A snapshot of bike and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 22 July 2022. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — OPTIMISM TEMPORARILY PREVAILS
For much of the week, Wall Street investors and analysts were factoring in a common view that the US Federal Reserve was likely to scale back its monetary policy to fend off a recession, rather than focusing on higher interest rates to tackle inflation. So market indices climbed steadily. Then a series of weak purchasing managers’ surveys from both sides of the Atlantic emerged, driving worries about the global economic outlook.
The blue-chip S&P 500 index and Dow Jones Industrial Average therefore lost some of their strong early advances to close respectively 2.5% and 2% up. S&P’s MidCap 400 managed to hang onto more of its initial gains to finish 4% ahead.
HOGOMETER
Harley-Davidson shares followed this pattern, rising relentlessly by 1.3% on Monday, 4.5% on Tuesday and 2.3% on Wednesday. But having comfortably passed the 35-buck mark, confidence began to fade on Thursday, with only marginal 0.1% positivity. Then the price declined abruptly by 2% on Friday.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 34.61 | +6.3% | +5.5% |
| Polaris Industries | 114.08 | +5.8% | +6.1% |
| Textron | 63.83 | +6.1% | +5.3% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.70 | -1.4% | -10.3% |
EUROPE — RATE RISE LIFTS MOOD
European Central Bank dominatrix Christine Lagarde finally untwisted her knickers and raised the eurozone base interest rate out of negative territory to counter inflation. Mighty cheers could be heard throughout Germany in response. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax index stacked on a muscular 3% and all three biker-related Teutonic stocks gained ground.
However, some of those cheers came from trades union representatives and leading shareholders on Volkswagen’s supervisory board, who had successfully given the bum’s rush to their controversial chief executive Herbert Diess. Applause may have been evident in the Italian city of Bologna too, emanating from the Ducati factory — which Diess had been rather keen on selling throughout his tenure at VW.
The rest of Italy had other things to worry about, principally the resignation of technocrat prime minister Mario Draghi after his coalition government collapsed, causing the Borsa Italiana’s MIB index in Milan to plunge midweek. But the ECB anti-inflationary move’s popularity ensured a swift MIB rebound to close 1.3% up. Piaggio shares did much better than the average.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 77.10 | +2.6% | +2.9% |
| Volkswagen | 190.50 | +3.3% | +5.3% |
| Pierer Mobility | 63.10 | +1.8% | -2.6% |
| Piaggio Group | 2.42 | +5.7% | +5.2% |
JAPAN — REVVING UP
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index strengthened considerably, adding 4.2% to a previous weekly advance. And despite concerns about supply-chain and logistics disruption for leading automotive industry players — Honda was among those cutting back car production in the past month owing to component shortages — analysts are now predicting an end is in sight for microchip shortages.
Bike manufacturers share performance was consistently positive. Unsubstantiated rumours that Suzuki is on the cusp of withdrawing from large-capacity motorcycle production, to concentrate on the mobility sector and electrification, have had no impact on its share price.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 3468 | +2.8% | +4.5% |
| Yamaha | 2589 | +5.3% | -0.2% |
| Suzuki | 4424 | +2.2% | +4.9% |
| Kawasaki | 2584 | +5.4% | +1.2% |
INDIA — INVESTMENT TARGET
Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 stock index climbed by 4.3%, in an extraordinary week that saw foreign investors piling into Indian equities to the tune of £693.6bn, according to Reuters business news feed. Motorcycle producers, enjoying rapid sales recovery, are reportedly a popular target for this capital flow.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 2870.85 | +2.5% | +4% |
| Bajaj Auto | 4054.50 | +3.6% | +6.3% |
| TVS Motor | 885.75 | +1.6% | +10.9% |
| Eicher Motors | 3147.60 | +3.7% | +9.4% |
| Mahindra | 1181.10 | +0.7% | +10.2% |
CHINA — SPLASHING THE CASH
Chinese government-sponsored commercial lenders have begun pouring money into infrastructure and industrial development projects, in a concerted attempt to restore economic growth.
After a battering in the previous week, Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite returned to positivity with a 1.3% rise, although the blue-chip CSI 300 index stayed marginally in the red by 0.2%.
SSE-listed bike producers bounced back firmly, just two out of eleven recording losses. The dunces were Honda JV partner Guangzhou Auto and Yamaha affiliate Jianshe.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 18.46 | +15.4% | -7.6% |
| Zongshen | 6.81 | +2.3% | +12% |
| Sundiro | 2.36 | N/A | +10.3% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 12.02 | +18.4% | +5.7% |
| Lifan | 5.16 | +3.2% | -9.8% |
| Loncin | 4.88 | +9.9% | -1.4% |
| Linhai | 8.84 | +8.9% | +0.5% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 15.28 | -4.9% | -12.5% |
| CFMoto | 127.85 | +11.1% | +2.1% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 21.05 | +21.8% | +34.4% |
| Currency:Â HK dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Jianshe | 4.98 | -6% | -3.3% |