Alibaba shares rise after Ant Group gets approval for capital plan
Shares of Hong Kong-listed Alibaba rose 6.43% in morning trade on Wednesday after China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission approved a capital expansion plan for Ant Group’s Chongqing-based consumer finance unit.
Chinese regulators have given billionaire Jack Ma’s financial technology firm the green light to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), according to a notice published last week.
Ant Group is an affiliate of Alibaba, in which the e-commerce giant owns 33%. Ant Group operates the Alipay mobile payment wallet in China. Alibaba shares rose 2.78% on Tuesday, the first trading session since the announcement.
Other companies named in the notice include Hangzhou Jintou Digital Technology Group, Nanyang Commercial Bank, Zhejiang Sunny Optical and China Huarong Asset Management.
The approval marks progress in the fintech giant’s state-run regulatory overhaul.
– Jihye Li, Evelyn Cheng
CNBC Pro: Analysts see these 10 global renewable energy stocks rising despite high rates, and one suggests a 50% upside
Rising energy costs have spurred investment in renewable energy around the world.
Swiss investment bank UBS has named 10 prominent renewable energy players that are taking advantage of this trend and are poised to outperform over the next year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Ganesh Rao
Japan’s manufacturing activity is the weakest in more than two years
The Au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Manager index posted a reading of 48.9 for December, marking the second straight month in contraction territory.
The reading fell from 49.0 in November and hit 48.70, the weakest reading since October 2020.
The report said the continued decline in production was attributed to “weak global economic trends”.
– Lee Yingshan
Tesla’s Asian suppliers fall after supply report
Tesla’s suppliers in Asia fell short of expectations after reporting fourth-quarter 2022 car production and delivery numbers.
The supply report showed 405,278 total shipments for the quarter and 1.31 million total shipments for the year, below expectations of around 427,000 shipments for the final quarter of the year.
of Japan Panasonic It lost 1.82% in early Asian trade, with South Korea’s LG Chem down 0.17% and Samsung SDI about 2% earlier in the hour.
Shenzhen-listed shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, fell 1.7%. Tesla shares fell 12% on Wall Street on Tuesday.
– Ashley Capoot, Jihye Lee
CNBC Pro: Wall Street is bullish on the chip giant, with Morgan Stanley giving it a 55% upside
The once-hot chip sector suffered in 2022, but Wall Street is more bullish on semiconductor stocks for next year.
Recently, several pro investors have called for a longer-term view of the sector, given the importance of chips in several key global trends.
Analysts have singled out one stock they are particularly bullish on, citing its earnings potential and future profitability.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Weizhen Tan
Apple’s Asian suppliers mostly boost trade despite reports of production cuts
US manufacturing PMI fell at fastest pace since May 2020
The U.S. manufacturing price managers’ index, a measure of output, fell in December at the fastest pace since May 2020, according to S&P Global.
According to the data released on Tuesday, the index was 46.2 in December and 47.7 in November. Low prices and declining production levels weighed on the index. In addition, December saw a sharper-than-expected decline in new sales, with companies citing uncertainty over the economic backdrop.
– Carmen Reinicke
Tesla fell 13% to hit a 52-week low
The stock lost more than 13% to levels not seen since August 2020. The slide is the stock’s worst annual performance – Tesla is down 65% in 2022.
– Carmen Reinicke
Apple’s market value has dropped below $2 trillion
A sale apple shares pushed the iPhone maker’s market capitalization below $2 trillion on Tuesday.
Shares fell 4% on news that it was cutting production on some products due to weak demand. Concerns about iPhone supplies during the holiday period have grown in recent weeks, and shares have been pressured by the shutdown of Apple’s main supplier in China.
The decline in shares is in contrast to a year ago, when Apple became the first US company to reach a market value of $3 trillion.
Apple became the latest mega cap tech stock to break the $2 trillion mark.
– Samantha Subin
Goldman Sachs believes that the US will avoid recession in 2023
Goldman Sachs has a non-consensus forecast for the US economy in 2023.
“Our economists continue to believe that the US will avoid recession as the Fed successfully eases the economy,” analysts wrote on Tuesday.
“This outside-consensus forecast partly reflects our view that the period of below-potential growth is sufficient to gradually rebalance the labor market and reduce wage and price pressures,” the note said. “But it also reflects our analysis, which suggests that fiscal and monetary policy tightening will ease sharply next year, contrary to the consensus view that the lagged effects of rate hikes will lead to a recession in 2023.”
In addition, the bank today raised its GDP growth forecast for 2Q22 by 10 bp to +2.1%.
“The relationship between the resilience of the U.S. economy in 2022 and the decline experienced by stocks has been the main story of the past year,” Goldman said. “And the continuation of that relationship, or the economy matching the market’s downturn, or the market rebounding after a mild economic downturn could be at least part of the 2023 story.”
– Carmen Reinicke