Hong Kong stocks rise 2% as Alibaba lifts technology stocks; Asia markets are mostly up

According to KraneShares CIO Brendan Ahearn, Alibaba’s major shake-up could follow its Chinese counterparts in the tech space.

“I think investors are saying what we’ve seen at Alibaba, the really leading Chinese tech company, that their plans may be used by others,” said Ahern, referring to the ADR moves seen in Tencent, JD.com and Baidu overnight.

Tencent shares rose 2.5%, Meituan shares rose 4.6%, Baidu shares rose about 2%, and Kuaishou shares rose 3.8% in Hong Kong morning trading.

He added that the company’s announcement showed that Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who was recently seen in China after spending months abroad, was involved in the process.

“It’s very clearly played a role in this new structure that’s really about what the company said in the press release, it’s about unlocking shareholder value,” Ahern said.

– Jihe Lee

S&P Vice President Dan Yergin said oil prices are seeing a boost as the situation stabilizes after the recent banking turmoil.

“What we’ve seen in the last few days is a sense that the situation has stabilized … and that in turn has led to some increase in oil prices,” Squawk Box said on CNBC.

Benchmark Oil traded higher after emerging from a volatile trading week. Brent crude futures rose 0.25% to $78.85 a barrel, while US Brent crude futures rose 0.6% to $73.96 a barrel.

When asked if it would be difficult for oil prices to reach $100 a barrel, Yergin certainly agreed, “unless something dramatic happens,” adding that air travel in China has yet to recover to its 2019 highs.

– Lee Ying Chan

The pace of monthly inflation in Australia for February came in at a slower pace at 6.8% compared to the same period last year.

This is lower than January’s figure of 7.4%, and also lower than economists’ forecasts of 7.1%.

Data from the country’s bureau of statistics revealed that the most significant price hikes were in housing, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages, and then in transportation.

Inflation data, as well as retail sales data released on Tuesday, will be key to the RBA’s April decision to raise interest rates.

– Lim Hwi Ji

Alibaba shares jumped more than 11 percent during midday trading on Tuesday after the e-commerce giant said it would split its company into six business groups.

It is the most significant restructuring in Alibaba’s history, with each of the six companies set to be run by its own chief executive officer and board of directors.

The company said in a statement that this step “aims to unleash shareholder value and enhance competitiveness in the market.”

Separately, Morgan Stanley called it a research tactic after the announcement, saying that “the share price will rise in absolute terms over the next 60 days.”

– Arjun Kharpal, Sarah Maine

Banks led the stock market lower on Tuesday afternoon, after a hearing in which three regulators said they favor tougher regulations at smaller institutions.

Fed Vice Chairman Michael Barr, FDIC Chairman Martin Greenberg and Neely Liang, Undersecretary of the Treasury for Domestic Finance, said they would support tougher requirements for banks with more than $100 billion in assets.

The remarks came during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on the recent failures of three regional banks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) asked each of them if they favored tougher rules for banks beyond those identified as systemically important and whether they would support reversing the regulatory changes made in 2018.

“I certainly think it’s appropriate for us to go back and review those procedures in light of the most recent episode and consider what changes need to be made,” Gruenberg said.

SPDR Regional Banking and SPDR Bank ETFs were down more than 1% each in the afternoon.

– Jeff Cox

Equity markets have been on an upward trend in the first quarter of 2023, with the S&P 500 and MSCI World Index on track to post more than 4% of total gains.

This is especially noticeable after a year of negative returns.

Here, CNBC Pro subscribers can read about how markets have performed in similar conditions historically.

– Ganesh Rao

The three regulators said in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that rules need to be tightened for regional banks.

“I foresee the need to strengthen capital and liquidity standards for companies worth more than $100 billion,” said Michael Barr, the Federal Reserve’s vice chair of oversight, in response to questions from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D).

His fellow powers-that-be echoed his sentiments when speaking of the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank.

Martin Gruenberg, FDIC Chairman, noted that he voted against the deregulation moves in 2018 and said, “My views have not changed.”

Nellie Liang, the local undersecretary for finance, said she agrees “we need to prevent these kinds of bank failures”.

Bank stocks rose slightly after the stock exchange.

– Jeff Cox

Markets have been volatile over the past month which has some retail investors wondering where to park their money.

If you have $10,000 to invest, where should you put it amid the uncertainty, and how much should you allocate to each asset class? CNBC Pro speaks to portfolio managers and investors to find out.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Wizen tan

Consumer expectations improved slightly in March, despite the crisis in banks, according to a Conference Board index released on Tuesday.

The Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 104.2, from 103.4 in February and ahead of the 100.7 Dow Jones estimate.

In addition, the Expectations Index, which measures expectations in the short term, rose to 73 from 70.4. However, the index remains below the 80 level that corresponds to recessionary periods. The inflation index also remained elevated, at 6.3% for the forecast over the next 12 months.

– Jeff Cox