1 hour ago
Japanese yen tests 34-year low as central bank meeting begins
The Japanese yen rose above 155 yen against the US dollar, hitting a new 34-year low.
The currency last traded at 155.37 against the dollar.
Japanese authorities have acknowledged the yen’s weakness for almost a month, but investors are waiting for clearer measures to stem the decline.
The Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision on Friday will be closely monitored not only for its inflation outlook, but also for any measures it takes to address the weaker yen.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
1 hour ago
SK Hynix records operating profit for the first time in four quarters, stock price drops nearly 3%
Shares of South Korean semiconductor maker SK Hynix fell nearly 3% despite the company’s earnings report. highest operating profit For the first time in almost two years.
The company recorded an operating profit of 2.89 trillion Korean won ($2.1 billion) in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 734% from the same period last year, and a net profit of 1.92 trillion won.
Sales for the fourth quarter were 12.43 trillion won, the highest ever for a quarter.
SK Hynix attributed this to increased sales of AI server products “backed by our leadership in AI memory technology.”
The company also added: “We believe we have entered a clear stage of recovery after a long period of decline.”
— Lim Huijie
2 hours ago
South Korea’s GDP increased by 3.4% in the first quarter, marking the highest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021
South Korea records GDP growth The economy grew 3.4% in the first quarter, beating the 2.4% forecast by economists polled by Reuters and marking the fastest quarterly growth since the fourth quarter of 2021.
GDP increased by 1.3% from the previous quarter, exceeding Reuters’ forecast of a 0.6% increase.
Exports from South Korea in the first quarter increased by 0.9% due to an increase in exports of IT items such as mobile phones. Imports decreased by 0.7% due to a decrease in imports of electronic equipment.
— Lim Huijie
2 hours ago
CNBC Pro: Standard Chartered doubles prediction that Bitcoin will reach $150,000 by year-end
Despite the recent price decline, Bitcoin is expected to see further price gains in the second half of this year, according to a top crypto analyst at Standard Chartered.
Bitcoin will rise to $150,000 per coin and Ether will reach $8,000 by the end of 2024, Jeffrey Kendrick, head of foreign exchange research at Standard Chartered’s West Digital Asset Research, said in a research note this week. He said he expected it to reach that level. A bullish forecast issued by the bank earlier this year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ryan Braun
22 hours ago
CNBC Pro: ‘We have stronger tailwinds than the U.S.’: Morningstar strategists are betting on these 7 European stocks
Attractive returns and a wide range of opportunities are among the many reasons investors have historically preferred investing in the United States over Europe.
However, one strategist has a keen eye on European stocks, pointing out that “Europe is not a boring market.”
There are major growth factors, [and investors] “You need to dig a little deeper than in the U.S., where it’s very easy to find growth stocks right now,” said Michael Field, European market strategist at Morningstar.
“Europe is structuring. Looking at the current macroeconomic environment, European stocks could have a bigger tailwind than U.S. stocks,” he added, listing his favorite stocks at the moment.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amara Balakrishna
10 hours ago
Strategist Tony Dwyer says stocks could remain strong until 2024
Tony Dwyer, Canaccord Geneity.
Scott Mullin | CNBC
Tony Dwyer, chief market strategist at Canaccord Genuity, told CNBC on Wednesday that he remains optimistic about the stock market in 2024 despite the recent swoon.
“Our game plan heading into this year was to take some corrective action based on the historic performance we’ve had so far, and we’re in the process of doing that. “I think it’s going to work out if we do that, to have a really good end to the year,” Dwyer said on “Squawk on the Street.”
Dwyer said broad-based earnings growth would support stock prices and there could be multiple rate cuts this year. He said the market is now becoming overly pessimistic about rate cuts.
“Just one rate cut may be too much, just as the seven rate cuts at the end of December were too much,” Dwyer said.
— Jesse Pound
8 hours ago
Five S&P 500 stocks hit record highs
12 hours ago
On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was most depressed by Home Depot, McDonald’s and J&J.
Three stocks combined to drag down the Dow Jones Industrial Average by a combined 60 points on Wednesday.
Home Depot is 26 points below average, McDonald’s is 19 points below average, and Johnson & Johnson is about 15 points below average.
Unlike the market capitalization-weighted S&P 500 Index, where larger companies have a greater impact on calculations and smaller companies have less influence, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been based on the stock prices of individual companies since its founding in the 19th century. has been dependent on. Currently, for every $1 move in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the average price moves up or down by 6.59 points.
— Scott Schnipper