Nikkei average and CSI 300 are rising. Bank of Japan meeting.strong china data

China reported better-than-expected retail and fixed asset investment for the first two months of 2024.

Retail sales rose 5.5% and industrial production rose 7%, both exceeding analyst expectations. The urban unemployment rate in February was 5.3%.

Investment in real estate fell 9% year-on-year in January and February, while manufacturing rose 9.4% during that period.

China’s data for January and February is typically combined to smooth out fluctuations from Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday, when businesses are closed for at least a week.

— Evelyn Chen

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose more than 2% on Monday, topping the 39,000 yen mark for the first time in 10 days, with manufacturing and healthcare stocks leading the rise.

However, the biggest gainer on the index was financial technology company Rakuten Group, which soared 7.38%.

Other top gainers include automaker Nissan Motor Co., which rose more than 6.5%, and pharmaceutical company Chugai Pharmaceutical, which rose 4%.

The yen fell 0.18% on the strength of the index, trading at 149.29 yen against the dollar.

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports fell 0.1% in February compared to the same month last year, official data showed.

Singapore’s NODX fell compared to a February Reuters poll’s forecast for a 4.7% rise.

“NODX decreased throughout the year mainly due to the impact of non-electronics.” [food preparations, specialty chemicals & electrical circuit apparatus]”Meanwhile, electronics exports increased,” the statement said.

This measure follows a 16.7% rise in January.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

According to UBS, the next decade is likely to favor companies that use technology to disrupt their industries.

The “next big thing” in the technology industry will come from areas such as enabling technologies, including artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, as well as health tech, green tech and fintech, UBS said.

“Taken together, industry leaders in 2030 are likely to emerge from these sectors,” UBS said in a March 14 report.

Below are some names from UBS’s list and a description of each stock. All are listed in the US.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Tan Weizhen

While semiconductor industry darling Nvidia grabs headlines for its impressive stock performance driven by excitement around artificial intelligence, a lesser-known European company is quietly poised to see its stock price nearly double in 2024. I was looking.

The small-cap company, which had total sales of 52 million euros ($56 million) in the first half of last year, recently signed a 300 million euro deal. He also just received his 150 patents worth $835 million.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

Crude oil futures fell slightly on Friday but rose this week after rising in the previous two sessions.

West Texas Intermediate’s April contract fell 22 cents, or 0.27%, to settle at $81.04 a barrel. The Brent May contract fell 8 cents, or 0.09%, to settle at $85.34 per barrel.

U.S. crude oil and global benchmarks are up more than 3.5% so far this week.

— Spencer Kimball

A closely watched University of Michigan survey released Friday found consumer sentiment little changed in March, but slightly below Wall Street expectations.

The Consumer Survey reading came in at 76.5, down 0.4 points from February and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 77.4.

Inflation expectations remained unchanged in both the one-year and five-year periods at 3% and 2.9%, respectively. The current situation index also remained unchanged at 79.4.

“Consumer views rose significantly from November 2023 to January 2024 before stabilizing into a maintenance pattern,” said research director Joan Hsu. “I was barely aware of any signs that it was happening.” Hsu added that consumers are “suspending judgment” until the presidential election in November.

—Jeff Cox

Cryptocurrency holders on the East Coast woke up Friday to their screens dyed red.

Bitcoin was trading above $72,000 late Thursday night, but has fallen sharply and is currently hovering around $67,000. This is a decrease of approximately 7%.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the sale. Crypto.com CEO Chris Marszalek told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that selling pressure is likely coming from the options market.

— Jesse Pound