CHINA STOCKS ERASE LOSSES AS CENTRAL BANK HOLDS RATES
Mainland China market erased losses from earlier in the session Monday, after the country’s central bank left its medium-term policy loans rate unchanged.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 index was flat after falling about 0.5% at open, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 0.4%.
The People’s Bank of China surprised markets and held the rate on some 995 billion yuan ($138.84 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans, keeping it unchanged at 2.50%
Source: CNBC
MICROSOFT TOPS APPLE AS WORLD’S MOST VALUABLE PUBLIC COMPANY
Microsoft ended Friday’s U.S. trading session as the most valuable publicly traded company, surpassing Apple after briefly topping the iPhone maker during intraday trading Thursday.
Shares of Microsoft climbed more than 3% for the week, bringing the company’s market cap to $2.89 trillion, while Apple’s stock dropped by over 3%, lowering its valuation to $2.87 trillion.
Redburn Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell downgraded Apple to neutral from buy on Wednesday, citing “little room for upside over the next few years” in iPhone growth and an “anticipated underwhelming March quarter.”
Source: CNBC
ECONOMIC CALENDAR: WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
With US markets closed Monday in observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, results from the financial sector and Wednesday's retail sales data should serve as the main calendar catalysts.
Retail sales are expected to rise 0.4% in December, an increase from the 0.3% gain in November, as US consumers continue to power a surprisingly durable economic expansion.
Elsewhere on the economic calendar, Thursday's initial jobless claims data and a look at consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan out Friday will warrant a close look from investors.
Source: CNBC