Japan leads gains in Asia as investors weigh Powell’s comments; Hong Kong, China and Taiwan markets were closed

Crude oil prices rose on Thursday to their highest level since October 2023 on investor concerns about supply disruptions due to conflict in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures were trading 0.21% higher at $89.53 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 0.25% at $85.62 a barrel.

Separately, spot gold reached a new high before giving up some of its gains. It recently traded at $2,300.2 per ounce.

– Lim Hui Ji

Retail sales in Hong Kong rose 1.9% year-on-year in February, accelerating from a 0.9% increase in the previous month.

In terms of volume, retail sales rose 0.5%, retreating from a loss of 1.2% in January.

Hong Kong’s Department of Census and Statistics said it was “more appropriate to analyze retail sales figures for January and February together” due to greater fluctuations during the Chinese New Year period.

For the first two months of 2024, total retail sales are initially estimated to increase by 1.4%, compared to the same period in 2023.

– Lim Hui Ji

A Tesla short seller has named two auto stocks that he believes have the potential to deliver a 100% upside for investors.

Lekander, who has a short position in Tesla shares, said the electric car maker could “go bankrupt” while its stock price could fall to $14. Short sellers profit when stocks fall.

The hedge fund manager said the “Tesla bubble” created what he called an “anti-bubble” in the auto sector, leading investors to be overly pessimistic toward companies that were already performing well.

Lekander named auto stocks that could more than double in share price from the current level as the Tesla bubble deflates. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Some investors may be hesitant about buying Tesla right now, but one analyst is bullish on the stock.

Over the past 12 months, shares of Elon Musk’s auto giant have fallen by approximately 14.5%.

Shares also took a hit on Tuesday, after Tesla delivered far fewer vehicles than expected by analysts polled by FactSet in the first quarter of the year.

However, one global auto analyst sees opportunities in investing in Tesla, especially in the long term.

“The stock, despite this performance today, is only down 4.5%, which makes me think expectations are already pretty low,” RBC Capital Markets’ Tom Narayan told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” in April. 3.

He also outlined other opportunities he sees in the short and long term.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Amala Balakrishner

The October 2023 start was initially led by large-cap technology stocks. However, HSBC Global Research says March’s performance suggests gains could be diverse.

“Over the past month, the S&P 500 on an equal-weighted basis has outperformed the general index, indicating a broadening of the equity rally, which we expect to expand further as the soft landing takes hold,” strategist Nicole Inouye wrote in a note on Tuesday.

Inouye noted that market expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates in June fell to 56% from 69% after the FOMC meeting.

— Hakyung Kim

30 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week highs during Wednesday’s trading session.

Here are some of the names that achieved this achievement:

• Domino’s Pizza is trading at levels not seen since January 2022
• Kinder Morgan is trading at levels not seen since February 2023
• Progressive trading at all-time highs dates back to its IPO in 1971
• Caterpillar trading at all-time highs dates back to when it first began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 1929
• 3M is trading at levels not seen since February 2023
• Marathon Petroleum traded at all-time highs dating back to its spin-off from Marathon Oil in June 2011.
• Diamondback Energy traded back to all-time highs leading up to its October 2012 IPO
• The Dow Inc. is trading at levels not seen since February 2023
• Micron traded at all-time highs until its IPO in June 1984

-Lisa Kailai Hahn, Christopher Hayes

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell expressed confidence Wednesday about the current state of the economy and politics.

“I think we’re getting to what is, knock on wood, a pretty good place,” Powell said at Stanford University. “We are using our tools now to try to get inflation down to 2%, all while also keeping the economy strong.”

—Jeff Cox