China trade, Singapore GDP boost Taylor Swift

Exports from China It posted a 7.5% year-on-year drop in March, well below expectations.

That was more than the 2.3% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters, and a reversal from a 7.1% annual gain in the first two months of the year.

Total trade in the world's second-largest economy fell 5.1% year-on-year to $500.8 billion. China's trade surplus narrowed to a better-than-expected $58.55 billion, compared with $70.2 billion expected in a Reuters poll.

— Lim Hui Gee

Bank of Korea is out of it The key policy rate remains unchanged 3.50% for the 10th time in a row.

Given how there is “a high level of uncertainty associated with the outlook for consumer price inflation,” the central bank noted in a statement that it is “still premature to believe that inflation will converge to the target level.”

South Korea's consumer prices rose 3.1% year-on-year in March, still far from its 2% target.

“Therefore, the Board will maintain its accommodative monetary policy stance for a sufficient period until such confidence is established,” the bank said.

– Lee Ying Shan

Singapore's first-quarter gross domestic product grew 2.7% year-on-year, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on Friday.

This was faster than the 2.2% growth in the October to December quarter.

The city-state's manufacturing sector grew 0.8% year-on-year in the first quarter of the year, compared with 1.4% growth in the previous quarter, MTI said.

The wholesale and retail trade and transportation and storage sectors grew by 2.7% year-on-year compared to 1.4% in the previous quarter.

– Charmaine Jacob

Singapore has a currency authority It kept its policy steadyThe width and position of its policy band remain unchanged.

Unlike other economies, Singapore uses exchange rate systems to determine monetary policy instead of a benchmark rate, where it changes its policy band to adjust the strength of the Singapore dollar against a basket of undisclosed currencies.

The monetary authority also said it expects inflation in the city-state to pick up in the immediate quarters in the fourth quarter of 2024 and before “declining more clearly” through 2025.

– Lim Hui Jee

Goldman Sachs has updated its “punishment list” of top picks in the Asia Pacific for April by adding some stocks and deleting others.

The bank remains bullish on the region, noting that it has a “solid 2Q outlook”.

“5 factors could impact Asian market performance in 2Q: start of central bank-led rate-cutting cycle; elections and geopolitics; 1Q earnings results; market-oriented policy; and (substantially less, but significantly) seasonality,” the investment bank's analysts said in their latest list. Additions published.

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– Amala Balakrishna

Many stocks look expensive in today's market, but there are still cheap stocks out there — some of which could hold for the next 10 years, according to the pros.

They shared with CNBC Pro their top picks and tips for picking cheap stocks that hold long-term promise.

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– Weissen Don

of South Korea Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate It rose to 2.8% in March from 2.6% in February.

The labor force participation rate stood at 64.3% in March, up 0.2 percentage points year-on-year.

Separately, the occupancy rate was 62.4%, up 0.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

– Lim Hui Jee

Crude oil futures fell on Thursday as inflation worries overshadowed fears of a possible Iranian attack on Israel.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery lost $1.19, or 1.38%, to settle at $85.02 a barrel. June Brent futures were down 74 cents, or 0.82%, at $89.74 a barrel.

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported that the US and its allies consider an Iranian attack against Israel imminent.

But the geopolitical risk that lifted prices in the previous session receded on Thursday, as the offensive has yet to materialize, according to Bill Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group.

– Spencer Kimball

Amazon shares hit an all-time high on Thursday, adding 1.7%. The stock hit a record high for the first time since July 2021.

CEO Andy Jassy released his annual shareholder letter on Thursday, where he pledged to cut costs while further increasing investments in new areas such as artificial intelligence.

New York Federal Reserve President John Williams on Thursday said he still expects inflation to recede this year, although the process may not be smooth.

“I expect inflation to continue its gradual return to 2 percent, although there will be bumps, as we've seen in some recent inflation measures,” the central bank official said in a speech to bankers in New York.

The comments came a day after consumer price index estimates for March showed inflation running at an annual rate of 3.5%, well above the central bank's 2% target. He noted an improvement from the peak of inflation in June 2022 to over 9%.

“The economy has come a long way to achieve a better balance and achieve our 2% inflation target. But we are yet to see a total alignment of our dual mandate. I am committed to achieving maximum employment and price stability in the long run,” he said.

– Jeff Cox

The producer price index rose 0.2% in March as investors tried to navigate mixed inflation signals. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% gain for PPI. As expected, core CPI rose 0.2%.

– Fred Imbert