Japan GDP, Singapore GDP, South Korea trade

Indonesia stocks rose after Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto declared victory in the country’s presidential election after unofficial vote counts showed he held a significant lead over rivals.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange Composite Index rose as much as 2% to hit its highest level since Jan. 8. The index is currently trading 1.55% higher, led by the gains in the financials and basic materials sectors. The Indonesian rupiah strengthened 0.13%.

That said, some remain cautious about the rally.

“It is premature, if not presumptuous, to project unbridled and sustained euphoria entailing sustained rallies in Indonesian assets and the rupiah,” Mizuho wrote in a daily note, citing the importance for Indonesia’s Ministry of Finance to establish fiscal credibility.

—Lee Ying Shan

Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics said Thursday it would buy Sydney-listed software company Altium in an all-cash deal worth $9.1 billion Australian dollars ($5.89 billion).

Shares of Renesas fell 1.2% in early Tokyo trading, while Altium jumped 28% in Sydney.

Renesas said it would pay AU$68.50 per share, a 33.6% premium to Altium’s Wednesday’s closing price of AU$51.26.

Renesas, which would finance the deal with bank loans and cash on hand, said the acquisition would allow the chipmaker to streamline the process of electronics design for customers as Altium’s main business is making tools to design chip circuit boards.

The Japanese firm noted the deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and now awaits approvals from Altium shareholders, Australian court and regulators.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Australia’s employment numbers rose by just 500 in January, widely missing Reuters expectations of an increase of 30,000.

The country’s unemployment rate rose to 4.1% from 3.9% in December and was also higher than the 4% expected in the Reuters poll.

Separately, Australia’s labor participation rate held steady at 66.8%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan’s economy shrank unexpectedly during the last quarter of 2023, according to government data.

Provisional gross domestic product contracted 0.4% in the fourth quarter compared with a year ago, after a revised 3.3% slump in the July-September period.

The reading was also much lower than a Reuters poll forecast of 1.4% growth.

Japan also contracted 0.1% quarter-over-quarter, after shrinking a revised 0.8% in the third quarter from the second.

For more, please read the full story.

— Shreyashi Sanyal, Clement Tan

The performance of major Asia markets has been uneven for the past year.

Investors have been shunning China stocks, while flooding India and Japan markets.

Those interested in stock-picking rather than passive investing can look to the bank’s list of “alpha” stocks that could beat the market.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Singapore’s economy grew 2.2% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2023, official data on Thursday showed, falling short of both the advance estimates of a 2.8% growth and Reuters’ expectations of a 2.5% expansion.

On the whole, the Singapore economy grew 1.1% in 2023, slower than the 3.8% expansion in 2022. The growth in 2023 was largely driven by information and communications and transportation and storage sectors.

—Lee Ying Shan

European semiconductor equipment stocks are likely to outperform as spending on artificial intelligence chips rises over the next decade, according to Bank of America.

The continent’s chip stocks produce the high-tech machines needed to manufacture the latest generation of chips.

“We raise our [price targets] on our EU Semicaps coverage, which we expect to continue benefiting from investment in AI infrastructure,” BofA analysts said in a note to clients.

The Wall Street bank said its top picks are likely to soar further, thanks to the “scarcity of value in Europe for AI-related stocks.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about their stock picks here.

— Ganesh Rao

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr on Wednesday backed the central bank’s cautious approach to lowering interest rates this year.

In prepared remarks to the National Association for Business Economics, Barr expressed confidence that inflation is heading back to the Fed’s 2% goal but noted “we need to see continued good data before we can begin the process of reducing the federal funds rate.”

This week’s consumer price index data showing inflation higher than expected in January was “a reminder that the path back to 2% inflation may be a bumpy one.”

Along with the comments on monetary policy, Barr assessed the banking system’s conditions as “sound and resilient” though he said there are “a few pockets of risk,” most notably commercial real estate.

—Jeff Cox

Crude oil futures fell Wednesday, giving up gains from earlier in the session as stockpiles surged in the U.S. while demand fell. 

The West Texas Intermediate contract for March lost $1.23, or 1.58%, to settle at $76.64 a barrel. The Brent contract for April settled at $81.60 a barrel, down $1.17 or 1.41%.

The move came after commercial crude oil inventories in the U.S. surged by 12 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Oil demand as measured by finished products supplied to the market dropped by 973,000 barrels per day during the same period. 

Oil prices had gained 1% earlier in the trading session after Israel launched airstrikes in Lebanon in reaction to rockets fired into northern Israel that killed one person and injured at least seven more.

— Spencer Kimball

Apple was the biggest laggard in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The iPhone maker was down by 1.3% in early afternoon trading. That curbed gains for the 30-stock index, which was last little changed.