Asian markets fall further as the market rally stalls on Wall Street

Thailand consumer confidence index It reached its highest level in more than three years in May

The index rose to 55.7 in May From 55.0 in Aprilwhich is the highest since the February 2020 reading at 64.2, marking the 12th consecutive month of increasing readings.

The index remains below the 100-point mark that separates an improving outlook from a deteriorating trajectory.

Reuters reported that This is due to the high number of foreign tourist arrivals and increased activity during the recent national elections.

The report also added that spending during the May election helped boost consumption, and confidence was also boosted by better-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter.

– Lim Hwi Ji

the Reserve Bank of India It maintained the main repo rate at 6.5% in May for the second month in a row.

The Indian rupee fell slightly by 0.1% after the announcement and was last traded at 82.56 against the US dollar.

All 64 economists polled by Reuters expected the central bank to leave the repurchase rate at 6.50% for the second consecutive meeting. The Indian Monetary Policy Committee has three members from the Reserve Bank of India and three external members.

The Reserve Bank of India kept the repurchase rate at 6.5% last month, the first time it has done so since April 2022.

The repurchase rate, or repurchase rate, is a rate Reserve Bank of India It lends money to commercial banks or financial institutions in India in exchange for government securities.

– Clement Tan

Almost 90% jump in China’s imports of coal and lignite in May Vivek Dar of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in a note on Thursday that it points to rising demand for coal in the economy.

“The increase in imports in the first five months of 2023 was accompanied by an increase in domestic coal production in China,” Dhar said in a daily note, adding that China’s industrial production data since the beginning of 2023 confirms the narrative of the superpower’s increased demand for coal.

Elsewhere, copper futures contracts for July hit as high as $3.8115 a pound on Wednesday, marking their highest level since May 11 when they traded at $3.8555 a pound. Futures were last traded at $3.7445 on Morning Asia.

Separately from oil, international benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.14% to $76.64 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.11% to $72.45.

– Lee Ying Chan and Gina Francola

Australia’s trade surplus fell to A$11.16 billion ($7.44 billion) in April, sharply less than the A$14 billion expected by economists polled by Reuters. Government data Show Thursday.

Notably, total exports from the country fell 5% to A$56.18 billion, compared to a 4% rise in April.

Goods exports decreased by 7% compared to April, but services exports increased by 7.8%.

Total imports grew by 1.6% compared to March to A$45.02 billion, with imports of goods and services increasing by 1.1% and 3.7%, respectively, compared to March.

The Australian dollar rose 0.14% to 0.6659 against the US dollar.

Japan’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.7% in the first quarter of the year, expanding more than a previous estimate of 1.6% last month. Government data showedas the economy continues to see strong spending.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected growth of 1.9%.

The Japanese yen rose 0.14% to 139.98 against the US dollar shortly after the release. On a quarterly basis, the economy grew 0.7%, beating Reuters’ estimate of 0.5%.

Private demand increased by 1.2% and domestic demand also rose by 1%, while exports of goods and services saw a decline of 4.2%. Revised government estimates showed that imports also fell 2.3%.

– Jihe Lee

Bank of America named the European insurance giant one of its top picks in the insurance segment, given its attractive low rating.

In addition to a generous dividend, the investment bank expects shares to rise 30% over the next 12 months.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

Goldman Sachs is bullish about generative AI: It expects it to lead the upside in the broader S&P 500 — and one specific corner of technology.

It gives the fair value of the S&P 500 index, and lists stocks to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan

During what was a strong day for small-cap names, large-cap stocks underperformed the market.

Shares of tech giants Microsoft and Google fell 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Several semiconductor names also saw stocks decline after rising in the previous week. Nvidia lost 1.1%, while Qualcomm shares fell 1.2%.

Financial services companies Visa and Mastercard fell by 1.5% and 2.2%, respectively.

– Hakyung Kim

The US trade deficit rose sharply in April, although the increase was not as much as expected.

The goods and services imbalance came in at $74.6 billion for the month, $1 billion less than the Dow Jones estimate, but an increase of $14 billion from March. Exports plunged $9.2 billion, while imports rose $4.8 billion.

Imports are a net negative of GDP, so the April figure could imply lower growth for the second quarter.

– Jeff Cox

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery rose nearly 5% at midday after CNN’s announcement that CEO Chris Licht is leaving.

CNN, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, said Licht emerged after a difficult year in the job that included criticism over the network’s town hall with former President Donald Trump. He was also facing a mutiny among the talent and staff.

Amazon plans to create ad-supported subscription tiers for Prime Video, according to a report from Amazon.com Wall Street Journal. The move will come as other competing streaming services are also creating ad-supported tiers to generate more revenue for their streaming services.

The company is also in talks with Paramount Global and Warner Bros Discovery to add ad-based tiers of their streaming services to Prime Video Channels, according to the report.

Amazon shares fell more than 3% on Wednesday afternoon.