Hong Kong stocks lead gains in Asia-Pacific markets as Xiaomi shares rise 15%

Country Garden Holdings said on Tuesday that trading in its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will be suspended.

The trading suspension will take effect from 9 a.m. Hong Kong time on April 2, the statement said.

The embattled Chinese property developer said Thursday that its 2023 results will be delayed.

The Hong Kong-listed company’s shares have fallen nearly 38% so far this year.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

The Australian central bank will switch to a new system to implement its monetary policy, Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a speech on Tuesday.

Kent said the RBA supported the option of moving to an ample reserves regime, with repurchase agreement auctions of full allocations for open market operations, similar to the Bank of England, the European Central Bank and the Riksbank.

“I want to stress that this decision has no implications for the current or future stance of monetary policy,” he said, adding that it would not impact the way the RBA currently approaches quantitative tightening.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

Australian factory activity contracted in March at its fastest pace since May 2020, according to a special survey by Judo Bank.

The country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 47.3, down from 47.8 in February, and contracted for the second month in a row.

“The reason behind the recent contraction was the accelerating decline in new labor flows, which led to a decline in manufacturing output,” Judo Bank wrote.

The bank also noted that employment and purchasing levels as well as overall business confidence declined in March.

– Lim Hui Ji

South Korea’s inflation rate stabilized at 3.1% in March, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters.

On a monthly basis, the CPI rose by 0.1%, a slower pace compared to the Reuters forecast of 0.5% in February, which indicated a rise of 0.3%.

– Lim Hui Ji

Market strategist Matt Orton sees promise in small- and mid-cap stocks this year, naming four under-the-radar companies he’s bullish on at the moment.

“I’ve been bullish on small caps this year, and it looks like we may be on the cusp of a bigger breakout,” Orton, chief market strategist at asset manager Raymond James Investment Management, told CNBC’s Squawk Box. Asia” on April 1.

He said small businesses in the US find him “very attractive” right now, and mentioned two companies he likes in the spotlight.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Amala Balakrishner

Investing for the long term is not easy.

A longer investing period involves “looking for business models and strategies that are likely to last 10, 20 or even 40 years from now,” says David Dietz, managing partner and chief portfolio strategist at Peapack Private Wealth Management.

CNBC Pro spoke with three fund managers about their stocks to buy now and hold for the long term.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read our top five stock picks here.

– Amala Balakrishner

The global economy and foreign stock markets are starting to wake up, according to Bank of America.

The United States was one of the few strong economies and markets in 2023, but that appears to be changing in the new year. Quantitative strategist Nigel Topper said in a note to clients that the MSCI AC World Index rose more than 7% after the first quarter and that the “global wave,” a collection of economic indicators, is rising.

Meanwhile, the Swiss National Bank cut its benchmark interest rate last month, becoming the first of several major central banks expected to cut interest rates this year.

“The rare combination of improving data and easier policy is a strong setting for global equity markets,” the note said.

– Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom

Bitcoin fell at the start of the new month and quarter, sending cryptocurrency stocks down with it.

The cryptocurrency’s price was last down 3.5% at $68,477.88, according to Coin Metrics, as Treasury yields jumped and the dollar rose, following data that showed growth in the manufacturing sector for the first time since September 2022.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and software provider MicroStrategy, which trade largely as a proxy for the price of bitcoin, fell about 5%. The largest mining stocks, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, lost 5% and 6%, respectively. CleanSpark stock, one of the best-performing miners this year, fell 10%.

April could be a tumultuous month for cryptocurrency-related stocks. Investors are looking forward to the Bitcoin halving, which will reduce the reward and thus revenues for Bitcoin miners, in the second half of the month. This event can impact the performance of miners, but historically it has caused Bitcoin to rise by 300% or more in the following months.

To learn more about what to expect in the coming weeks, read our Q2 cryptocurrency forecasts here.

– Tanya Machel

Crude oil futures rose on the first day of second-quarter trading on Monday amid reports that the Iranian consulate in Damascus came under a missile attack.

The West Texas Intermediate crude contract for May delivery rose $1.28, or 1.54%, to $84.45 per barrel. The Brent contract for June delivery added 93 cents, or 1.07%, to $87.93 a barrel.

Syrian and Iranian official media reported on Monday that an Israeli missile strike hit the Iranian consulate in Damascus. A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Reza Zahedi, was among the dead.

“This news, if confirmed, represents a clear escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and is likely to continue to boost oil prices in the near term,” Leo Mariani, an analyst at Roth MKM, told clients on Monday.