(Bloomberg) -- Asia technology shares slumped Thursday as investors reacted to a series of negative events from the simmering Sino-U.S. trade tensions to stretched valuations in the sector.The MSCI Asia Pacific Information Technology Index slipped as much as 3.3%, the most intraday since March 23. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which has the biggest weighting on the index, slid as much as 6.2%, while Samsung Electronics Co., another heavyweight, ended 4.2% lower after Nvidia Corp. suggested the growth of its data center business will slow.There’s been “a euphoric demand” for tech stocks so far amid the spread of the coronavirus but the U.S. Federal Reserve’s minutes, which didn’t contain further monetary measures, disappointed investors holding the expensive stocks, according to Nader Naeimi, head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors Ltd.“Following the liquidity-driven rally recently, what we now see is disappointing comments from the Fed, U.S.’s ban on Huawei -- which may...
Merrill Lynch raised Salesforce price target to $235 (14.6% upside potential) from $210, in anticipation of solid 2Q results. The software company is set to report its quarterly results on Aug. 25.Merrill Lynch analyst Kash Rangan maintained a Buy rating on Salesforce's (CRM) stock, saying he expects a “modest beat and raise quarter”, with a recovery in 2021. Rangan added that “Q2 rev growth could come in at 25% (14% org) vs our model at 22.6% (12% org) and cRPO (current remaining performance obligation) could come in at 19% (15% org) vs our 16.5% (12% org) given that trends continue to strengthen from April Q (17% org cRPO) but off of tougher comps."Mizuho Securities analyst Gregg Moskowitz also raised the stock's price target to $230 (12.1% upside potential) from $210 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock. Moskowitz believes that the company should benefit from its "large 8-figure deal" with...
General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) announced Wednesday it had signed two agreements with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity worth $1.2 billion to bolster and maintain the middle-eastern country's electric infrastructure.What Happened: The two agreements will cover the maintenance of power plants across Iraq and will improve the country's transmission network, according to a GE statement.The energy veteran said it will work with multiple export credit agencies to secure over $1 billion of financing for the projects. The agreements were signed in the presence of the Prime Minister of Iraq Mustafa Al Khadimi, and other senior Iraqi and United States government officials.Why It Matters: The GE deal comes ahead of the first visit to the White House by the Iraqi prime minister on Thursday, Reuters reported.Chevron Corp (NYSE: CVX) is also reportedly expected to sign an agreement with Iraq for developing one of its oil fields.Deals related to natural gas and power...
Intel announced accelerated share repurchase agreements (ASR) to repurchase an aggregate $10 billion of its common stock, sending shares up almost 4% in Wednesday’s after-market session.Following the completion of the ASR agreements, Intel (INTC) will have repurchased a total of about $17.6 billion in shares as part of a $20 billion share buyback program. Intel resumed the repurchase program after its suspension on March 24 in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was was originally announced in Oct. 2019.The US chipmaker said it is funding the share repurchases under the ASR agreements with existing cash resources.“We achieved record financial results in the first half of 2020 and raised our full-year outlook as customers rely on Intel technology for delivering critical services and enabling people to work, learn and stay connected. As the ongoing growth of data fuels demand for Intel products to process, move and store, we are confident in our...
(Bloomberg) -- Adyen NV said it poached new merchants from embattled German payments firm Wirecard AG, as the Dutch company reported a 27% rise in revenue for the first half of the year.The scandal that plagued competitor Wirecard proved to be a boost in Adyen’s favor. Retail merchants looked for payment processing alternatives following the German company’s spectacular collapse in June, when Wirecard filed for insolvency after admitting that almost 2 billion euros ($2.37 billion) previously reported as cash didn’t exist.“We certainly got some inbound from merchants that wanted to work with us,” Adyen Chief Financial Officer Ingo Uytdehaage said in an interview. They were primarily in the Asia-Pacific region, he said.Partnerships with a couple of former Wirecard clients are already live, while Adyen is still in talks with many others, the finance chief said. Some are “really well-known brands” that “wanted to convert quickly,” he said, declining to name specific...
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc has launched a battery leasing service that will allow drivers to buy an EV without owning the battery pack - one of the most expensive EV components - thereby lowering the starting price of its cars. The cheapest Nio car after subsidies is now an ES6 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) priced 273,600 yuan ($39,553) without ownership of the battery pack, versus 343,600 yuan including the pack. "We believe with BaaS, more customers of gasoline cars will consider electric vehicles," Nio's chief executive William Li told reporters....
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks dropped in much of the world after the Federal Reserve signaled continued concern over the pandemic weighing on the world’s biggest economy. Treasuries advanced.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index opened lower as caution carried over from Asia, where an MSCI equities benchmark headed for its biggest drop since mid-July. S&P 500 Index futures declined, pointing to another weak session after Fed minutes of a July meeting warned about the pandemic’s toll on the economy and said the rebound depends on virus containment.The dollar held Wednesday’s gains against its biggest peers, while gold edged higher.Equities in several continents are seeing fresh weakness as investors debate whether momentum that pushed the S&P 500 to a record high this week can be sustained amid lofty valuations and uncertainties over further stimulus to counter the pandemic. Fed officials said the virus was posing “considerable risks” to the economic outlook over the medium term.“There...
