Asia markets largely set to extend gains as Nasdaq hits record high

In this photo illustration the Nvidia logo is displayed on a smartphone screen and in the background. 

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The Reserve Bank of Australia considered raising rates in its May meeting, minutes of the central bank’s meeting showed.

Members noted that inflation in Australia had declined less than expected, and economic growth and inflation internationally was exceeding expectations.

The RBA board members also agreed that economic information since the April meeting had increased the risks of inflation staying above target for longer.

RBA, however, left the cash rate unchanged at 4.35%.

— Lim Hui Jie

South Korean chip giant Samsung Electronics has named Young Hyun Jun as its new chief for the semiconductor unit, Reuters reported Tuesday.

Samsung said the move was a “preemptive measure to strengthen the future competitiveness,” according to the report.

Jun has been chief executive at Samsung’s battery arm, Samsung SDI.

— Lim Hui Jie, Reuters

The U.S move to impose higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is set to have an impact on the U.S. battery supply chain — and create investing opportunities, according to Bernstein.

Those tariffs will benefit the U.S. battery supply chain, where demand is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 25% to 30%, according to Bernstein in a May 13 note.

It names global stocks that investors can consider.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Shares of a global video game developer are currently being overlooked by the market and are up for grabs at a “very cheap” price, according to Schroders fund manager Vera German.

The company’s shares have been hit hard over the past few years, with the stock price declining significantly from its peak in 2021. It has fallen by 40% over the past 12 months alone.

The value investor believes that the company is well-positioned for future growth as it has a net cash of $1.1 billion and a strong cash flow generation.

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— Ganesh Rao

Commodities are still the biggest threat to the U.S. stock market, according to Raymond James managing director Tavis McCourt.

“Commodity prices remain the biggest ‘risk to the bull’ in the U.S. this year,” McCourt told clients in a Sunday note.

He noted that disinflation will be tough if commodity prices continue to rally. McCourt also said further price increases can push global portfolio managers to shift back to emerging markets and commodity-focused indexes after pouring money into the U.S. market.

— Alex Harring

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon indicated Monday that the day is getting closer when he still step down from running the nation’s largest bank.

“The timetable isn’t five years anymore,” the 68-year-old chief executive said during the bank’s annual investor day. The comments, reported by The Wall Street Journal, are a bit of a switch from the way he generally brushes off questions about his future.

There are multiple potential successors, with the next CEO expected to come from within. JPMorgan shares were off 2.5% in afternoon trading.

— Jeff Cox

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson on Monday emphasized that inflation is not cooling quickly enough to warrant interest rate reductions.

While he said the pace of price increases has “eased dramatically” from its mid-2022 peak, Jefferson added that he supported the recent Federal Open Market Committee decision to hold rates steady.

“I believe that our policy rate is in restrictive territory as we continue to see the labor market come into better balance, and inflation decline although nowhere near as quickly as I would have liked,” Jefferson said in prepared remarks for a speech in New York.

Of particular note, Jefferson said Fed economists have calculated that core inflation, as measured by the central bank’s preferred personal consumption expenditures price index, rose at a 4.1% annual pace in the first four months of 2024, above the 2% target.

— Jeff Cox