
Markets had scaled back bets on the rise following the heavy sell-off of European banking stocks over the past week.
It brings the bank’s prime interest rate to 3%.
Eurozone headline inflation stands at 8.5%, well above the central bank’s target of 2%.
The high level of uncertainty reinforces the importance of a data-driven approach to the Governing Council’s policy rate decisions, which will be guided by its assessment of the inflation outlook in the light of incoming economic and financial data, the dynamics of underlying inflation, and the strength of monetary policy transmission,” the ECB said in its decision.
Read more here.
—Jenni Reid
Bank of America and Wells Fargo are among the largest contributors to the $30 billion First Republic deposit plan
The potential deposit at First Republic being discussed by major US banks has grown to $30 billion, CNBC’s David Faber reports.
The largest contributions would come from Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase at about $5 billion each. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will each deposit about $2.5 billion, the sources said. Truist, PNC, US Bancorp, State Street and Bank of New York will each deposit approximately $1 billion.
— Jesse Pond
Big Tech stocks are driving the market up
Big Tech stocks rallied higher on Thursday, allaying fears of the spreading banking crisis. Amazon shares rose 3.3%, while Google parent company Alphabet jump 3%. Apple, meta And Netflix also traded higher.
The strong tech heavyweights pushed major stock averages into the green during morning trading. Investors could flock to Big Tech to embrace their mega-cap safety, while betting that the current turmoil will deter the Fed from raising rates, benefiting growth names.
— Yun Li
Goldman says problems in banks increase the likelihood of a recession
The turmoil in the banking sector is putting the US economy at greater risk of a recession, according to Goldman Sachs.
The Wall Street firm raised the likelihood of a contraction in the next 12 months to 35%, up 10 percentage points, “due to heightened short-term uncertainty surrounding the economic effects of small banks,” said Goldman economist Manuel Abecasis in a customer statement. watch wednesday night.
Regional banking stocks took a beating on Thursday. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF fell 3.7% in early trading.
—Jeff Cox
Group of institutions in talks to deposit about $20 billion into First Republic, sources say
Sources told CNBC’s David Faber that a group of financial institutions – including Goldman Sachs, Citi group And JPMorgan Chase — is in talks to pour about $20 billion into First Republic.
The news comes next First RepublicThe company’s stock prices have been ravaged in recent days by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last Friday and Signature Bank over the weekend.
Shares of First Republic fell more than 30% earlier in the day. However, in early afternoon trading, the stock fell just 3.3% before being halted due to volatility.
— Jesse Pond, Fred Imbert