Asian markets rose ahead of consumer confidence data from Japan and business confidence survey from Australia

Lee Bo-jin, CEO of South Korea’s Shilla Hotel Group, sold about 5.2 million shares in electronics giant Samsung Electronics in a block sale worth $326 million, with a price of 84,100 won per share, according to Reuters.

A crowd sale is a large transaction of securities at a negotiated price that tends to protect or reduce the effect of the sale on the price of publicly traded shares.

South Korean media reported that the sale was to cover inheritance tax liabilities after the death of former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

Younger Lee is the eldest daughter of the late Lee Kun-hee, and is also the younger sister of Samsung Electronics CEO Lee Jae-yong.

— Lim Hui Ji, Reuters

The US government plans to provide $6.6 billion in support to South Korea’s Samsung Electronics to expand chip production in Texas, according to a report by Reuters.

The report said that the support will be allocated to the construction of four facilities in Taylor, including a $17 billion chip manufacturing plant that Samsung announced in 2021.

Support will also be for investment in an undisclosed location, and Samsung will double its investments in the United States to more than $44 billion as part of the deal, according to the report.

Samsung shares were mostly flat on Tuesday.

— Lim Hui Ji, Reuters

The data center sector is poised for rapid growth in the coming years, according to UBS.

The investment bank expects the data center sector to grow between 15% and 20% in 2024 and 2025, and “healthy” double-digit growth in the following years.

He mentions three relevant stocks to play the trend.

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-Weezin Tan

The energy sector has pulled back to outperform the broader market this year as rising crude oil prices pushed stocks to all-time highs.

The energy sector is up 17% this year, compared with a 9% gain for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.

ExxonMobil hit an all-time intraday high of $122.15 on Friday and has gained more than 21% for the year. Refiners Marathon Petroleum, Phillips 66 and Valero also hit all-time highs on Friday. These stocks are up 47%, 27%, and 40%, respectively, for the year.

Diamondback Energy shares are trading at all-time highs Monday dating back to its October 2012 initial public offering, while ConocoPhillips is at levels not seen since November 2022.

There may still be room for the energy rally to continue given that the sector is still underperforming the broader market by 15% over the past year. Many momentum funds have not yet listed the sector as they look at 12-month performance.

“This suggests there is likely more upside for the group, as it has just broken out of a two-year base with relative strength emerging,” Jonathan Krinsky, a technical analyst at BTIG, told clients on Sunday.

-Spencer Kimball

Recent data supporting a rebound in manufacturing activity and “signs of life” in inflation are among the factors indicating an impending market slowdown, according to Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management.

“I think this repricing of interest rates is very important because it tells you that we’ve been waiting for this slowdown for a long time. Why isn’t everyone expecting this slowdown in interest rates in the next few quarters, especially with the stock market tailwinds up $10 trillion since the meeting? Federal Open Market Committee in November? “We have strong headwinds for consumption and capital expenditures over the coming quarters that will continue to support inflation to the upside,” Slok told CNBC earlier Monday.

Against this background, Slouk pointed out that gains in the stock market extend to other sectors beyond technology. He advised investors to look for winners and losers from a “bottom-up perspective”, rather than just reaching for the “magnificent seven”, who achieved high returns last year.

– Piya Singh

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that measures such as tariffs on China’s green energy exports are not out of the question.

“I’m not ruling anything out at this point,” she said in an interview with CNBC’s Sarah Eisen, when asked. “We need to keep everything on the table. We want to work with the Chinese to see if we can find a solution.” On the possibility of Washington imposing tariffs if China does not adjust its approach to industry incentives.

“I’m not thinking so much about export restrictions, as I am thinking about some shifts in macroeconomic policy, and reducing the amount of support provided by local governments to companies,” Yellen said.

Yellen also indicated that the United States intends to “emphasize” the required policy shift in future discussions.

-Fred Imbert