Umicore CEO says he expects revenue growth in the battery materials business
Umicore CEO Mathias Miedreich breaks down the firm’s earnings, laying out how the numbers will play into a strategy for greater cash generation.
NatWest shares up 5% after profit beat
NatWest share price.
Shares of NatWest were 5% higher in mid-morning deals in London, after the British bank posted a pre-tax profit of 6.2 billion pounds ($7.81 billion) for 2023, better than analysts had forecast, according to Reuters.
The bank also confirmed interim CEO Paul Thwaite would take on the role permanently, after his predecessor Alison Rose resigned in a scandal over account privacy.
Shareholders are set to receive a final dividend of 11.5 pence per share, as the bank also conducts a share buyback of 300 million pounds. Investors are also assessing its upcoming planned retail sale of government-owned NatWest stock.
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— Jenni Reid
Europe stocks open higher
European stocks opened higher Friday, rounding off a strong week that has seen investors monitor a slew of earnings and data.
France’s CAC 40 index was 0.6% higher after marking an intraday record high, while London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% after British retail sales beat forecasts. Germany’s DAX was up 0.54%.
Stoxx 600 index.
CNBC Pro: ‘Bubble may be far from bursting’: Capital Economics reveals bullish S&P 500 target
The S&P 500 closed above 5,000 for the first time last week. But as the index rose, so did concerns about its valuation.
However, investors need not fear as the rally could still have plenty of room to run, according to Capital Economics.
The research firm’s chief market economist revealed their price target in a note to clients entitled: “bubble may be far from bursting.”
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
Coinbase shares up 14% in after hours trade after posting first quarterly profit in 2 years
Shares of Coinbase Global were up more than 14% in after hours trading after the crypto exchange posted its first quarterly profit since 2021 on Thursday, helped by increased trading volumes.
Alesia Haas, Coinbase’s CFO, attributed the strong earnings to the recent fervor in the crypto market following the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. last month.
“We’re the proud custodian now of 90% of total ETF crypto, and that’s really benefited our platform directly, but what I would say is that we’ve seen growth at large across the space with this [bitcoin ETF] excitement,” she told CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime.”
The price of bitcoin increased more than 50% in the final three months of last year, while Coinbase’s transaction volume jumped 64% to $529.3 million over the same period.
Coinbase’s momentum “continues to be strong” heading into the first quarter, Owen Lau, executive director and senior analyst at Oppenheimer, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
“We still have a lot of uncertainty from the regulatory standpoint, but we are moving in the right direction,” he said. “We predict pretty sustainable profitability into the next few quarters.”
— Dylan Butts
Watching yen moves with ‘urgency,’ says Japan’s finance minister
Japan’s finance minister said Friday that he was monitoring yen’s moves “with a strong sense of urgency,” according to a Reuters report, adding that a weak yen has its merits as well as demerits.
“Currency rates are set by markets reflecting fundamentals. Rapid moves are undesirable and stable moves are desirable,” Suzuki reportedly told a lower house session of parliament.
The yen weakened on Friday and was trading at the psychologically key 150 per dollar level, a day after the country entered a technical recession.
— Lee Ying Shan, Reuters
Need ‘more clear signals’ from Beijing for aggressive policy easing, analyst says
Beijing needs to show “more clear signals” for aggressive policy easing to backstop the growth downturn, China markets expert Yan Wang said Friday.
“Other than that, I doubt the market can rally on a sustainable basis,” Wang, chief emerging markets and China strategist at global investment research and strategy firm Alpine Macro, said on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia.”
Investment banks expect China’s economy to expand at a more sluggish pace in 2024 compared with 2023 — even last year the Chinese economy had a slower-than-expected recovery after exiting Covid-19 restrictions.
“The government has refused to issue very strong stimulus to to help the economy and structurally, the policy flip flop Beijing has done over the past few years has damaged confidence,” Wang said.
China markets are closed this week for the Chinese New Year holidays.
– Sheila Chiang
CNBC Pro: ‘Underappreciated beneficiaries’ of AI: Morgan Stanley shares Asian names and gives one 113% upside
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