Japan's trade, Japan's household expenditure

Singapore's second-largest bank, OCBC, reported record first-quarter sales and profits, with gross profit up 8% year-on-year to S$3.63 billion ($2.68 billion) and net profit of S$5.6 billion. % increase to S$1.98 billion.

Quarter-over-quarter, sales increased 11% and net income increased 22%. OCBC cited “solid performance across all divisions” and highlighted record banking profits, supported by growth in wealth management revenue and assets under management.

Separately, OCBC offered S$1.4 billion to privatize its insurance subsidiary Great Eastern.

The company will buy the 11.56% stake in the insurance company it does not currently hold for S$25.60 per share, which represents a 36.9% premium over Great Eastern's last trading price of S$18.70.

Morgan Stanley says the global semiconductor industry is undergoing a “transformation” thanks to artificially intelligent PCs powered by chips developed by British chip designer Arm.

Because running AI applications requires a more powerful PC.

Morgan Stanley notes that arm-based central processing units are known for their energy savings and thermal control, which translates into longer battery life and more compact designs, and that they “offer significant advantages in power efficiency.” ” he added.

The bank therefore expects Arm-based AI PCs to “start a transformation that will impact the global semiconductor industry.”

What stocks will benefit from Arm's move into AI PCs?

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

According to Reuters, Japan recorded its largest-ever current account surplus worth 25.3 trillion yen ($162.9 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2024.

The current account surplus in March was 3.4 trillion yen.

Current account measurements are important indicators of international trade.

—Shreyashi Sanyal, Reuters

Japan's household spending in March actually fell by 1.2% year-on-year, which was smaller than expected, compared to the 2.4% year-on-year decline predicted by economists compiled by Reuters.

Household spending rose 1.2% from the previous month, compared with a 0.3% decline expected in a Reuters poll.

According to Japan's Statistics Bureau, average monthly consumer spending increased by 1.9% in nominal terms to 318,713 yen ($2,049.23).

The average monthly income per household in March was 513,734 yen, an increase of 3% in nominal terms and a decrease of 0.1% in real terms compared to the previous year.

— Lim Huijie

It's been a rocky few months for megacap stocks like the Magnificent Seven, but some investors are wondering whether now is the best time to buy growth stocks.

One investor said there are still opportunities in growth stocks, but it's time to be selective.

“Generally speaking, growth stocks will continue to outperform value stocks, but valuations have reached their limit,” Adam Koons, a portfolio manager at Winthrop Capital Management, told CNBC Pro in May. “So we're looking for higher quality stocks.” 1.

Koons named three of his favorite lesser-known growth stocks to consider.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Amara Balakrishna

Reports of high inflation levels raise investors' concerns that the US Federal Reserve will remain at high levels for an extended period of time, pushing expectations for only two annual interest rate cuts starting in September. The decline has put stock prices under pressure this quarter.

However, UBS expects future inflation data to trend downward, starting with April's consumer price index (CPI), which will be released next week. The company cited recent data showing an easing in housing costs and a decline in consumer spending going forward.

“We expect U.S. inflation to fall again in the coming months,” UBS's Solita Marcelli said Thursday. “Investors are hoping April's consumer price index (CPI) will show that the trend of slowing inflation that was interrupted in the first quarter of this year is resuming.”

“We think inflation will begin to return to the Fed's 2% target in the coming months,” Marcelli said.

— Sarah Min

John Waldron, Goldman Sachs' president and chief operating officer, said a soft landing was still likely despite some hiccups along the way.

“Generally speaking, we're still agreeing to a soft landing scenario,” Waldron told CNBC on Thursday.

“I don't think a soft landing means everything is perfect and you land on a nice soft pillow,” he added. “Even when you have a seizure, sometimes you start off with a soft landing. I think that's what we're seeing right now.”

— Brian Evans

Precious metal mining stocks are currently holding strong “after a strong rally earlier this year,” and ETFs such as the VanEck Gold Miners ETF “look particularly attractive here,” said Jonathan Krinsky, chief market technologist at BTIG. said in a letter to customers on Thursday.

Krinsky said the gold mining ETF rose nearly 40% in a short period of time from early March to mid-April, “topping its one-year mark.” “It now appears poised to resume the uptrend with a cautious move towards $38-40.” Compared to the S&P 500 in 2024, the GDX ETF outperformed by about 3.5 percentage points, according to BTIG. It is said that there is

Krinsky said the Materials Select Sector SPDR fund, which includes other mineral miners and chemical manufacturers, hasn't performed as well as GDX recently, but that individual stocks like the Dow are “very positive. ” he said. [price] chart. “

Papa John's is the latest restaurant to report a decline in sales. The pizza chain's same-store sales fell 1.8%, weaker than expected. This was in contrast to what one of its competitors said a few weeks ago. Domino's Pizza's same-store sales rose 5.6%, beating expectations, an outlier in the industry due to the success of its loyalty program revamp.

But despite the restaurant industry's widespread struggles earlier this year, another bright spot emerged this morning. People are buying up donuts. Krispy Kreme saw organic sales increase by nearly 7% as earnings beat expectations. It cited “increased digital sales and strong consumer demand” after successful event-focused campaigns around the Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day holidays.

— robert ham