Weekly news summary for May 19 to May 25

Friday, May 19: Alibaba Shares Slide as China Sales Decline in Q4

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. lost more than 6% on Friday in Hong Kong after the Chinese e-commerce giant fared less than expected in the fourth quarter as consumer spending in China slowed down.

Alibaba said revenue in the three months ending March 31 rose 2% to 208.20 billion yuan (30.12 billion dollars), ending below analysts’ expectations of 210.3 billion yuan, while direct sales in China that accounts for the most significant part of its revenue fell 1% in the quarter.

Monday, May 22: Oil Prices Unsteady Amid US Debt Ceiling Concerns

Oil prices were unsteady on Monday as market players became wary over the outcome of talks between US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy about the nation’s debt ceiling.

The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures shed 0.04% to 71.66 dollars per barrel and Brent crude futures were down 0.07% to 75.53 dollars per barrel, having posted 2% gains last week, which ended four straight weeks of huge losses due to China’s sluggish economy and risk of a US debt default.

Tuesday, May 23: Japan Real Wages Post 8-Year Low in Fiscal 2022

Japan’s inflation-adjusted real wages declined to their lowest in eight years in fiscal 2022, as the country’s 3.8% inflation beat the nominal wage growth of 1.9% in the period, which was the fastest surge in 31 years.

Labor Ministry data showed that real wages fell 1.8% in the last fiscal year ending March, the biggest annual slide since fiscal 2014, signaling the need for higher wages to surpass inflation and support consumers’ purchasing power and private consumption that represent over half of Japan’s economy.

Wednesday, May 24: Nvidia Surges as Revenue Forecast Tops Estimates

Shares of US semiconductor giant Nvidia Corp. gained 28% to hit a record high of 391.50 dollars in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the company provided better-than-expected revenue guidance for the second quarter.

California-based Nvidia expects second-quarter revenue within the range of 11 billion dollars, plus or minus 2%, surpassing Wall Street’s forecast of 7.13 billion dollars by more than 50%, and stated that it is increasing supply to keep up with a more robust demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Thursday, March 25: Dollar at 2-Month High after Fitch Negative Watch

The US dollar hit a two-month high against major peers on Thursday as concerns over a possible debt default increased after Fitch Ratings Inc. put the country’s ‘AAA’ debt ratings on negative watch.

The US dollar index climbed 0.2% to 104.05 dollars against a basket of six major currencies, its highest level since March 17, with fewer expectations for an interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve providing additional support to the greenback.

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