—— Uber Operating Profit Surges Past $1bn; China Economy Growth Picks Up; US Inflation Rate Drops to 2.1% in September; PBOC Injects $70bn into Money Market; China New Home Sale Surges in October; Microsoft Azure Growth Slows and Shares Tank; Meta Revenue Beats Forecast while Loss Widens
1. Uber Operating Profit Surges Past $1bn
Uber Technologies Inc. reported lower-than-expected ride bookings and offered a modest forecast for the holiday quarter, despite achieving a record operating profit. This led to an early drop in its stock price.
The company announced an operating income of $1.06 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, surpassing expectations for a metric that only turned positive last year.
While Uber set a new profit record, it faced challenges from currency exchange fluctuations, impacting its rideshare sector. Total gross bookings, which include ride hails, delivery orders, and driver and merchant earnings (excluding tips), reached $41 billion for the third quarter, slightly below Uber’s guidance range midpoint.
Analysts had anticipated $41.2 billion, according to Bloomberg estimates.
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2. China Economy Growth Picks Up
China’s economy showed signs of stabilization following Beijing’s most aggressive stimulus actions since the pandemic, although uncertainty lingers with the approaching U.S. election.
In October, factory activity unexpectedly grew after five months of decline, with the National Bureau of Statistics reporting that the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 50.1, surpassing economists’ forecast of 49.9. The non-manufacturing PMI indicated growth in construction and services, following a period of minimal change in the prior month.
Chinese stocks were volatile Thursday morning, with the CSI 300 Index rising as much as 0.9% after an earlier 0.8% drop. The offshore yuan remained stable, and yields on China’s 10-year government bonds held at 2.16%.
These PMI surveys are the first official economic indicators post-September, when China enacted significant interest rate cuts and introduced measures to support the housing market. This uptick occurred despite October having fewer working days due to a weeklong holiday.
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3. US Inflation Rate Drops to 2.1% in September
The Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of core U.S. inflation saw its largest monthly increase since April, strengthening the case for a more cautious approach to future interest rate cuts following September’s significant reduction.
The core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in September, and 2.7% year-over-year, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Overall inflation came in at 2.1%, its lowest level since early 2021 and just above the Fed’s 2% target.
Inflation-adjusted consumer spending increased by 0.4%, driven by a 0.1% rise in real incomes, while the savings rate dropped to 4.6%.
These data round off a month of unexpectedly strong economic reports, suggesting the Fed may take a cautious stance on further rate cuts. The Fed is expected to approve a second rate cut at its Nov. 6-7 policy meeting, following the initial cut in September.
Following the report, stock futures and the dollar remained lower, with Treasury yields largely unchanged.
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4. PBOC Injects $70bn into Money Market
China’s central bank injected $70 billion into money markets this month through a newly introduced policy tool, aiming to alleviate liquidity strains in the economy and spur bank lending.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) completed 500 billion yuan in “outright reverse repurchase agreements” in October to maintain sufficient liquidity in the banking system, it announced Thursday. These agreements have a six-month term.
This marks the first disclosure of the PBOC using this tool, introduced earlier in the week. The program enables the central bank to buy various securities from primary dealers for up to one year, including sovereign bonds, local government notes, and corporate debt.
This tool addresses a gap in the central bank’s liquidity-injection options, providing a longer-term alternative to the current seven-day reverse repo.
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5. China New Home Sale Surges in October
China’s residential property sales saw their first year-on-year increase of 2024 in October, driven by the government’s latest stimulus efforts, which helped rekindle buyer interest.
New-home sales by the 100 largest real estate firms grew by 7.1% year-over-year to 435.5 billion yuan ($61.2 billion), a sharp turnaround from a 37.7% drop in September, based on preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp. Month-on-month, sales surged by 73%.
This recovery followed China’s strongest set of measures yet, including cuts to borrowing costs on existing mortgages, loosened purchase restrictions in major cities, and reduced downpayment requirements.
Home sales spiked during the week-long National Day holiday, supported by more promotions from developers.
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6. Microsoft Azure Growth Slows and Shares Tank
Microsoft Corp. shares declined in extended trading after the company projected slower growth in cloud revenue for the upcoming quarter, indicating challenges in expanding data centers rapidly enough to meet AI-driven demand.
For the current period, sales from Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business are expected to grow by 31% to 32%, executives announced on a call following the first-quarter earnings report. This marks a slight slowdown from the previous quarter’s 34% adjusted growth, itself down from 35%.
This cautious forecast came after an otherwise positive earnings report, with Microsoft posting a 16% increase in first-quarter revenue, reaching $65.6 billion, and a profit of $3.30 per share — both exceeding expectations.
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7. Meta Revenue Beats Forecast while Loss Widens
Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to intensify investments in AI and other advanced technologies, maintaining the ongoing balance between the company’s long-term projects and its core advertising business, which generates the majority of Meta’s revenue.
Zuckerberg cautioned investors on Wednesday that Meta will continue to allocate substantial funds toward infrastructure and projects like the metaverse and AI-enhanced glasses, which he views as crucial to the company’s future. This will rely on the ad business, though it has yet to deliver the momentum expected by Wall Street.\
As a result, Meta’s shares dropped over 4% in premarket trading on Thursday, after closing 0.25% lower at $591.80 on Wednesday.
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本文内容来自《Financial Times》、《Bloomberg》，以及《The Real Deal》等多家财经新闻媒体。