Australia, China trade, Powell testimony

The number of new owner-occupied home loans in Australia fell by 2.6% in January compared to the previous month, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

Mish Tan, head of financial statistics at ABS, said: “Owner-occupier lending declined for the second month in a row, but the trend growth rate was 1.5% for the year.”

New housing loans fell by 3.9%, while personal term loans increased by 6%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Bitcoin cooled off this week after a wild rally that briefly surpassed all-time highs.

The world’s most popular cryptocurrency traded 0.5% lower at $66,132.42, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin was up about 8% in the previous session. Bitcoin hit an all-time high on Tuesday, breaking above $69,210.

Charu Chanana, head of currency strategy at Saxo Markets, told CNBC: “Rising liquidity and the prospect of Federal Reserve rate cuts are pushing up risk assets. However, given the limitations of positioning and significant volatility. Careful risk management is then justified.”

The U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF began trading earlier this year and led the cryptocurrency’s rally. Bitcoin supply is also tightening ahead of the “halving” in late April, which is meant to create scarcity.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

India’s economic outlook is bright, attracting global investors eager to tap into 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, leveraging these opportunities as a foreign investor is not as easy as buying stocks listed on Indian stock exchanges. Barriers include foreign ownership restrictions, complex tax implications, and corporate governance concerns.

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

— Ganesh Rao

With the prices of many growth stocks soaring, some investors are turning to value stocks.

“Assuming the S&P 500 index is 5,075 and the expected earnings growth rate is 10% in 2024, that’s $243 per share, or 21x earnings. That’s expensive, plain and simple,” Bernsen Group said. Brian Zeitel, senior managing director of February. The S&P 500 index closed at around 5,078 on Tuesday.

He said he would not own the index at that level. “However, I believe that the rotation from growth to value that began in 2022 will resume as we move some of the market into more value-oriented stocks. Now we have ‘carry’, income and dividends.” “It’s time,” he said. .

If you’re interested in value stocks, consider the following from CNBC Pro’s Vanguard Value ETF screen. Each has over 20% upside potential, a buy rating of at least 50%, and the screen displays the current and five-year average dividend yield.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

April gold futures settled at a record high on Monday and are gaining momentum towards a new closing price record.

Gold futures for April contract hit a nominal intraday high of $2,158.40 per ounce during trading on Wednesday. As long as gold settles into positive territory, this means a new record for the commodity is on the way.

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

— Lisa Kailai Han, Gina Francola

Apple shares fell for the sixth day in a row on Wednesday, extending a series of losses that began on February 28.

The recent decline coincides with another six-day decline that lasted from February 12th to February 20th.

Apple is down 5.5% this week alone, bringing its year-to-date loss to nearly 12%.

How much is that 12% worth in dollars and cents? Apple’s market value will fall by $352 billion to $2.63 trillion in 2024, making it the largest U.S. company ($2.99 ​​trillion), surpassed by Microsoft. dollar).

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated in prepared remarks scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday on Capitol Hill that the central bank is not yet ready to start cutting interest rates.

“When considering adjustments to the target range for policy rates, we will carefully evaluate available data, evolving prospects, and the balance of risks,” Powell said. “The Committee does not believe it is appropriate to lower the target range until there is greater confidence that inflation is on a sustained path towards 2%.”

He added that interest rate policy is “likely at the peak of this tightening cycle. If the economy continues broadly as expected, it would be appropriate to start tapering policy restraints at some point this year.” Stated.

— Fred Imbert