Few parallels between ‘Magnificent 7’ outperformance and late ’90s tech bubble, HSBC says
On the surface, the similarities may seem striking between the recent outperformance of the “Magnificent 7” tech stocks and the tech craze of the late 1990s.
“Prior to the tech bubble burst in 2000, share prices of tech stocks grew fivefold over a three-year period (the Mag 7 have more than doubled since January 2023 and are up fourfold since prior to the pandemic),” wrote HSBC strategist Nicole Inui.
But that, she says, is where the similarities end.
“Valuation premiums for tech in the late 1990s were much higher with the sector trading on average more than 40x earnings during the year 2000 compared to 27x today. And the quality of the companies were vastly different,” she added.
Inui also sees the market broadening in 2024, with opportunities emerging in sectors such as tech, industrials and consumer discretionary and staples.
â Lisa Kailai Han
Stellantis shares rise on strong earnings
Chrysler and Jeep parent Stellantis reported better-than-expected full-year adjusted earnings per share of â¬6.42, beating a StreetAccount estimate of â¬5.82 per share. The company also approved a â¬3 billion buyback program.
U.S.-listed shares popped 3.5% in the premarket.
STLA pops
Rakuten shares spike more than 15% after it posts smaller annual loss
The logo of Japanese tech giant Rakuten logo seen at the Mobile World Congress 2019.
Paco Freire| SOPA Images | LightRocket via Getty Images
Shares of Rakuten Group jumped more than 15% on Thursday after the Japanese technology conglomerate posted a smaller loss for 2023 compared with a year earlier.
Rakuten’s earnings report released late on Wednesday showed an operating loss of 212.86 billion yen for 2023, compared with 371.61 billion yen in 2022.
The company also recorded a smaller attributable loss of 339.47 billion yen, compared with 2022’s 377.21 billion yen.
Profit and revenue for its fintech and internet service business segments rose in 2023, while its mobile segment losses fell by almost 30% in 2023.
â Lim Hui Jie, Shreyashi Sanyal
Japanâs fourth-quarter GDP shows surprise contraction
Flag of Japan on dark blue background. 3D render
Da-kuk | E+ | Getty Images
Japan’s economy shrank unexpectedly during the last quarter of 2023, according to government data.
Provisional gross domestic product contracted 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago, after a revised 3.3% slump in the July-September period.
The reading was also much lower than a Reuters poll forecast of 1.4% growth.
Japan also contracted 0.1% quarter-over-quarter, after shrinking a revised 0.8% in the third quarter from the second.
For more, please read the full story.
â Shreyashi Sanyal, Clement Tan
Singapore’s economy clocks slower-than-expected fourth-quarter growth
Singapore’s economy grew 2.2% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2023, official data on Thursday showed, falling short of both the advance estimates of a 2.8% growth and Reuters’ expectations of a 2.5% expansion.
On the whole, the Singapore economy grew 1.1% in 2023, slower than the 3.8% expansion in 2022. The growth in 2023 was largely driven by information and communications and transportation and storage sectors.
âLee Ying Shan
Berkshire Hathaway trims its Apple holdings
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway trimmed several holdings during the fourth quarter, including Apple and HP, according to a securities filing published Wednesday.
Berkshire also requested that Securities and Exchange Commission keep at least one of its holdings under wrap. The firm made a similar request in its third quarter filing.
See the list of Berkshire’s top holdings on CNBC Pro.
â Jesse Pound, Yun Li
Cisco, Twilio headline post-earnings stock moves
Even if index futures were calm on Wednesday, earnings reports were driving big after hours moves in individual stocks.
Cisco â Shares of the tech company fell more than 5% after announcing layoffs in its quarterly update.
Tripadvisor âThe travel stock popped 7% after fourth quarter results beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, according to LSEG.
Twilio â The tech stock sank 11%. Twilio’s revenue guidance for the fourth quarter was softer than expected, according to LSEG.
Check out more movers here.
â Jesse Pound, Darla Mercado
Futures open little changed
Stock futures were effectively flat shortly after 6 pm in New York. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped but were still down less than 0.1%.
â Jesse Pound