Asia markets largely higher as new Bank of Japan chief chairs first policy meeting

Real estate developer City Developments led losses on Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index on Thursday, after the country announced an increase in stamp duties for property purchases.

The developer, commonly known as CDL, was the largest loser on the STI, shedding 5.87%. Counterpart UOL was the second largest loser on the index, falling 4.45%.

Under the new rules, both local and foreign buyers of residential properties will now have to pay higher additional buyers' stamp duties, although the biggest jump is the doubling of stamp duties for foreign buyers from 30% to 60%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan will lower the health classification of Covid-19 from the current level 2 to level 5 — same as the seasonal flu, starting May 8.

According to NBC News, Japan Health Minister Katsunobu Kato said at a press conference the country did not find any new reason not to lower the classification, such as a new significant strain.

However, he added, if a new significant strain emerges, this classification will be reviewed again.

The Nikkei 225 reversed into the green, posting a marginal gain of 0.05%, while the Topix saw a larger gain of 0.32 on Thursday, after the news.

— Lim Hui Jie

Tech layoffs in the U.S. is an opportunity for India, Infosys founder Narayana Murthy told The CNBC Conversation.

"Whenever there is a downturn in the U.S. or in the developed world, there is a bigger opportunity for countries like India, particularly in my sector, which provide better value for money," Murthy told CNBC's Tanvir Gill. He was referring to India's high-quality IT talent available at lower costs than countries like the U.S.

Infosys has grown into a multibillion dollar company valued at over $60 billion from an initial capital of $250. The firm is currently India's second-largest provider of IT consultancy services.

"In a downturn, the market shrinks a little bit and our charter is very clear. We work even harder and then we take a slightly larger market share and you will not have any issue of job losses," said Murthy.

Read the full story here.

— Sheila Chiang

Real estate stocks in Singapore fell Thursday morning after the government announced new measures overnight to cool red-hot property prices.

UOL Group fell 4.6%, Keppel Corp was 4.24% while shares of City Development dropped 3.8% and CapitaLand Investment dipped by 1.29%.

The government raised taxes for Singaporeans buying their second and subsequent properties from 17% to 20%. Those buying their third and subsequent properties will now have to pay 30% instead of 25% in additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), the Ministry of Development (MND) and Monetary Authority of Singapore said late Wednesday in a joint statement.

Foreigners will be the most affected, with ABSD on any property purchase rising from 30% to 60%, MND said.

— Charmaine Jacob

Shares of Chinese conglomerate Ping An Insurance surged 6.6% after the company reported a 48.9% year-on-year increase in net profit for the first quarter.

Net profit came in at 38.35 billion yuan ($5.55 billion), compared with the 25.76 billion yuan in the same period a year ago.

In a filing, Ping An said the domestic economy continued to recover in the first three months of 2023, with household consumption picking up steadily.

Ping An was most recently in the news for supporting shareholder resolutions calling for a "strategic review" of HSBC, including the spinoff of the bank's Asia business. Ping An Asset Management is a top shareholder in HSBC.

— Lim Hui Jie

Shares of Nomura Holdings fell almost 8% on Thursday after the Japanese bank posted a 76% fall in net profit for the January to March quarter, compared to the same period last year.

Net profit came in at 7.4 billion yen ($55.4 million), compared to the 31 billion yen recorded in the same period the year before. Revenue for the quarter stood at 324.9 billion yen, 5% lower year-on-year.

For its full financial year ended March, Nomura recorded a net profit of 92.8 billion yen, a 35% drop compared to the 143 billion yen the year before.

In its earnings release, the company announced it will increase its dividend payout ratio to over 40% from 30% and buy back up to 1.1% of own shares worth 20 billion yen.

— Lim Hui Jie

Two of Europe's largest banks — Britain's Barclays and Germany's Deutsche Bank — are set to announce their first-quarter earnings later on Thursday.

Using data from FactSet going back five years, CNBC Pro has found how well the lenders' stock performs against benchmark indexes based on different outcomes of their quarterly earnings reports.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

The S&P 500 is "supported" by just seven mega-cap tech stocks right now — and it's starting to look a lot like the 1990s tech bubble, one analyst told CNBC on Wednesday.

Eric Lynch, managing director of Scharf Investments, named three cheap stocks to buy outside it.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Samsung Electronics saw its net profit for the first quarter of 2023 tumble by 87.14% compared to the same period last year, coming in at 1.4 trillion won (roughly $1.04 billion) compared to 11.1 trillion won in the same period a year earlier.

Operating profit saw a 95% drop in the first quarter, falling to 640 billion won from 14.12 trillion won a year earlier, and largely in line with the 600 billion won guidance given by the company earlier

Revenue for the first quarter slid 18% to 63.7 trillion won compared to the same period last year.

Shares of Samsung were trading down 0.47% on Thursday.

— Lim Hui Jie

First Republic's stock has turned south again after trimming some of its losses in midday trading.

The latest move lower comes after a Bloomberg News report that U.S. bank regulators were considering downgrading their assessments of the bank. This move could curb First Republic's ability to borrow from the Federal Reserve.

Shares of First Republic have been halted multiple times since the report. The stock was last down about 30%.

— Jesse Pound

Information technology and communication services stocks outperformed in the S&P 500 on Wednesday, with the two sectors last up about 2.1% and 0.4% during midday trading. Strong quarterly results from Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet bolstered both sectors.

Microsoft shares were higher by more than 7% after the firm reported a third-quarter earnings beat on the top and bottom lines. Meanwhile, Alphabet shares rose 1.1%.

Information technology and communication services were one of just four sectors trading in positive territory in the broader index. The other two were consumer discretionary and real estate, last up about 0.2% and 0.05%, respectively.

— Sarah Min

Microsoft's climb on the back of strong earnings put shares at a high not seen since April 2022.

The stock traded at $297.95 per share after advancing more than 8%. It was last more expensive in early April of 2022 — more than a year ago — when it closed as high as $309.42 per share.

— Alex Harring

Boeing shares rose nearly 4% in premarket trading after the company reported earnings before the bell.

The company reported $1.27 in an adjusted loss per share and $17.92 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv anticipated an adjusted loss per share of $1.07 on $17.57 billion in revenue.

Boeing also said it would increase production of 737 Max planes later this year despite a prior production issue.

— Leslie Josephs, Alex Harring

First Republic shares were down 8% in premarket trading as the troubled regional bank continued its slide.

The San Francisco-based lender said late Monday that it lost roughly 40% of its deposits in the first quarter. First Republic was seen by customers and investors as a risk after the collapse last month of Silicon Valley Bank, which had a similar financial profile.

First Republic also said that it was reviewing strategic options to help reshape its balance sheet.

The stock lost nearly 50% on Tuesday and is down more than 90% year to date.

— Jesse Pound