Evergrande shares halt trading after Hong Kong court orders liquidation; Asia markets mostly rise

Shares of Japanese manufacturer Toyota Industries plunged more than 4% after it was revealed to have fabricated power output data on diesel engines it makes and supplies for automaker Toyota.

Toyota said the fabrication affected 10 of Toyota's models sold globally, including six in Japan.

The automaker also added it will suspend the shipment of the affected engines and vehicles using engines supplied by Toyota Industries, including the Land Cruiser 300 and the Hilux.

Shares of Toyota itself gained 3.15% on Monday.

— Lim Hui Jie

Oil prices advanced after missiles launched by Iran-backed militants killed U.S. troops in Jordan.

Global benchmark Brent traded 0.35% higher at $83.84 a barrel Monday, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 0.42% to $78.34 per barrel.

According to the White House, three U.S. service members were killed in an unmanned aerial drone attack on forces stationed in a northeast Jordan outpost near the Syria border on Sunday.

—Lee Ying Shan

Hong Kong-listed shares of Evergrande plunged 12.2% in early trading before being halted on Monday as a Hong Kong court order the liquidation of the Chinese real estate developer.

Once one of the country's largest property developers, Evergrande has been enveloped in the Beijing's debt crisis in recent years.

The world's most indebted property developer defaulted in 2021 and announced an offshore debt restructuring program in March last year.

Before the ruling, the Wall Street Journal reported that Evergrande's overseas creditors failed to reach an 11th-hour deal this weekend to restructure, which could mean an imminent liquidation for the real estate

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Singapore's central bank left its monetary policy unchanged as expected on Monday in its first quarterly monetary policy decision of 2024.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore said it will maintain its exchange rate policy band known as the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate or S$NEER.

"MAS will closely monitor global and domestic economic developments, and remain vigilant to risks to inflation and growth," the central bank said in a policy statement.

The central bank said it expects the country's gross domestic product to improve in 2024, estimating growth between 1% and 3%.

The MAS said core inflation is expected to rise in the current quarter "due in part to the one-off impact of the 1%-point hike in the GST from January this year." Singapore raised its goods and services tax by one percentage point on Jan. 1.

The benchmark Straits Times index edged 0.1% higher in early trading.

Read the full story here.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Tesla's had a bad week. Its earnings missed expectations and its shares experienced the biggest drop in over a year.

What's next for the stock? Kingsley Jones, CIO and founder of boutique advisory firm Jevons Global, gives his take and names three alternatives in the electric vehicle industry.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

While demand for artificial intelligence applications is seeing rapid growth, several non-tech companies are well-positioned to benefit directly from the AI boom over the next few years, according to Scotiabank.

Analysts from the Canadian bank's investment banking division named six stocks that are well-positioned to capitalize on the surging demand.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

The core price consumptions expenditures index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation metric, rose 0.2% in December month over month, matching a Dow Jones estimate. Year over year, core PCE was up 2.9%, slightly less than the 3% forecast.

— Fred Imbert

Market pros have applauded gross domestic product and personal consumption data released this week. But that doesn't mean they're expecting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in the near future.

The two data points painted a picture of an economy that is cooling without being tipped into a recessionary phase, boosting investor optimism.

Still, traders are pricing in a more than 97% likelihood that the central bank leaves interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch tool. And they have forecasted a probability of more than 52% that the cost of borrowing money will be kept the same at the March meeting, a sharp increase from around 17% a month ago.

Friday's PCE data "is clearly market friendly even if it doesn't suggest, at this point, that the Fed lowers rates at the March 20 meeting," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.

However, Krosby said rate cuts are a question of "when" and not "if," adding that the Fed will likely begin lowering interest levels during the May or June meetings.

Carson Group global market strategist Sonu Varghese agreed, saying he expects a series of decreases starting in May.

"The big picture is that the Fed doesn't need to worry that stronger economic growth will stoke inflation because it hasn't," he said.

— Alex Harring

Oil prices are on pace for the best week in months as U.S. economic growth and stimulus in China bolster hopes for more robust demand this year.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for March was last down 93 cents, or 1.2%, to trade at $76.43 a barrel. The Brent contract for March was last trading at $81.64 a barrel, down 79 cents or 0.96%.

But the benchmarks are both up about about 4% for the week, which puts them on pace for their best week since Oct. 13.

The U.S. reported robust economic growth for the fourth quarter at 3.3%, while China is lowering bank reserve requirements to boost growth.

— Spencer Kimball

Tesla shares have plummeted more than 14% this week, putting the electric vehicle maker on pace for its worst weekly performance since October, when it shed 15.6%.

Shares fell more than 12% on Thursday alone, after the company posted disappointing quarterly results after the bell Wednesday and warned of slower growth.

Tesla shares have plummeted more than 26% since the start of January and are headed for their worst monthly performance since December 2022. Shares cratered 36.7% that month.

— Samantha Subin