A snapshot of motorcycle and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 30 June 2023. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — RALLY ROUND THE FLAG
Wall Street stocks rallied with gusto, on the basis of fresh Federal Reserve data suggesting that US inflation had cooled without initiating an expected recession. All key market indices added value as incentivised investors bought into a surge of optimism.
Best performer was S&P’s MidCap 400, rising by a muscular 4.3%. All four NYSE-listed powersports manufacturers with MidCap ratings — Harley-Davidson, Polaris, Textron and Harley’s LiveWire — were close to or exceeded this average gain. The blue-chip S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average respectively put on 2.3% and 2%. NASDAQ’s tech-oriented Composite finished 2.2% up.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 35.21 | +5.4% | +7.1% |
| Polaris Industries | 120.93 | +4.8% | +4.4% |
| Textron | 67.63 | +4.2% | +5.6% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.073 | -20.7% | +65.9% |
| Niu Technologies | 3.98 | +2.3% | +6.4% |
| LiveWire | 11.81 | +4.8% | +29.4% |
EUROPE — BOUNCES BACK
An upbeat mood spread on this side of the Atlantic too, where the European Central Bank’s latest report on eurozone inflation showed the annualised rate of price growth in June had dropped to 5.5% from 6.1%, tempering ECB eagerness to ramp up interest rates. Inflation in Germany (the eurozone’s largest single economy) went fractionally the other way but that didn’t upset investors unduly.
Market indices featuring motorcycle manufacturers reacted accordingly. The FTSE MIB in Milan, where Piaggio shares reside, took pole position, closing 3.9% up. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax added 2.1% — beaten by BMW while Ducati parent Volkswagen Group lagged behind. The Wiener Börse ATX rose by 3.1%, easily outpaced by KTM parent Pierer Mobility’s home-turf listing.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 112.74 | +3.8% | +6.2% |
| Volkswagen | 153.05 | +1.5% | +1.9% |
| Pierer Mobility | 77.40 | +5.7% | +4.9% |
| Piaggio Group | 3.81 | +2.4% | +3.8% |
JAPAN — YEN INTERVENTION IMMINENT?
The Japanese yen weakened once again, and rumours grew that unprecedented central bank support for the currency may finally emerge. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2% on the back of that and three out of the four indigenous motorcycle makers benefited to greater degrees. Inexplicably, Honda misfired on the grid.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 4333 | -0.3% | +6.9% |
| Yamaha | 4108 | +2.6% | +15.7% |
| Suzuki | 5214 | +4.4% | +12.6% |
| Kawasaki | 3672 | +3.8% | +20.8% |
INDIA — BREAKING RECORDS BRIEFLY
Led by tech stocks and US pressure for a generalised move by tech-oriented manufacturers to transfer production from China to India, Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 market index briefly touched a record high and finished the week 2.8% ahead.
Investors scrambled to buy shares in every promising sector, which inevitably lifted prospects for the country’s five major motorcycle producers in parallel.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 2910.10 | +4.8% | +0.6% |
| Bajaj Auto | 4691.55 | +1.5% | +0.5% |
| TVS Motor | 1325.65 | +2.2% | +1.5% |
| Eicher Motors | 3580.10 | +1.2% | -3.2% |
| Mahindra | 1453.60 | +5.9% | +8.4% |
CHINA — REDS IN THE RED
Chinese manufacturing activity contracted for a third consecutive month in June, with no sign of really drastic measures from Beijing’s communist masters to tackle the slowdown. Separate data illustrated how exports had shrunk by 7.5% year-on-year in May. China is now targeting GDP growth of just 5% this year, its lowest official estimate in decades.
Against such a feeble background, market indices struggled for traction. Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite closed a mere 0.1% up while the blue-chip CSI 300 fell by 0.6%. However, motorcycle industry players made the best of a bad job. Nine out of the eleven biker listings ended positive.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 18.23 | +1.1% | -1% |
| Zongshen | 7.08 | +4.4% | +6.3% |
| Sundiro | 2.50 | -3.5% | +5% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 14.94 | -2.9% | +5.8% |
| Lifan | 3.57 | +1.4% | +4.7% |
| Loncin | 5.28 | +3.3% | +10.2% |
| Linhai | 9.36 | +3.9% | +10.9% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 10.42 | +0.5% | +0.6% |
| CFMoto | 161.90 | +0.5% | +12.7% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 16.81 | +4.2% | -2.9% |
| Currency:Â HK dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Jianshe | 4.74 | +1.9% | +6.8% |