(Bloomberg) -- JD.com Inc. has bagged a record $32 billion of sales during the country’s biggest online shopping gala of the post-pandemic era, suggesting China’s nascent consumer spending recovery has legs.JD and larger rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. this month put Chinese consumption to its first major test since Beijing locked down the country in February. China’s largest retailers are hoping the “6.18” summer extravaganza that wraps up Thursday has unleashed pent-up demand, making up for lost sales during a coronavirus-stricken March quarter. JD said it had racked up 228.5 billion yuan ($32 billion) of transactions as of mid-morning Thursday, surpassing 2019’s total. The retailer’s shares rose 4.5% on their Hong Kong debut, after raising $3.9 billion in a stock sale designed to appeal to Asian investors.Global brands and smaller merchants alike had stocked up on goods for months in anticipation of the annual summer event, a bargain buffet surpassed only...
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks and U.S. equity futures dropped, while the yen and Treasuries advanced, as optimism over policy stimulus gave way to recovery concerns caused by rising infection numbers in some locations.Shares fell in Japan, Australia and Hong Kong as the global equity rally seen earlier this week continued to show signs of fatigue. S&P 500 Index futures retreated after the index swung between gains and losses for most of Wednesday on light volume before closing in the red. The yuan and Chinese bond yields traded flat, erasing earlier losses seen in the wake of China’s central bank cutting a money-market interest rate and injecting cash.“The narrative around policy stimulus and better economic data seems to be losing its sway,” said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.Australia’s dollar fell after the country reported a much bigger decline in employment than forecast for May, with the...
It’s no great secret that cruise line stocks have been some of the biggest victims of the COVID-19 pandemic.From a mid-January high near $52 a share, Carnival Corporation (CCL) stock lost nearly 82% of its value through mid-March! Royal Caribbean (RCL) was about as hard-hit, falling 83% the same time period. And Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), perceived to be the weakest of the three big publicly-traded cruisers, lost a staggering 87%.More than just victims of consumers unable to cruise because they were stuck at home under stay-at-home orders, or unable to serve patrons because individual state governments had told them to close their doors, cruise lines were actually forbidden to do what they do — cruise — by order of the federal government, and subjected to a blanket “no sail” order from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), instructing them not to leave port before late July.And yet, as state...
(Bloomberg) -- JD.com Inc. soared about 6% in its Thursday debut in Hong Kong, a solid start that underscores strong investor appetite for a growing line-up of Chinese tech giants seeking to list closer to home.The Chinese online retailer, which already has stock listed in the U.S., opened at HK$239 after raising $3.9 billion in its Hong Kong share sale. That’s after its shares changed hands in gray markets at a roughly 5% premium to its HK$226 listing price in the days prior.JD debuts as tensions between Washington and Beijing threaten to curtail Chinese companies’ access to U.S. capital markets, particularly after once high-flying Luckin Coffee Inc. crashed amid an accounting scandal. It’s a victory for Hong Kong, coming on the heels of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s $13 billion share sale and the passing of a national security law that critics fear could jeopardize its status as a financial hub. Fellow...
Some good news just came Apple’s (AAPL) way. According to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives, there finally appears to be some clarity regarding the highly anticipated launch of Apple’s flagship product, the iPhone 12 – its first to boast 5G capabilities.“While we were hearing of some delays over the past few months that would have pushed this key product cycle into the October/November timeframe, we now believe the iPhone 12 will be in late September with the smartphones ready to hit the shelves globally in early October,” said Ives.Ives was previously under the impression Apple was likely to push the launch back to the holiday period, on account of COVID-19’s impact on the global supply chain and the resultant depressed economic climate.However, the supply chain’s “impressive” return to normalization paves the way for Cook & Co. to kick off the 5G cycle as previously planned.Ives believes “there are 4 models being launched...
For those that thought the extreme market volatility was behind us, think again. Last week, another burst of volatility was brought on by concerns about the U.S. economic recovery and a second wave of COVID-19. This week, however, U.S. stocks recovered some lost ground thanks to strong retail sales data. There's a lot going on in the markets, and the only certainty is uncertainty.Against this backdrop, we turned our attention to defensive stocks in the healthcare sector. In general, these stocks provide stable earnings regardless of the stock market’s state due to the constant demand for their products or services.With this in mind, we used TipRanks’ database to identify three defensive healthcare stocks with upside potential north of 20%. Not to mention each of these companies has earned a “Strong Buy” consensus rating from the analyst community.Deciphera Pharmaceuticals (DCPH)We will start with Deciphera, a biopharmaceutical company which develops cancer medications. On...
