An hour ago
Most Adani shares rise after company says developers repaid $1 billion in loans
Most shares of Adani Group companies rose on Tuesday after the company said its promoters had prepaid more than $1 billion in loans through pledges of shares.
The statement said 12% of their stake in Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone shares will be released before its September 2024 maturity date – 3% will be released for Adani Green Energy and 1.4% will be released for Adani Transmission.
2 hours ago
Australia raises interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.35%
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced a hike in interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.1%, the highest since 2012.
“Inflation is expected to decline this year due to both global factors and slower domestic demand growth,” RBA Governor Philip Lowe said in a statement.
Lowe added that the central bank’s forecast for Australia’s consumer price index is 4% in 2023 and is expected to reach 3% by mid-2025.
The latest move comes after the central bank considered several options in December, including a 50 basis point hike.
The RBA also said it plans to raise interest rates further during 2023, but not on a predefined path.
The Australian dollar strengthened 0.7% to 0.6934 against the US dollar.
3 hours ago
Baidu rushes announced launch of AI chatbot project
Baidu shares jumped more than 13% during the Hong Kong trading session as the company announced that its artificial intelligence chatbot was almost ready for public launch.
The confirmation of previous reports comes as Microsoft-backed ChatGPT has grown in popularity and Google has rushed to develop its own.
It’s unclear how the capabilities of Baidu’s chatbot will compare to those of ChatGPT.
Baidu said its AI chatbot project will likely complete internal testing in March before going public.
The chatbot is named “ERNIE bot” in English or “Wenxin Yiyan” in Chinese, Baidu said.
In a recent presentation earlier this year, Chief Technology Officer Haifeng Wang highlighted the importance of deep learning as the heart of artificial intelligence and that it shows “increasing potential.” .
– Evelyn Cheng, Jihye Lee
2 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Market veteran still bullish on tech despite upheaval in earnings, reveals his other top picks
Tech stocks have rallied strongly this year – a big turnaround for one of the worst performers of 2022. But the strength of the recovery now hangs in the balance as investors weigh the implications of a series of earnings disappointments .
Market veteran Kenny Polcari, however, is still a fan of the sector and has a number of stock picks to play in it.
Pro subscribers can learn more here.
— Zavier Ong
3 hours ago
Real wages in Japan rise for the first time in 9 months, but household spending falls
Real wages in Japan rose for the first time in nine months, rising slightly by 0.1% in the last month of 2022 on an annualized basis, according to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Labor.
Cash earnings also rose 4.8% in December.
The increase was led by premiums, which rose 7.8% compared to the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, household spending in Japan fell 2.1% in December, better than expectations of 0.3% growth by economists polled by Reuters.
It comes as Japan faces its highest rate of inflation since December 1981, with core consumer prices rising 3.7% in November on an annualized basis.
– Lim Hui Jie
4 hours ago
Australia’s exports of goods and services fell in December, while imports rose
Australian exports of goods and services fell 1% in December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, led by other mineral fuels.
At the same time, imports increased by 1%, driven by travel services.
This resulted in a seasonally adjusted balance on goods and services down A$1.23 billion ($849 million).
The Aussie dollar was up about 0.3% to 0.6901 against the US dollar.
4 hours ago
CNBC Pro: These ETFs and Mutual Funds Face Millions in Losses Amid Adani Crisis
Retail investors and pension funds face millions of dollars in losses on investments in Adani Group companies, CNBC Pro can reveal.
A new analysis shows that 951 mutual funds and ETFs worldwide have cumulatively lost more than $4.2 billion in the value of their Adani shares this year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can search here for mutual funds and ETFs that have had exposure to Adani companies.
— Ganesha Rao
17 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Want to play the ChatGPT buzz? Analysts love these AI actions – giving a 150% advantage
A lot of buzz was generated around ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot that went viral and reportedly reached 100 million monthly active users in January.
Its popularity has sparked a lot of interest in artificial intelligence technology.
“You really have to consider the role that artificial intelligence is going to play…it’s made this quantum leap almost, you know, overnight. And so I think that puts it right in the middle of people’s wallets,” Kenny Polcari , chief market strategist at SlateStone Wealth, told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday.
For investors considering investing in AI, CNBC Pro picks related stocks that analysts love, with big upside potential.
CNBC Pro subscribers can learn more here.
—Weizhen Tan
9 hours ago
Stocks close Monday
Stocks ended in the red on Monday as worries about high bond yields weighed on investors.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led all three major indexes lower, losing 1% during the session. The S&P 500 ended down 0.6%, while the Dow Jones lost 0.1%.
See the table…
Three major clues
10 hours ago
Goldman reduces probability of recession to 25%
Goldman Sachs, which was already doubtful of Wall Street’s recession expectations, thinks there is even less of a chance now.
The company reduced its likelihood of a recession for the next 12 months to 25%, from 35% previously. That’s well below the 65% expectations of the latest Wall Street Journal survey.
“Continued strength in the labor market and early signs of improvement in business surveys suggest that the risk of a near-term meltdown has diminished significantly,” the company said in a client note on Monday.
GDP is expected to grow only 0.4% in the first quarter, but then accelerate throughout the year, Goldman added.
—Jeff Cox
13 hours ago
Bond yields are soaring. Here’s how investors can play them
Treasury yields jumped on Monday as investors awaited hints from Federal Reserve speakers on the next steps in monetary policy.
The yield on 1-year Treasury bills jumped to 4.841% on Monday morning, and the rate on 2-year Treasury bills jumped to 4.412%. These are the highest levels since January 6. Yields on longer-dated Treasury bills also rose, with the rate on 10-year notes hitting 3.619%, the highest level since Jan. 10. prices.
Yields have been trending higher since the Fed launched its rate hike campaign last year, and bond prices have fallen. However, an opportunity has since presented itself to investors hoping to source these fixed income instruments cheaply and earn an attractive return.
Learn more about where advisors are looking to play in the rising rate environment here.
-Darla Mercado, Gina Francolla