China’s dollar denominated exports jump in the first two months of 2024
China’s dollar-denominated exports jumped 7.1% year-over-year in the first two months of 2024, according to official data.
It was much higher than a Reuters poll expectation of a 1.9% rise. Dollar-denominated imports totaled $402.85 billion, which was an increase of 3.5% year-over-year.
China’s yuan-denominated exports rose 10.3% year-on-year during the January and February period, while imports increased 6.7%.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Shares of Wuxi Appetec and Wuxi Bio plunge after U.S. Senate bill restricting business moves forward
Shares of Chinese biotech companies Wuxi AppTec and Wuxi Biologics plunged over 15% and 19% respectively, and were the two largest losers on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index.
The declines come after the U.S. Senate homeland security committee approved a bill that could restrict business with Chinese biotech companies on national security grounds. The measures would still need to be passed by both chambers of Congress before reaching the president’s desk. The bill could be revised in the process, but its potential approval has sparked concern among investors.
WuXi AppTec, for example, generates two-thirds of its revenue from its U.S. business. While Wuxi Biologics did not disclose how much of its revenue comes from the U.S. specifically, its 2023 earnings report said it derived 46% of its revenue from the North American region.
Goldman Sachs says it’s positive on Indian stocks, bonds and the rupee
Goldman Sachs said Thursday that it was positive on Indian equities, bonds, as well as the rupee.
Indian benchmark indexes hit fresh record-highs on Wednesday, with the Nifty 50 rising to 22,474.05 and the BSE Sensex climbing to 74,085.99.
Sunil Koul, vice-president and Asia-Pacific portfolio strategist at the investment bank, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that last year’s rally in Indian equities was due to earnings growth, and there “is still room” for more this year.
“India printed 20% earnings growth and the market is up 20%. So the entire rally last year was driven by earnings accrual,” he said, elaborating that the country can expect to see bonds rally once they are included in the JPMorgan bond index in June.
— Charmaine Jacob
JD.com jumps more than 8% after beating revenue estimates and launching share buyback
Hong Kong-listed shares of JD.com spiked over 8% after the Chinese e-commerce company released better than expected fourth-quarter earnings and announced a share buyback plan of up to $3 billion, including American depository shares.
Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 rose 3.6% from a year ago to 306.1 billion yuan ($42.54 billion), beating estimates of 300.04 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.
Attributable income for the fourth quarter came in at 3.4 billion yuan, compared to 3 billion yuan for the same period last year.
For the full year, attributable net income was 24.2 billion yuan, a 133% surge compared with 10.4 billion yuan in 2022. Full year revenue climbed 3.7% to 1.08 trillion yuan.
JD.com also declared a dividend of 38 cents per share.
Nikkei hits fresh all-time high on Wednesday as energy and financials stocks rise
Japan’s Nikkei 225 hit a fresh all-time high on Wednesday, gaining 0.54% and surpassing its March 4 record of 40,109.23.
The advance was led by energy and financial stocks, although the largest gainer on the Nikkei was motorcycle and heavy-equipment manufacturer Kawasaki Heavy Industries, rising 8.5% within the first half hour of trade.
Other names on the top gainers list included financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, and copper ore company Mitsui Mining & Smelting.
Bitcoin edges lower as blistering rally cools
Bitcoin cooled after a blistering rally this week that saw it briefly rise above a record high.
The world’s most popular cryptocurrency edged 0.5% lower to trade at $66,132.42, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin had jumped around 8% in the previous session. Bitcoin touched an all-time high topping $69,210 on Tuesday.
“The boost in liquidity and the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts are propelling risk assets. However, given the stretched positioning and significant volatility, prudent risk management is warranted,” Charu Chanana, head of FX strategy at Saxo Markets, told CNBC.
Victoria’s Secret sinks 25% following mixed earnings, weak guidance
Shares of Victoria’s Secret plummeted more than 25% after the intimate apparel maker reported mixed quarterly results and issued disappointing guidance.
The company posted earnings of $2.58 per share that topped the $2.47 expected by analysts polled by LSEG, but revenues came in at $2.08 billion and shy of the $2.09 billion anticipated.
For the full year, Victoria’s Secret forecasted revenues to fall in the low single digits, versus an LSEG estimate of a 0.4% decline. The company also anticipates a bigger-than-expected decline in revenues for the first quarter.
Alongside its earnings report, the company authorized a $250 billion buyback plan.
Stock futures open little changed
Stock futures opened little changed on Wednesday evening.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were flat.
— Samantha Subin
