Australia, China trade, Powell testimony

The Japanese yen strengthened about 0.5% against the U.S. dollar, last trading at 148.69, its highest level since Feb. 8.

This comes after Japan’s biggest industrial union group, UA Zensen, reportedly said employers have agreed to raise full-time workers’ pay by 6.7% as part of the closely watched annual spring wages discussion that are set to be wrapped up by March 13.

The wage negotiations are being closely watched by

The Bank of Japan is monitoring negotiations as the prospect of higher wages could encourage consumers to spend more.

Expectations for the BOJ to hike rates in April stood at 64%, according to LSEG data.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

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 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

Japan’s biggest industrial union group, UA Zensen, reportedly said that company managements have agreed to raise full-time workers’ pay by 6.7%.

It said Thursday that 25 of its member unions have so far won a “full response” from management, according to a Reuters report, as part of the closely-watched annual spring wages discussion that are set to be wrapped up by March 13.

The wage negotiations are being closely watched by the Bank of Japan as it believes wage hikes would encourage consumers to spend more.

The BOJ is expected to move away from its negative rates regime in April, after the annual spring wage discussions.

— Reuters, Shreyashi Sanyal

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.

In Australia, the number of new owner-occupier home loans fell 2.6% in January compared with the prior month, according to data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Thursday.

“Although owner-occupier lending has fallen for two months in a row, the growth in trend terms was 1.5% over the year,” Mish Tan, ABS head of finance statistics, said.

The new loan commitments for housing fell 3.9%, while personal fixed term lending increased 6%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

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 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.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs started trading earlier this year driving gains in cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin supply is also tightening ahead of the late April “halving,” an event designed to create scarcity.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

India’s economic prospects are shining bright, attracting global investors eager to capitalize on the country’s immense growth potential.

The International Monetary Fund expects India’s real gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 6.5% in 2024. 

However, tapping into these opportunities as a foreign investor is not as straightforward as buying shares listed on the Indian stock exchanges. Limits on foreign ownership, complex tax implications, and corporate governance concerns create barriers.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about how foreign investors can buy Indian stocks.

— Ganesh Rao

Many growth stocks are becoming expensive, prompting some investors to turn to value stocks.

“The S&P 500 at 5,075 with expected earnings growth of 10% for 2024 gives us $243 a share and puts us at 21X earnings – its pricey, plain, and simple,” said Brian Szytel, senior managing director of The Bahnsen Group, in late February. The S&P 500 closed around 5,078 on Tuesday.

He said he wouldn’t own the index at that level. “I would however, own parts of the market shift to more value-oriented names and believe that rotation that started in 2022 from growth to value will resume. This is a time to earn ‘carry’, income, and dividends,” he said.

Those interested in value stocks can consider the following from CNBC Pro’s screen of the Vanguard Value ETF. All have 20% or more upside and a buy rating of at least 50%, with the screen showing their current and 5-year average dividend yields.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Gold futures for April settled at their highest level ever on Monday — and they’re on pace for another record close.

Gold’s April-dated futures hit a nominal intraday all-time high of $2,158.40 per ounce during Wednesday’s trading session. As long as gold settles in positive territory, this would mean another record close for the commodity.

However, in inflation-adjusted terms, gold’s all-time high is $3,460.77 per ounce, which it set in January 1980.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Gina Francolla

Apple shares are falling for a sixth straight day Wednesday, extending a string of losses that began Feb. 28.

The latest decline matches another six-day slide that lasted from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20.

Apple has now declined 5.5% this week alone, bringing the year-to-date loss to almost 12%.

How much is that 12% worth in dollars and cents? Apple’s market value has plunged $352 billion to $2.63 trillion in 2024, allowing Microsoft to overtake it as the largest company ($2.99 trillion) in the U.S.

In prepared remarks to be delivered on Capitol Hill on Wednesday and Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank was not yet ready to start cutting interest rates.

“In considering any adjustments to the target range for the policy rate, we will carefully assess the incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks,” Powell said. “The Committee does not expect that it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent.”

He also said rate policy is “likely at its peak for this tightening cycle. If the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year.”

— Fred Imbert