Asian markets were mixed in trade as Fed officials were divided on impending rate hikes

Netflix’s “stellar loyalty metrics” give it hope that password-sharing users will convert to full or ad-supported users, a Sensor Tower executive said.

“We’re seeing continued excellence in category loyalty and engagement among Netflix streamers
Full or ad-supported users will be converted because of Netflix’s content,” Anthony Bartolachi, senior vice president of mobile usage data and insights provider Sensor Tower, told CNBC’s “Street Science Asia” on Wednesday.

His comments come after Netflix posted mixed financial results and said it was pushing back its password-sharing launch.

He said Netflix has “really positive indicators” of customer engagement, such as a “10-15% better churn analysis metric” and “better time spent” than its competitors Hulu, Disney and Amazon Prime.

“I think those loyalty metrics are great for Netflix. It can kind of enforce these password sharing controls. There’s definitely a benefit from an overall profitability standpoint,” he said.

– Sheila Chiang

Malaysia’s total trade March came in at RM232.7 billion ($52.51 billion), down 1.6% compared to the total value of RM236.5 billion seen in the same month last year.

Exports from the country fell 1.4% year-on-year to RM129.7 billion in March, smaller than the 3.5% drop expected by economists, while imports surprised by a 1.8% drop to RM103 billion compared to 1.9%. % growth expected.

Malaysia attributed this to an 8.7% drop in imports of intermediate goods in March from a year earlier.

The country’s trade balance rose 0.2% year-on-year to a surplus of RM26.7 billion, beating economists’ expectations of RM21.1 billion.

– Lim Hui Jee

Analysts at JPMorgan, Citi and UBS on Tuesday raised their full-year forecasts for China’s economy, pointing to impressive first-quarter GDP growth of 4.5%.

JP Morgan raised its 2023 growth outlook to 6.4%, up from a previous forecast of 6%, as the latest quarterly report points to further growth.

Citi economists also raised their full-year outlook to 6.1% from 5.7%, saying China’s consumption recovery was “halved”.

The UBS raised its forecast for the year to 5.7% from 5.4%, “driven by a stronger-than-expected recovery in the first quarter of 2023, driven by a stronger recovery in consumption and property.”

– Jihye Lee

Taiwan’s Kokoro plans to integrate its batting swapping stations into virtual power plants, CEO says, as “stress management” for power grids.

has partnered with the company Enel X, An energy service provider to commercially deploy its 2,500 swap stations at 1,000 of Enel X’s virtual power plants.

“We’re basically helping the grid to meet that pressure…so they don’t have to build additional capacity to rebalance and stabilize the grid,” Horace Luke, CEO and founder of Cocoro, told CNBC. Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday. “So really it’s stress management for the grid.”

Luke said the company plans to expand the service across Asia and is running a pilot in India.

“We take this model and apply it to every country we go to at this point,” he said.

– Sumathi Bala

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell in the Asia-Pacific region on Wednesday, dragged down by technology and real estate companies.

Tech companies and real estate companies were the biggest losers on the index, with names like Country Garden Holdings, Baidu and Tencent among the biggest losers, according to Refinitiv data.

However, the biggest loser was automaker Geely, which fell 3.95%.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will address economic priorities for the US in China, Reuters reported.

“During her remarks, Secretary Yellen will underscore that in its bilateral relationship with China, the United States remains confident about the enduring fundamental strength of our economy,” Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Treasury Department.

It comes after Yellen said earlier this year that the U.S. would resume economic talks with China “at an appropriate time” as Beijing continues to sell its large holdings of U.S. Treasuries.

Yellen will deliver a speech at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies on Thursday, according to the report.

– Jihye Lee

Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is set to become the first major bank to issue additional Tier 1 bonds after the banking crisis caused by Swiss lender Credit Suisse. Nikki said.

SMFG will issue 140 billion yen ($1 billion) of these bonds, commonly known as AT1 bonds. They are considered a relatively riskier form of junior debt and therefore come with higher yields and are often purchased by institutional investors.

Confidence in AT1 bonds was shaken when Swiss authorities forced Credit Suisse to write down the value of its AT1 bonds to zero.

Nikkei said the terms of SMFG’s offer will be decided on Wednesday, with its AT1 bonds carrying a spread of 171 basis points over government debt, marking an increase of 33 basis points from the previous issuance in December.

Shares of SMFG traded up 0.25% on Wednesday.

– Lim Hui Jee

The Dow is up 2.1% with just over half of the trading month done.

April has historically been the best month of the year for the 30-share index, with an average advance of 1.9% going back to 1950. By comparison, the Dow has added just 0.7% on average for all months during that period.

Previous pre-election years are usually even better in April. The Dow has gained an average of 3.9% each April in election years since 1950.

The Dow was the best performer of the three major indexes so far this month, with a 2.1% advance. The S&P 500 rose 1%, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about why April is a great month for blue-chip indexing.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said Tuesday that he sees only a small recession hitting the U.S. as consumers remain firm.

“Everything points to a relatively mild slowdown in terms of the incentives people have been given and the money they have left,” Moynihan said on the bank’s quarterly earnings call. “At the end of the day, we’re not seeing a pace that indicates a slowdown in activity on the consumer side, but business customers are likely to be more cautious.”

In light of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes, Bank of America’s research team is consistent in calling for a mild rate cut, Moynihan said. The bank forecasts annual GDP contraction of between half and 1 percent before returning to positive growth in the next three quarters, he said.

– Yun Li

Semiconductor stocks are on a roll this year after a tough 2022.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which tracks the sector, is up about 22% this year — nearly three times as much as the S&P 500 this year.

Nvidia is undoubtedly one of the sector’s biggest winners this year, but Bank of America is doubling down on lesser-known chip stocks.

Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Javier Ong

Some chip stocks rose on Tuesday, as HSBC twice upgraded Nvidia shares from reduce to buy.

The company said that “Nvidia’s incredible AI pricing (has) not been fully priced in,” and that artificial intelligence will provide a significant boost to chip prices. The move sent shares up about 3%.

Other semiconductor companies saw their shares rise after an optimistic update. ON Semiconductor Corp and Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Applied Materials shares also gained 0.45%.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in five Japanese stocks — a good sign for investors in Japan, Credit Suisse said.

In light of those developments, Credit Suisse analysts said in a note that stocks in Japan are “Buffett-style picks” — meaning they have characteristics common to Buffett’s holdings.

Here are six of them.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weissen Don