Asian markets rose as Wall Street was boosted by hopes of a debt ceiling deal

“Confused” crypto rules could cause more companies to leave the US for Europe and other jurisdictions such as the United Arab Emirates, the CEO of blockchain services firm Ripple said.

“I think it’s fair to say that the US has made it as confusing as possible about what the rules of the road are for the crypto industry,” Carlinghouse said, as companies like Ripple demand clarity on crypto regulations.

Jurisdictions like Europe have “really provided leadership,” he said, adding that “even the UK and Singapore are providing clarity on how to regulate these digital assets”.

His comments come after Ripple announced on Wednesday that it had acquired Swiss crypto custody service firm Metaco to expand its overseas operations, at a time when US regulators are cracking down on companies like Ripple and Coinbase.

“Obviously, why do you see entrepreneurship and investment going into other jurisdictions, certainly Europe is a significant beneficiary of the chaos in the US,” Carlinghouse said, adding that companies like Ripple are being encouraged to invest more overseas. United States of America

– Sheila Chiang

Competition in China’s electric vehicle market is “just beginning,” says consultancy Sino Auto Insights.

The EV market in China has been reeling from aggressive price cuts by Tesla and the government’s suspension of subsidies for electric car buyers.

But Du Le, managing director of Sino Auto Insights, is still bullish on EV giant Tesla and its Chinese subsidiary BYD.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Lee Ying Shan

Japanese markets extended their winning streak on Thursday, with the Nikkei leading gains in the 225 region and continuing to trade above the 30,000 mark.

Topics have been maintaining unseen levels since August 1990.

Energy and technology stocks led the Topix, with the best gainers being Sony and electronics giant Tokyo Electron.

Meanwhile, Factset revealed that electronics stocks drove the Nikkei, with semiconductor test equipment maker Advantest the top gainer on the index, followed by Tokyo Electron.

– Lim Hui Jee

Nomura cut its China full-year growth forecast to 5.5% from 5.9%, according to a note on Wednesday.

“China’s post-Covid recovery is rapidly losing steam,” wrote Nomura’s Ding Lu, adding that recent activity data and high-frequency data in May showed that momentum was losing steam “due to weak confidence among consumers and business investors.”

“As disillusionment sets in, we see the risk of slower activity growth, rising unemployment, persistent inflation, falling market interest rates and a weaker currency,” he wrote.

Nomura also lowered its 2024 full-year GDP forecast for China to 4.2% from 4.4%. It now expects second quarter GDP growth of 7.8%, third quarter growth of 4.9%, and year-end quarter growth of 5.0%.

– Jihye Lee

Japan has a trade deficit shrunk It almost halved to Rs 432.41 billion in April from Rs 854.93 billion a year ago.

Specifically, imports fell 2.3% year-on-year, compared to the 0.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Exports rose 2.6% year-on-year, compared to an expected 3%, largely in line with expectations.

– Lim Hui Jee

New Zealand’s producer price index increased by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the final quarter of 2022. Government data showed.

The input producer price index rose 0.2% – the farm costs price index rose 0.7% and the capital goods price index rose 1%.

The New Zealand dollar was slightly stronger against the US dollar at 0.6242.

– Jihye Lee

Nvidia, the company behind the most powerful chips used to power artificial intelligence (AI), will see its stock increase fivefold over the next ten years, according to investor and fund manager Philip Ribman.

Investor excitement for Nvidia centers on its business model of selling high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs) essential for running the complex algorithms behind artificial intelligence technologies. As AI has become increasingly important across industries, the demand for GPUs has increased.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more of Ripman’s views on Nvidia here.

– Ganesh Rao

This year is approaching its halfway point, and global stocks are performing much better than they were in a volatile 2022.

Many stocks have rallied and outperformed the overall market, but investors still have room for improvement.

CNBC Pro screened for stocks that are beating the market halfway through the year — and analysts are loving it. One is Buffett’s favorite, and the other is Boffa and Citi’s top picks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weissen Don

Montana has become the first US state to ban the video app TikTok outright.

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte said in a release, “The Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok to spy on Americans, invade their privacy, and collect their personal, private and sensitive information.”

“Today, Montana is taking the most decisive action of any state to protect Montana’s personal data and sensitive personal information from the Chinese Communist Party’s harvesting,” he wrote.

The governor ordered the state’s chief information officer and executive agency directors to “prohibit the use of government equipment and all social media applications tied to foreign adversaries for government business.”

TikTok called the measure “a bill that violates the First Amendment rights of the people of Montana,” and said the ban was “unlawful.”

“As we continue to work to protect the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana, we want to reassure Montanans that they can continue to use TikTok to express themselves, earn a living, and find community,” TikTok said in a statement.

– Jihye Lee

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike cycle may be coming to a halt — and Bank of America thinks some of the smaller names may be doing well.

The central bank indicated in its May post-meeting statement that it would not raise rates from the current range of 5% to 5.25%. Bank of America said its economists expected inflation and a mild recession.

If this is the case, if the central bank ends its rate hike campaign, investors should consider investing in some small-cap stocks that have historically performed well.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read about which stocks Bank of America thinks will perform best here.

– Hakyung Kim

Tech stocks edged higher during Wednesday’s rally. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLK ) rose 1.2% to hit a 52-week high. This is the third consecutive session that the fund has reached that milestone.

The tech ETD rose 2% this month, extending its 2023 gains to nearly 24%.

Investors steered away from defensive stocks on Wednesday. Of the 11 S&P 500 sectors, only health care, consumer staples and utilities traded in negative territory during midday trading.

Health care stocks fell 0.9%, while utility stocks fell 0.5%. Consumer staples fell 0.4%.

– Sarah Min

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed optimism Wednesday that while negotiations over the debt ceiling face obstacles, he doesn’t expect a default.

“I think at the end of the day we don’t have the debt repaid,” he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “I think we finally got the president to agree to negotiate.”

The comments came a day after President Joe Biden met with top congressional leaders to try to find a way around the debt impasse. McCarthy said the deadline was “tight” as Republicans seek spending cuts and Democrats seek a clean bill unbound by conditions, but the negotiations resulted in a “framework” for finding a solution.

“There comes a point when you hit the wall,” McCarthy said. “You cannot continue down this path if you want to continue as the strongest nation in the world.”

– Jeff Cox