2 hours ago
Rakuten stock soars more than 15% as annual loss narrows
The logo of Japanese technology giant Rakuten seen at Mobile World Congress 2019.
Paco Freire | SOPA Images | Light Rocket (via Getty Images)
Rakuten Group stock rose more than 15% on Thursday after the Japanese technology conglomerate narrowed its 2023 loss from a year earlier.
Rakuten’s financial report has been announced In a statement late Wednesday, the company said its operating loss in 2023 was 212.86 billion yen, compared to 2022 operating loss of 371.61 billion yen.
The company’s attributable loss also decreased to 339.47 billion yen, compared to 377.21 billion yen in 2022.
The profits and sales of the FinTech and Internet Services business unit increased in 2023, while the mobile division’s losses decreased by nearly 30% in 2023.
— Lim Hui Jie, Shreyasi Sanyal
5 hours ago
Japan’s fourth quarter GDP shows unexpected contraction
Japanese flag on a dark blue background. 3D rendering
Daguk | E+ | Getty Images
Japan’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the final quarter of 2023, according to government data.
Provisional gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.4% from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, after falling by a revised 3.3% in the July-September period.
This was also significantly lower than the 1.4% growth forecast in a Reuters poll.
Japan also decreased by 0.1% quarter-over-quarter in the third quarter, after contracting by a revised 0.8% from the second quarter.
Read the full article for more information.
— Shreyasi Sanyal, Clement Tan
5 hours ago
Singapore’s economy grows slower than expected in the fourth quarter
Singapore’s economy grew 2.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to official data on Thursday, lower than the 2.8% growth expected and the 2.5% expansion expected by Reuters.
Overall, Singapore’s economy grew by 1.1% in 2023, slower than the 3.8% growth in 2022. Growth in 2023 was primarily driven by the information and communications, transportation and storage sectors.
—Li Yingshan
6 hours ago
Berkshire Hathaway cuts Apple stake
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reduced its holdings in several stocks, including Apple and HP, in the fourth quarter, according to a securities report released Wednesday.
Berkshire also asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to keep at least one of its holdings confidential. The company made a similar request in its third-quarter filing.
See a list of Berkshire’s top holdings on CNBC Pro.
— Jesse Pound, Yun Lee
6 hours ago
Cisco and Twilio pay attention to stock price trends after financial results
Although index futures prices were calm on Wednesday, individual stocks moved significantly after hours following earnings announcements.
Cisco — The technology company’s stock fell more than 5% after announcing layoffs in its quarterly update.
TripAdvisor — Travel stocks soared 7% after fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations on revenue and bottom line, according to LSEG.
Twilio — Tech stocks fell 11%. LSEG said Twilio’s fourth-quarter revenue outlook was weaker than expected.
Click here for information about other moving companies.
— Jesse Pound, Darla Mercado
7 hours ago
Futures open little changed
After 6 p.m. in New York, stock futures prices were virtually flat. Nasdaq 100 futures fell, but were still down less than 0.1%.
— Jesse Pound
