Asian markets are mixed as investors weigh the region’s economic data

The Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer reported a second-quarter profit and revenue decline on Thursday.

Second-quarter revenue fell 10% to NT$480.84 billion ($15.68 billion), while net income fell 23.3% to NT$181.8 billion from a year earlier. This is DSMC’s first quarterly net income decline in 4 years.

DSMC said The business was hit by macroeconomic headwinds that “reduced end-market demand and led to an adjustment of existing inventory by customers.”

Despite the declines, the results were better than market expectations of revenue of NT$478.83 billion and net income of NT$172.55 billion.

Read the full report here.

– Sheila Chiang

India’s smartphone market stabilized at 36.1 million units shipped in the second quarter, according to a report by Canalys.

That figure represents a 1% decline from a year ago, much better than the 20% drop in the first quarter. Exports fell by 27% and 6% in the fourth and third quarters of 2022, respectively.

Samsung continued to dominate the second quarter, taking about 18% market share with 6.6 million shipments, according to Canalys. Vivo continued to ship 6.4 million phones, while Xiaomi came third with 5.4 million shipments.

Read the full story here.

– Charmaine Jacob

Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged At 3.5% In June, it was slightly lower than the 3.6% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the employment-to-population ratio was 64.5% in June, with total unemployment down 1,600 to 505,500.

The employment rate is one of the key metrics when the Reserve Bank of Australia meets to discuss rate decisions.

– Lim Hui Jee

China wants to shift to new high-growth areas such as IT to stimulate the economy, said Harald van der Linde, head of Asia Pacific equity strategy at HSBC.

“They don’t want to go back to the old growth model, which was investments in real estate and infrastructure. They’ve had enough of that,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia.”

Instead, “they want to move to a new growth model,” one that focuses on high-tech, renewables and electrified vehicles, he added. But there is still no clear guidance from Beijing’s policymakers on those specifics, he said.

“We’ve got a new economic team that came in February of this year. They’ve met behind the scenes, they’ve come up with plans, and in the next month or so, we’re going to have some more details on what exactly they’re going to do,” Linde noted.

“I think this is what the market is waiting for. It gives us a sense of where they’re really going to go.”

– Sumathi Bala

China changed its one-year and five-year lending prime rates to 3.55% and 4.2%, respectively, days after it changed medium-term facility lending rates to 2.65%.

It comes even after the country saw its second-quarter gross domestic product growth come in below expectations on Monday, registering a 6.3% year-on-year rise compared with the 7.3% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

China last cut its lending prime rate in June, when it cut the one-year and five-year lending prime rates by 10 basis points.

– Lim Hui Jee

Goldman Sachs names Chinese stocks likely to benefit from growth in artificial intelligence – and two others are on the bank’s punishment list of buy-rated names.

In two research notes dated July 16, Goldman gave an overview of the opportunities and risks created by generative AI and picked stocks that could benefit.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Lucy Handley

Japan posted a surprise trade surplus of 43.05 billion yen ($308.5 million) in June, marking the first time the world’s third-largest economy posted a surplus in 23 months.

This is a sharp change from the 1.38 trillion yen deficit recorded in May and the 1.37 trillion yen seen in June 2022.

The surplus was attributed to a fall in imports, according to government data. Imports fell 12.9% year-on-year in June, while exports registered a 1.5% rise compared to the same period last year.

– Lim Hui Jee

Major technology trends such as artificial intelligence dominate the headlines. But some key plays, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), offer significant potential despite less hype, according to tech investor Richard Clote.

Cloud, a fund manager at Janus Henderson Investors, named two IoT stocks he sees as long-term winners. He manages the $3.2 billion Horizon Global Technology Leaders fund, which is invested in both stocks.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Ganesh Rao

ASML’s shares have soared this year on buzz about semiconductor companies and artificial intelligence — its Netherlands-listed shares are up 32% year-to-date, while its US-listed shares are up nearly 40%.

But it faces several risks, including US-China tensions.

Where does the stock go from here? Found by CNBC Pro Wall Street Research.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

– Weissen Don

The second quarter earnings season has just begun, with 10% of S&P 500 companies releasing results so far. According to Refinitiv data, among 50 companies, 64% topped earnings estimates, while 80% of stocks beat expectations.

Based on the compounded growth rate, revenue is expected to decline by 8.2% from a year ago, and earnings are expected to decline by 0.8% year over year. The ratio aggregates data from companies that have already reported data and companies that are waiting to report.

– Samantha Subin

Wall Street behemoth Goldman Sachs cut expectations for the second quarter on Wednesday, despite the company’s earlier attempts to balance expectations.

Goldman reported adjusted earnings of $3.08 and $10.9 billion per share, while analysts polled by Refinitiv had forecast $3.18 and $10.84 billion, respectively. Goldman shares fell 0.4% in premarket trading.

– Brian Evans

Investors heave a sigh of relief after the first wave of regional bank earnings.

The SPDR S&P Regional Bank ETF ( KRE ) rose about 1% in early trade as investors and analysts turned on reports from Western Alliance, US Bancorp and others.

Shares of Phoenix-based Western Alliance rose more than 2% despite earnings of $1.96 a share, according to Refinitiv.

– Jesse Pound

Corn, wheat and soybeans jumped on Wednesday. Forecasts of dry weather in the US Midwest following withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and concerns over Russian airstrikes on the Black Sea port of Odessa boosted wheat prices.

Wheat futures rose 5.4% on Wednesday and nearly 6% year to date, on track for their best week since June 23.

Soybean futures rose 1.7% to a high of $437.4 a short ton as of Wednesday morning.

Corn futures rose 3.1% to 551.5 cents a bushel on Wednesday. Corn is up 7.2% year to date, on track for its best week since May 26.

– Hakyung Kim, Nick Wells