Asia markets higher ahead of Australia’s interest rate decision

Chief Executive John Lee said at a news conference on Tuesday that Hong Kong posted economic growth of 2.7 per cent in the first quarter.

The economy contracted 4.2% in the final quarter of 2022 compared to a year ago.

“Although exports are still declining in the first quarter, China’s economy has always grown rapidly and the recovery of Hong Kong’s aviation capacity is accelerating,” Li said.

“I think Hong Kong’s economy will be better in the second quarter than in the first quarter, and this year’s economy will be better than last year,” he said.

– Vivian Kam

ASEAN-5 factory activity nearly increased in April, according to S&P Global’s undisclosed research.

Manufacturing expands in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines, with Thailand leading growth

Thailand’s manufacturing sector expanded fastest in April, with a Purchasing Managers Index of 60.4.

But the only outlier was Malaysia, whose manufacturing PMI was 48.1, its eighth straight month of contraction.

— Lim Hijie

While other markets have been volatile this year, technology has recovered. The Nasdaq is up 16% year-to-date.

Evercore ISI’s top tech analyst Mark Mahaney has put one tech stock up almost 50% more, saying it has a “very attractive” valuation.

He gave the second pick even higher with 152%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

South Korea’s April manufacturing PMI rose to 48.1 from 47.6 in March, a private survey showed on Tuesday.

Despite improvement, this is the 10th straight month S&P Global PMI for Korean Manufacturers It fell below the 50 mark that separates contraction and growth.

“Subdued customer demand at home and abroad has been central to the recent deterioration, contributing to a significant decline in new orders,” S&P Global Market Intelligence economist Usama Bhatti said in a release on Tuesday.

Bhatti also noted that South Korean manufacturers have since cut production levels, raw material purchases and hiring.

— Lim Hijie

Australia’s central bank is expected to keep its benchmark policy rate at 3.6% when it announces its decision on Tuesday.

A Reuters poll of 34 economists found that 26 expected the Reserve Bank of Australia to remain at current levels, while the remaining eight expected a rate hike of 25 basis points. became.

If the RBA raises rates to 3.85%, it will be the highest since April 2012.

Australian inflation, a key data point for the RBA, eased to 7% in the first quarter, below the 7.8% recorded at the end of 2022.

— Lim Hijie

Inflation in South Korea softened to 3.7% in Apr, down from 4.2% in Mar.

It was also the slowest inflation rate in 14 months and the third straight month of decline.

The 3.7% figure was in line with economists’ expectations of 3.75%.

In April, South Korea’s central bank continued to maintain its benchmark policy rate at 3.5%.

— Lim Hijie

SoftBank’s chip maker Arm secretly applied for listing on U.S. stock market, acquisition by SoftBank management, Nikkei speculation reignited report.

The report added that SoftBank Group Corp.’s holdings of Alibaba could be used as collateral to raise billions of dollars in exchange for the Japanese company’s Arm shares. This will allow the Vision Fund to drive new investments.

Nikkei also said it could go private if SoftBank sells about half of its stock portfolio, with Arm’s high valuation further widening the gap between SoftBank Group’s valuation and that of its assets, leading to a potential buyout. reported to be much higher.

SoftBank shares rose 0.7% in the morning session in Tokyo on Tuesday.

The dollar rose against the Japanese yen on Monday, hitting a new high of 136.98 per US dollar. The US dollar is trading at its highest level since March 10 at 136.99 against the yen.

The dollar is now in a range of highs not seen since March 9 when the dollar traded at 137.37 against the yen.

Elsewhere, the euro also rose against the yen, reaching 150.94, its highest trading level since 30 September 2008.

— Brian Evans, Gina Francola

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sees the crisis that led to three bank failures in recent weeks all but over after the banking giant bought First Republic. .

“There may be other little things, but this pretty much settles everything,” he said in a call with analysts after the deal was announced. “This part of the crisis is over. ”

Dimon’s comments come after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation bought the bank that has been the victim of deposit flight in recent weeks following the failure of the Silicon Valley bank. JP Morgan will acquire most of the distressed company’s assets and assume control of its deposits.

— Hugh Song, Samantha Soobin

The collapse of First Republic over the weekend has so far not had much of an impact on other regional bank stocks.

The SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) fell less than 0.4% in pre-market trading. PacWest Bancorp shares fell 2.4% while Western Alliance rose slightly. First Horizon and Zions Bancorp. each fell about 0.2%.

First Republic has plummeted and is now trading below $2 a share, and its stock could be devalued to zero. However, as of Friday’s close, First Republic’s weight in the KRE was less than 0.15%.

US manufacturing activity contracted for the sixth straight month in April, but below expectations, according to Monday’s report from the Institute for Supply Management.

The ISM manufacturing PMI stood at 47.1%, representing the share of companies reporting expansion this month. This was higher than his 46.3% in March and better than Dow Jones’ forecast of 46.7%.

However, the details could be unsettling for the Federal Reserve, which is trying to control inflation.

The price index rose 4 points to 53.2%, returning to expansion territory. The employment index rose 3.3 points to 50.2%. Inventory was the major drag on growth in the first quarter, down 1.2 points to 46.3%, and new orders were up 1.4 points to 45.7%.

— Jeff Cox