5 minutes ago
Hong Kong retail sales rose nearly 2% in February
Hong Kong retail sales rose 1.9% in February compared to the same month last year, accelerating from the previous month’s 0.9% rise.
On a volume basis, retail sales rose 0.5%, reversing January’s 1.2% decline.
Hong Kong’s Census and Statistics Department said it was “more appropriate to analyze retail sales for January and February together” because of the large fluctuations during the Lunar New Year period.
Total retail sales in the first two months of 2024 were provisionally estimated to increase by 1.4% compared to the same period in 2023.
— Lim Huijie
42 minutes ago
CNBC Pro: Tesla short sellers name 2 auto stocks to own – give them 100% upside potential
Tesla short sellers have named two auto stocks that they believe have the potential to deliver 100% upside for investors.
Rekander, who holds a short position in Tesla stock, said the electric car maker could “go bankrupt” as soon as Tesla’s stock drops to $14. Short sellers profit when stock prices fall.
The hedge fund manager said the “Tesla bubble” has created what he calls a “counter-bubble” in the auto sector, with investors becoming overly bearish on companies that are actually doing well.
Lekander named two auto stocks whose prices could double from current levels as the Tesla bubble contracts. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
42 minutes ago
CNBC Pro: Thinking about investing in Tesla? One investor gives the stock 79% upside potential
While some investors may be hesitant to buy Tesla at this point, one analyst is bullish on the stock.
Over the past 12 months, shares of Elon Musk’s auto giant have fallen nearly 14.5%.
Tesla’s delivery numbers in the first quarter of this year, which were far below expectations from analysts surveyed by FactSet, also hurt the stock on Tuesday.
But one global auto analyst sees opportunity in investing in Tesla, especially in the long term.
“Despite today’s performance, the stock is only down about 4.5%, which is because expectations are already quite high,” Tom Narayan of RBC Capital Markets said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” in April. It makes me think it’s low.” 3.
He also outlined other opportunities he sees both in the short and long term.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Amara Balakrishna
4 hours ago
HSBC sees signs of expanding stock price rise
Starting in October 2023, stocks were initially led by mega-cap tech stocks. But HSBC Global Research said March’s results showed that profits may be diversifying.
“The S&P index has outperformed the broader index on an equal-weighted basis over the last month, suggesting broader equity gains, and as a soft landing materializes,” strategist Nicole Inui said in a note Tuesday. “We expect the range of stock price increases to further expand.”
Inui noted that after the FOMC meeting, market expectations that the Fed would cut interest rates in June fell from 69% to 56%.
— Ha-Kyung Kim
4 hours ago
30 S&P 500 Index constituents set new 52-week highs
In Wednesday trading, 30 stocks in the S&P 500 set new 52-week highs.
Here are some of the names that have achieved this milestone:
- Domino’s Pizza trades at levels not seen since January 2022
- Kinder Morgan trades at levels not seen since February 2023
- Trading at all-time highs since IPO in 1971
- Caterpillar is trading at its highest level ever, dating back to 1929 when it first began trading on the New York Stock Exchange
- 3M trading at levels not seen since February 2023
- Marathon Petroleum has been trading at record highs since it was spun off from Marathon Oil in June 2011.
- Diamondback Energy is trading at its highest price since its October 2012 IPO
- Dow Jones Industrials trades at levels not seen since February 2023
- Since its IPO in June 1984, Micron has traded at all-time highs.
— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes
7 hours ago
Powell says economy and policy are in ‘pretty good shape’
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Wednesday expressed confidence in the state of the economy and policy.
“I think we’re at a pretty good point,” Powell said in a speech at Stanford University. “We are now leveraging the tools we have to keep the economy strong while bringing inflation down to the remaining 2%.”
—Jeff Cox
