Nikkei and CSI 300 gains; Bank of Japan meeting; China's strong data

Malaysia's exports fell by 0.8% year-on-year in February According to government data on monday.

A Reuters poll expected exports to rise by 2.4%.

Malaysia's imports grew by 8.4% year-on-year, higher than the Reuters poll estimate of 7.8%.

The data also showed that Malaysia's trade surplus reached 10.9 billion ringgit ($2.31 billion) in February, down 44.4% from a year earlier.

The FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.27% by afternoon.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

China reported stronger than expected numbers for retail and fixed asset investment in the first two months of 2024.

Retail sales rose 5.5% and industrial production rose 7%, both beating analysts' expectations. The urban unemployment rate reached 5.3% in February.

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

China's data for January and February are usually combined to smooth out differences from the Lunar New Year, the country's largest national holiday, during which businesses remain closed for at least one week.

– Evelyn Cheng

Shares of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan rose on Monday after the rivals signed a memorandum of understanding related to the electric vehicle market.

Honda shares rose 2.64%, while Nissan shares rose 4.81% by 10.56 a.m. Tokyo time.

The memorandum of understanding aims to “begin a feasibility study of a strategic partnership in the fields of vehicle electrification and artificial intelligence,” according to what the website stated. Advertising.

“Emerging players are very aggressive and are making inroads incredibly quickly,” Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida said at a news conference, according to a Reuters report.

“We cannot win the competition as long as we adhere to conventional wisdom and the conventional approach,” he added.

Japan's Nikkei 225 rose more than 2% on Monday, surpassing the 39,000 mark for the first time in 10 days as manufacturing and health care stocks fueled the rally.

However, the biggest gainer on the index was fintech company Rakuten Group, which rose 7.38%.

Other names on the list of biggest gainers include automobile manufacturer Nissan, which rose more than 6.5%, as well as pharmaceutical company Chugai Pharmaceutical, which rose 4%.

The yen fell by 0.18% on the back of the rise in the index, trading at 149.29 against the dollar.

Singapore's non-oil domestic exports fell 0.1% year-on-year in February, according to the bank Official data.

Singapore's NODX index fell compared to a Reuters poll forecast of a 4.7% rise in February.

“NODX declined over the year, mainly due to non-electronic products [food preparations, specialty chemicals & electrical circuit apparatus]The statement stated that electronics exports grew.

The reading follows a 16.7% rise in January.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

In the next decade, companies that use technology to disrupt sectors are likely to be favourites, according to UBS.

UBS said the “next big thing” in technology will come from sectors such as technology enablement – which includes artificial intelligence and cybersecurity – as well as healthtech, greentech and fintech.

“Collectively, we see the industry leaders for 2030 emerging from these sectors,” UBS said in a March 14 report.

Here are some names from UBS's list and what they say about each stock. All listed in the United States.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Weezin Tan

While chip darling Nvidia has made headlines for its impressive stock performance, driven by excitement around artificial intelligence, a quietly under-the-radar European company has seen its shares nearly double in 2024.

The small company, which had total sales of 52 million euros ($56 million) in the first half of last year, recently secured a contract worth 300 million euros. It also just obtained 150 patents worth $835 million.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

-Ganesh Rao

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

The April West Texas Intermediate contract fell 22 cents, or 0.27%, to settle at $81.04 a barrel. The Brent contract for May lost eight cents, or 0.09%, setting the settlement price at $85.34 per barrel.

US crude and global crude have risen by more than 3.5% since the beginning of the week until now.

-Spencer Kimball

Consumer sentiment was little changed in March, although it was slightly lower than Wall Street had expected, according to a closely watched University of Michigan survey released Friday.

The consumer survey reported a reading of 76.5, down 0.4 points from February, beating the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 77.4.

Inflation expectations remained unchanged over one and five years, at 3% and 2.9%, respectively. The current conditions index was also unchanged at 79.4.

“After strong gains between November 2023 and January 2024, consumer sentiment has settled into a flat pattern; consumers are seeing little sign that the economy is currently improving or deteriorating,” said Joan Hsu, director of the survey. Consumers are “withholding judgment” until the presidential election in November, Hsu added.

—Jeff Cox

Cryptocurrency holders on the East Coast woke up to a lot of red on their screens on Friday.

Bitcoin was trading at more than $72,000 late Thursday night, but suffered a sharp decline and is now hovering near $67,000. This represents a decrease of about 7%.

It was not immediately clear what caused the wave of selling. Selling pressure will likely come from the options market, Crypto.com CEO Chris Marszalek told CNBC's “Squawk Box.”

-Jesse Pound