A snapshot of bike and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 14 April 2023. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — RESULTS RELIEF
Although incessant gibberish about the US inflation and reactive interest rate cycles continues to occupy analysts with nothing better to do, investors are now diverting their attentions to the quarterly corporate results season, many with palpable sighs of relief. Despite the recent banking mini-crisis, some of America’s biggest lenders reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings in the past week. Bank stocks rallied in response, boosting most market indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and blue-chip S&P 500 made fairly tentative respective advances of 0.8% and 1.2%. S&P’s MidCap 400 was firmer, 1.7% up. Only the NASDAQ Composite struggled, adding just 0.3% as many of its techie superstars such as Amazon and Meta faced profit warnings.
Among biker stocks, Harley-Davidson managed to crawl narrowly back into positivity by Friday, after a sharp midweek slump following the surprise resignation of its chief financial officer Gina Goetter. Ideanomics, parent of Italian battery-electric superbike manufacturer Energica, plunged to its lowest point on record, a mere eight cents.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 37.10 | +1.6% | -0.4% |
| Polaris Industries | 107.94 | +4.9% | +1.8% |
| Textron | 68.59 | +1.3% | +3.6% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.08 | -20% | -33.3% |
| Niu Technologies | 3.73 | +1.6% | -6.3% |
| LiveWire | 6.50 | +0.8% | -5.9% |
EUROPE — FOLLOW THE LEADER
On the basis that turmoil in the US banking sector last month had little immediate impact on the profitability of the biggest European lenders (apart from Credit Suisse), banking stocks on this side of the Atlantic rallied too. In Germany, Frankfurt’s blue-chip Dax Performance index closed 1.3% higher and Austria’s Wiener Börse ATX put on 2%. Notable weekly gains included a 4.6% surge for Deutsche Bank shares. Motorcycle-related Teutonic automotive stocks were also beneficiaries.
Further south in Italy, Milan’s FTSE MIB index finished on a 2.4% gain. However, Piaggio’s share price has now hung around or above a four-euro marker for long enough to encourage profit-taking — so its value sank slightly.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 103.68 | +5.1% | +9.3% |
| Volkswagen | 156.95 | +2.7% | N/A |
| Pierer Mobility | 80.00 | +1.8% | +1.4% |
| Piaggio Group | 4.02 | -1% | +7.5% |
JAPAN — WAITING GAME
Generally, Japanese investors are upbeat about forthcoming fiscal year-end and Q1 results. Reflecting that, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index had a very good week, closing 3.5% up. Some circumspection is evident on motorcycling and automotive outcomes, though. While Yamaha, shortly to unveil Q1 numbers, clearly had a reasonable ticket to ride, there was less confidence in the full-fiscal crew. Honda stock flatlined. Suzuki and Kawasaki were weak.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 3477 | N/A | +3.5% |
| Yamaha | 3380 | +2.4% | +6.5% |
| Suzuki | 4651 | -0.2% | +3.1% |
| Kawasaki | 2880 | +0.7% | +5.9% |
INDIA — EQUALITY? A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
After a shortened trading week due to Easter, Indian investors enjoyed another break for Ambedkar Jayanti on 14 April — generally known as “Equality Day” in one of the most unequal countries in the world, dominated by a rigid caste system with more than half its population condemned to living in abject rural poverty.
Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 index only managed a 1% uptick. But indigenous motorcycle producers were consistently positive in anticipation of imminent full-year financial results.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 2447.05 | +1% | +3.9% |
| Bajaj Auto | 4288.35 | +6.3% | +12.4% |
| TVS Motor | 1162.95 | +6% | +11.1% |
| Eicher Motors | 3213.05 | +8.4% | +8% |
| Mahindra | 1204.55 | +2.8% | N/A |
CHINA — LIES, DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS
Chinese export data surprisingly blossomed by 14.8% annualised in March, after five straight months of decline. But analysts were wary about the implications, suggesting this apparently good news was based on factories catching up on a long-term backlog of unfulfilled orders, rather than real growth — and the actual macro outlook is much bleaker.
Investors obviously tended to agree. Although Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite index put on 0.3%, the blue-chip CSI 300 retreated by 0.8%. And out of China’s eleven listed motorcycle producers, seven of them incurred share-price losses.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 22.44 | +0.9% | +0.8% |
| Zongshen | 6.45 | -2.9% | -5% |
| Sundiro | 2.21 | +1.4% | +4.2% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 16.11 | -3.9% | -4.8% |
| Lifan | 3.55 | -3.3% | -5.3% |
| Loncin | 4.91 | -1.8% | -1.2% |
| Linhai | 8.33 | -1.2% | -8.5% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 11.04 | -0.2% | +3% |
| CFMoto | 137.85 | +11.6% | +8.5% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 18.86 | -3.4% | +2.7% |
| Currency: HK dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Jianshe | 4.81 | +4.8% | -0.6% |