Japan GDP, Singapore GDP, South Korea Trade

Indonesian stocks rose after Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto announced that he had won the country's presidential election, with unofficial vote counts showing him a substantial lead over his rivals.

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

Some are wary of the rally.

“The projection of unbridled and sustained euphoria involving sustained rallies in Indonesian assets and the rupiah is premature, if not presumptuous,” Mizuho wrote in a daily note, citing Indonesia's finance ministry's emphasis on maintaining financial credibility.

– Lee Ying Shan

Japanese semiconductor company Renesas Electronics said on Thursday it would buy Sydney-listed software company Altium in an all-cash deal valued at A$9.1 billion ($5.89 billion).

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

Renesas said It will pay AU$68.50 per share, a 33.6% premium to Altium's closing price of AU$51.26 on Wednesday.

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

The Japanese company noted that the deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and is now awaiting approval from Altium shareholders, the Australian court and regulators.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

Australia's EEmployment numbers have risen to just over 500 In January, Reuters widely missed expectations for a 30,000 increase.

The country's unemployment rate rose to 4.1% from 3.9% in December and was above the 4% expected in a Reuters poll.

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

– Lim Hui Jee

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

After a revised 3.3% decline in the July-September period, provisional gross domestic product contracted 0.4% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter.

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

Japan also shrank 0.1% in the quarter, after a revised 0.8% contraction in the third quarter from the second quarter.

To know more, read the full story.

– Shreyashi Sanyal, Clement Tan

The performance of major Asian markets has been inconsistent over the past year.

Investors are shunning China stocks while India and Japan flood markets.

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CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weissen Don

Singapore's economy grew 2.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, official data showed on Thursday, below both 2.8% growth and Reuters' advance estimates of 2.5% expansion.

Overall, Singapore's economy is projected to grow by 1.1% in 2023, slower than the 3.8% expansion in 2022. Growth in 2023 was largely driven by the information and communication and transportation and storage sectors.

– Lee Ying Shan

European semiconductor equipment stocks will outperform as spending on artificial intelligence chips rises over the next decade, Bank of America said.

The continent's chip stocks manufacture the high-tech machinery needed to manufacture the latest generation of chips.

“We're elevating ourselves [price targets] In our EU Semicaps coverage, we expect to continue to benefit from investing in AI infrastructure,” BofA analysts said in a note to clients.

The Wall Street bank said its top picks could rise further, thanks to a “lack of value for AI-related stocks in Europe.”

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

– Ganesh Rao

Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Michael Barr on Wednesday backed the Fed's cautious approach to cutting interest rates this year.

In comments prepared for the National Association for Business Economics, Barr expressed optimism that inflation is moving back toward the Fed's 2% target.

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

Along with comments on monetary policy, Barr rated conditions in the banking system as “sound and resilient,” though he said there were “some pockets of risk,” particularly in commercial real estate.

– Jeff Cox

Crude oil futures fell on Wednesday, giving up gains earlier in the session, as demand fell as inventories rose in the United States.

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

The move comes after U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose by 12 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Oil demand, measured by finished products delivered to market, fell by 973,000 barrels per day over the same period.

Oil prices rose 1% in the trading session after Israel launched airstrikes in Lebanon in response to rockets fired into northern Israel that killed one person and wounded at least seven others.

– Spencer Kimball

Apple was the biggest laggard in the Dow Jones industrial average.

The iPhone maker fell 1.3% in afternoon trade. That capped gains for the 30-share index, which was last little changed.