- Asian Stocks Higher as Japan Gains on Yen Weakness: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Japanese shares rose as the yen’s recent weakness aided the country’s exporters, taking the
center stage in Asia following a muted session on Wall Street. The MSCI Asia Pacific index climbed for the
fifth straight day, its longest such streak since July. Shares in Tokyo advanced after the yen dropped to a five
month low of 158 per dollar in the previous session, following Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s
comments Wednesday that avoided giving a clear signal on interest rates next month. The Japanese currency
rebounded slightly Friday, after Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said the government will take appropriate
steps against excessive movements in the foreign exchange market. Data released Friday also showed
inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month, with retail sales also beating estimates. - Dow ekes out small gain in thin holiday trading, rising 5 days in a row
The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and squeezed out a small gain in thin trading Thursday
after the market’s strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week. The blue-chip Dow closed the
day 28.77 points, or 0.07%, higher to 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the session. The S&P
500 dipped just 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Nasdaq Composite also ended the day slightly lower,
declining less than 0.1% to 20,020.36. The market was closed on Wednesday for Christmas Day. Thursday’s
action came after a solid Christmas Eve for the S&P 500. The benchmark’s 1.1% gain on Tuesday marked its
best Christmas Eve performance since 1974, according to Bespoke. So far this week, the S&P 500 is up 1.8%,
while the Dow has gained 1.1%. The strong rally in megacap tech earlier in the week lifted the Nasdaq 2.3%
week to date. - Oil prices set for weekly gain on China stimulus optimism
Oil prices were little changed on Friday but were set for a weekly rise amid optimism economic stimulus
efforts will prompt a recovery in China, the world’s biggest oil importer. Brent crude futures fell 1 cent to
$73.25 a barrel by 0145 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $69.60, down 2 cents, from
Thursday’s close. However, on a weekly basis, Brent was up 0.4% while WTI rose 0.2%. The World Bank on
Thursday raised its forecast for China’s economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued
household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would keep weighing it
down next year. - Gold set for weekly rise; eyes on Fed, Trump’s 2025 policies
Gold edged lower in light trading on Friday and was poised for a weekly gain, as investors awaited cues on
the U.S. economy to anticipate the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path for 2025 and the incoming Donald
Trump administration’s policies. Spot gold fell 0.2% to $2,630.28 per ounce, as of 0221 GMT. Bullion gained
0.3% so far this week. U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $2,649.10. - Chinese Bonds Post Best Returns in Decade With More Gains Seen
Chinese government bonds are primed for their best year in a decade, with local fund managers and
strategists predicting more gains for 2025. They are set to reap a 9% total return in 2024, the highest since
2014, as measured by a Bloomberg Index which excludes currency moves. The nation’s 10-year yields have
plummeted 84 basis points since January, dropping to 1.71% on Thursday. Chinese bonds have beaten major
global peers this year as prolonged economic weakness and a slowdown in consumer spending drive bets for
more monetary easing. Tianfeng Securities, Zheshang Securities and Standard Chartered Bank forecast 10
year yields to drop to as low as 1.5%-1.6% by the end of 2025. - Tokyo Inflation Accelerates, Supporting Case for BOJ Rate Hike
Inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month in December while the labor market remained tight, results
that largely keep the Bank of Japan on track for an interest rate hike next year. Consumer prices excluding
fresh food rose 2.4% in the capital, quickening from growth of 2.2% the previous month, the Ministry of
Internal Affairs reported Friday. Tokyo’s figures serve as a leading indicator for national trends. Separate data
showed the labor market staying tight in November with the jobless rate unchanged at 2.5%, while factory
output declined less-than-expected on a monthly basis after robust gains in September and October. Retail
sales came in stronger than forecast. - China’s Nov industrial profits narrow decline but 2024 likely worst year in decades
China’s industrial profits fell at a slower clip in November, official data showed on Friday, but the annual
decline in earnings this year is expected to be the worst in over two decades due to persistently soft domestic
consumption. The world’s second-largest economy has been struggling to mount a strong post-pandemic
revival, as business and household appetites for spending and investment remain subdued amid a prolonged
housing downturn and fresh trade risks from the incoming U.S. administration of President-elect Donald
Trump. Industrial profits fell 7.3% in November from the same month last year, following a 10% drop in
October, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed. The narrower decline in November pointed to
improved profits as recent economic stimulus measures start to have an effect, said Zhou Maohua, a
macroeconomic researcher at China Everbright Bank. The profit numbers were also in line with a slower
decline in factory-gate prices in November. The producer price index fell 2.5% year-on-year versus the 2.9%
drop in October. - Israel strikes Houthi targets in Yemen, killing six
Israel struck multiple targets linked to the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen on Thursday, including
Sanaa International Airport, and Houthi media said at least six people were killed. The head of the World
Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he was about to board a plane at the airport when
it came under attack. A crew member on the plane was injured, he said. The Israeli military said that in
addition to striking the airport, it also hit military infrastructure at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras
Kanatib on Yemen’s west coast. It also attacked the country’s Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations. The
Houthi-controlled Saba news agency said that three people were killed in the strikes on the airport and three
were killed in Hodeidah, while 40 others were wounded in the attacks. - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. agreed to form a joint venture for its South Korean operations with E-Mart
Inc.’s e-commerce platform to better compete in the country’s fast-paced online retail sector
AliExpress International and Gmarket are creating a 50-50 JV, according to a stock exchange filing by E-Mart.
The companies plan to make further investments in the JV, which will own 100% of Gmarket. Both Gmarket
and AliExpress Korea will continue to operate their platforms independently. The new entity could be valued
at about $4 billion, people familiar with the matter said. Alibaba’s American depositary receipts climbed 0.7%
on Thursday. The deal would help the companies face off against local rivals including Naver Corp. and
Coupang Inc. - Coinbase Global Inc (COIN US)
Crypto stocks fell Thursday, alongside Bitcoin that was hovering around the $96,000 level, about 11% off its
record. Shares of Coinbase were down nearly 2%, while MicroStrategy dipped more than 4%. Miners Mara
Holdings and Iren were each lower by more than 4% and 3%, respectively. - Toyota Motor Corp. shares climbed for their biggest two-day advance since August on expectations of
a higher return-on-equity
American depositary receipts of Toyota rose 8.8% in New York on Thursday after the Nikkei newspaper
reported the company plans to increase its ROE to 20%, citing an unidentified executive. A spokesperson said
that Toyota doesn’t have an explicit target or deadline for ROE. If the report is accurate, the company would
need to boost earnings from the value chain, in order to further propel profit margins upward, Morgan
Stanley MUFG Securities Co. analyst Shinji Kakiuchi wrote. “We’ll also be watching for Toyota, as a part of
moves to improve capital efficiency, to take funds from selling its equity holdings to bolster shareholder
returns further.” Shinkin Asset Management Co. (Naoki Fujiwara): Talks of Toyota’s 20% ROE target leads to
expectations of unwinding of cross-holdings, and shareholder returns. Investors likely focused on the speed
of which all this may happen. - Larry Ellison wraps up banner year as Oracle’s stock rallies most since dot-com boom
It’s been a good year for Larry Ellison. Oracle’s co-founder has gained roughly $75 billion in paper wealth as
the software company he started in 1979 enjoyed its biggest stock rally since 1999 and the dot-com boom.
While the S&P 500 index has gained 27% in 2024, Oracle shares have shot up 63%, lifting Ellison’s net worth
to more than $217 billion, according to Forbes, behind only Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos among the world’s richest people. At 80, Ellison is a senior citizen in the tech industry, where his fellow
billionaire founders are generally decades younger. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth has also
ballooned past $200 billion, is half his age. But Ellison has found the fountain of youth both personally and
professionally. After being divorced several times, Ellison was reported this month to be involved with a 33
year-old woman. And at a meeting with analysts in Las Vegas in September, Ellison was as engaged as ever,
mentioning offhand that the night before, he and his son were having dinner with his good friend Musk,
who’s advising President-elect Donald Trump (then the Republican nominee) while running Tesla
and his other ventures. His big financial boon has come from Oracle, which has maneuvered its way into the
artificial intelligence craze with its cloud infrastructure technology and has made its databases more
accessible. - Nvidia sees ‘remarkable’ influx of retail investor dollars as traders flock to AI darling
As Michael MacGillivray saw artificial intelligence becoming more ubiquitous in everyday life, the 25-year-old
wanted his investments to reflect that. It didn’t take long to figure out how he wanted to play the trend.
“Whenever you look at AI, it’s like, all the roads lead to Nvidia,” said MacGillivray, who’s spent thousands of
dollars on shares this year from his home in Michigan. “It definitely was a great investment.” MacGillivray’s
purchases have contributed to the nearly $30 billion poured into Nvidia on balance by everyday investors this
year, according to data from Vanda Research. That has made it the most-bought equity by retail traders on
net in 2024, as of Dec. 17. Nvidia has seen almost double the amount of net inflows from this group
compared with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the broad benchmark for the U.S. stock
market. It is also on pace to dethrone Tesla, the retail investor favorite that earned the most-bought title in
