Asia markets mixed as China cuts key lending rates

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group’s Hong Kong-listed shares cut losses to 0.2% most recently after announcing co-founder Eddie Wu would replace Daniel Zhang as chief executive of Alibaba Group traded cheaply.

Mr. Wu is currently the chairman of Taobao-Tmall Group, and Mr. Zhang will be replaced as the group’s chairman by current executive vice chairman Joshuf Tsai.

Zhang will continue to lead Alibaba Cloud Intelligence Group as chairman and chief executive officer after the move, which the company announced will take effect on September 10.

— Lim Hui Jie, Clement Tan

The Reserve Bank of Australia said it had taken the decision to raise the base rate to 4.1% after inflation data had “turned to the upside” and it believed it would take more time for domestic inflation to return to target.

in minutes Announced ahead of the RBA’s June meeting, the central bank said its members were debating whether to continue raising rates to assess additional data.

But with inflation projected to be above target for several years already and Australia expected to take a little longer to get back on target than some other countries, the argument for rate hikes won out.

The RBA cited a rise in Australian inflation in April and a smaller decline in goods inflation than observed elsewhere.

“Services price inflation has yet to show signs of easing, and evidence from abroad suggests this inflation may persist,” the minutes added.

— Lim Huisier

Mainland developer stocks fell more than 3% after China cut its five-year loan prime rate lower than some economists expected.

A survey conducted before the announcement showed 16 of 32 analysts expected a sharp cut of at least 15 basis points to the five-year loan prime rate, according to Reuters.

The five-year LPR, which is the reference rate for mortgages, was cut by 10 basis points to 4.2%.

Hang Seng Index property stocks led the decline, with the Hang Seng Mainland Property Index dropping more than 3.5%.

Property developer Country Garden Holdings Inc. fell 5.65%, the biggest loss on HSI, while property investment firm Longfor Group Inc. fell 4.94%.

— Lim Huisier

Port congestion has largely returned to normal, and the disruptions associated with the coronavirus consumption boom have “definitely passed,” Parash Jain said. Head of Traffic Research for Asia Pacific at HSBC.

“What we are witnessing now is the massive destocking that is happening in the US,” Jain said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

U.S. port import data is down about 20% year-on-year, but “still holding up better” than 2019, Jain said. Normalization is also occurring in air freight, he added.

Overall cargo volumes are returning to pre-coronavirus trends, Jain said.

— Audrey Wang

China cut its main one-year and five-year loan prime rates by 10 basis points each, the first time since August.

The 1-year LPR fell to 3.55% from 3.65% and the 5-year LPR was cut to 4.20% from 4.30%. The move reflects China’s cut in short- and medium-term lending rates last week.

After the announcement, the offshore yuan fell 0.13% to 7.172 yuan to the dollar.

— Lim Huisier

Japanese trading firms surged at the start of trading on Tuesday after Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in five Japanese trading firms to an average of more than 8.5%.

Mitsui rose 4.55%, Marubeni rose 3.44%, Mitsubishi rose nearly 4%, and Itochu and Sumitomo each rose nearly 3%.

Japan’s top five trading houses have regained momentum thanks to Warren Buffett, bucking the tide as Japanese stocks fell for a second day in a row.

The total value of these interests exceeds the value of shares held by Berkshire outside the United States, the company said.

— Jihye Lee, Elliot Smith, Ruxandra Yodash

The People’s Bank of China is expected to cut its one- and five-year loan prime rates later today.

Economists surveyed by Reuters expect a 10 basis point cut in the prime rate for one-year loans and a 15 basis point cut for five-year loans, according to FactSet.

China’s last LPR cut was in August 2022. Investors will watch today’s decision after the People’s Bank of China cut the medium-term lending line and the 7-day reverse repo rate.

— Lee Ji-hye

According to RBC analyst Tom Narayan, the global auto giant may be the next company to sign a deal with Tesla to use its supercharger stations.

The deal, if finalized, would continue Tesla’s similar partnerships with Ford and General Motors.

Investors have historically rewarded everyone involved in a deal. A day after the deal, shares of Tesla and Ford jumped 4.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Shares of both automakers have risen more than 25% since then.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

For nearly two decades, high-performing portfolio manager Jordan Czvetanowski has looked for certain qualities in the companies he chooses.

And the results have proven consistent throughout the global financial crisis, the era of zero interest rates, and the current era of high interest rates.

One fund managed by Pera Funds Management’s Tsvetanovski has outperformed its benchmark by a staggering 27% over four years.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

Friday ended on a low note, but last week’s win marked a notable milestone for the top three averages.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed Friday in the red, but all three indexes rose this week.

The S&P 500 Index rose 2.6% for the week, its best weekly performance since March and its fifth straight week of positive gains. It’s the first time since the same length streak ended in November 2021. Tech-rich Nasdaq rose 3.25%. The week was the highest since March and the first eight consecutive weeks of positive growth since the 10-week streak ended in March 2019.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also showed a small weekly gain, rising 1.25%, marking its third straight week of positive growth since April this year.

—Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes