Asian markets mixed after US reached debt ceiling deal, Japanese stocks hit highest since July 1990

20 minutes ago

The Nikkei 225 led the way in trading companies and technology stocks

Shares of Japanese trading companies, supply services and technology stocks led the biggest gains on Japan’s Nikkei 225 index on Monday, with the index up 2% at the open and 1.32% higher in late trade.

Optical and imaging company Nikon advanced 4.51% to top the index, while semiconductor equipment maker Advantest was the second-biggest gainer, up 4.18%.

Other names on the list of top gainers include trading conglomerates Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation and SoftBank Group.

45 minutes ago

China sees argument for cutting interest rates, says Deloitte economist

China’s recent slump in industrial profits gives its central bank an argument to cut interest rates, Deloitte China told CNBC.

“There is no inflation in China, so you need a loose monetary policy,” Chitao Xu, chief economist for Deloitte China, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday.

He pointed out that the People’s Bank of China’s daily USD/CNY reference rate, or midpoint fix, is acting like a rate cut.

“If you look at the recent change in the exchange rate, it’s the same impact as lowering interest rates,” he told CNBC.

The PBOC on Monday set its yuan peg at 7.0575 against the US dollar, compared with the previous session’s 7.0760.

– Jihye Lee

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Singapore’s Temasek cuts pay to senior management and investor group involved in FTX

Singapore state-owned investor Temasek has slashed the compensation of senior management and its investment team responsible for recommending an investment in failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

“While there was no fault in reaching the investment committee’s investment recommendation, the investment committee and senior management, ultimately responsible for the investment decisions made, took joint accountability and compensation was reduced.” Chairman Lim Boon Heng said in a statement.

The move by Temasek comes after an internal review was launched to consider its investment in FTX, which resulted in a $275 million write-down.

Lim said FTX was “deliberately hidden from investors, including Temasek”. The report did not specify how many employees were affected or the severity of the pay cuts.

– Lim Hui Jee

Fri, May 26 2023 11:38 AM EDT

The Fed’s Loretta Mester expects interest rates to rise

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester told CNBC on Friday that she expects more interest rate hikes will be needed as inflation continues to rise.

“When I look at the data and what’s going on with the inflation numbers, I think we need to be a little bit more tight,” Mester said on “Squawk on the Street.” “We’ve made progress. Now it’s this calibration exercise, and that’s the hard part.”

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Meister is a non-voting member of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee this year.

– Jeff Cox

Fri, May 26 2023 8:39 AM EDT

The preferred central bank inflation rate is higher than expected

The core personal consumption expenditure index, the central bank’s preferred measure of inflation, rose 0.4% in April. That’s more than Dow Jones expected and economists. Year-on-year, core PCE rose 4.7%, which was more than expected.

– Fred Imbert

Fri, May 26 2023 9:19 AM EDT

Markets are now expecting a Fed rate hike in June

Markets raised their bets on a June rate hike from the Federal Reserve following warmer-than-expected inflation data on Friday morning.

The odds of a quarter-percentage-point increase rose to 56%, according to CME Group data. That followed a report showing that prices of personal consumption expenditures rose 0.4% in April and 4.7% from a year ago.

The odds of an increase were only 17% a week ago. The probability of a hike increases to 75% after July.

– Jeff Cox

Fri, May 26 2023 11:13 AM EDT

Consumer sentiment slightly exceeded expectations

The final reading of May consumer sentiment came in slightly above expectations. University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index came in at 59.2, while economists polled by Dow Jones had forecast 57.7.

Of course, that level is below April’s 63.5.

“Consumer sentiment fell 7% amid concerns about the economy’s path, wiping out nearly half of the gains made since last June’s record decline. The decline mirrors the 2011 debt ceiling crisis,” consumer director Jon Hsu wrote.

– Fred Imbert

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