A snapshot of bike and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 25 November 2022. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — PARTY POOPED
American investors were looking forward to the relaxation of a week punctuated by mass roast turkey consumption during Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday and only a very brief trading session on Friday. But their reverie was spoilt by release of the S&P Global US purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for November. This fell to a three-month low, indicating that deterioration of business conditions had worsened dramatically.
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence chief economist Chris Williamson, the increased decline of both output and demand is now “consistent with the US economy contracting at an annualised rate of 1%.”
Nevertheless, market indices managed to retain some earlier gains, thanks to coincidence with the holiday interruption in trading activity. The blue-chip S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average respectively finished 1.5% and 1.7% up. S&P’s MidCap 400 held onto a 2% rise. But the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite managed only a weaker 0.7% gain.
Traditional US motorcycle-related stocks remained positive too, although Harley-Davidson clung on marginally with the most puny performance. Their electrified biker bedfellows were unremittingly negative.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 47.71 | +0.3% | +32.9% |
| Polaris Industries | 112.38 | +1.7% | +21.2% |
| Textron | 71.48 | +2% | +13.6% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.242 | -8.7% | -6.9% |
| Niu Technologies | 3.27 | -7.1% | +3.8% |
| LiveWire | 5.80 | -0.2% | -24.6% |
EUROPE — SAME SAD STORY
November PMI reports for the eurozone area also pointed to a continued slowdown in business activity. And a Barclays Bank analyst noted to clients that they were “consistent with a meaningful recession” throughout Europe.
Market indices clung to a degree of positivity, but not by much. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax rose by 0.8% while the FTSE MIB in Milan delivered a feeble 0.3% lift. Among biker-associated listings, only BMW stayed shiny side up by the narrowest of margins. KTM parent Pierer Mobility took a hammering — perhaps an indicator of investor disapproval for its recent financial fondling of Russian-owned luxury bike brand MV Agusta.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 83.96 | +0.1% | +8.4% |
| Volkswagen | 183.05 | -2.7% | +7.8% |
| Pierer Mobility | 57.80 | -9.8% | N/A |
| Piaggio Group | 2.76 | N/A | +22.7% |
JAPAN — NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES
Political turmoil engulfed Japan after public support for Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida slumped to a new low, following the resignation of three of his cabinet ministers. Corporate commentators were tight-lipped as events began to unfold and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was unsullied for the time being, 1.1% up at close of play on Friday. However, biker stock values slid and only Honda remained in positive territory.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 3370 | +0.9% | +3.5% |
| Yamaha | 3360 | -1.8% | +12.1% |
| Suzuki | 5012 | -1.5% | +8.6% |
| Kawasaki | 2888 | -1.1% | +20.9% |
INDIA — BRIGHTEST SPARK?
Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 stock index maintained unusually modest movements for yet another week, adding just 1%, in a climate of circumspection about economic buoyancy. Mahindra, which is piling into electrification faster than peers, continued to benefit accordingly. Lamentably late arrival of born-again BSA petrolhead swansong products on its key European market seems to have had no impact.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 2708.15 | -0.5% | +5.4% |
| Bajaj Auto | 3640.25 | +0.3% | -0.8% |
| TVS Motor | 1037.45 | -4.1% | -9.1% |
| Eicher Motors | 3414.10 | +0.7% | -5.9% |
| Mahindra | 1260.80 | +2.7% | +0.3% |
CHINA — DANCING THE COVID TWO-STEP
China’s much-vaunted reduction in repressive zero-Covid lockdown measures, in the interests of promoting desperately needed economic recovery, proved to be one of the shortest-lived Chinese policy reforms on record. Without any large-scale vaccination programme in place, infections promptly soared, and government officials became panic-stricken. Provincial capitals Shijiazhuang and Guangzhou (a major automotive and motorcycle industry hub) promptly tore up their moderation hymn sheet and re-imposed severe lockdowns to limit the spread of new cases.
In response, previously improving stock market indices went into reverse. Shanghai’s SSE Composite dropped back to a mere 0.1% positivity while the blue-chip CSI 300 copped a 0.8% loss. Seven of the eleven listed Chinese motorcycle producers fell in valuation.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 20.76 | -5.3% | -0.7% |
| Zongshen | 6.30 | -1.7% | -2% |
| Sundiro | 2.43 | -0.8% | -6.5% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 14.51 | -6.3% | +14% |
| Lifan | 4.17 | -2.1% | -6.5% |
| Loncin | 5.35 | -4.1% | +5.1% |
| Linhai | 10.15 | +15.2% | +24.1% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 11.53 | -1.2% | -7.2% |
| CFMoto | 132.20 | +2.8% | -11.8% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 20.46 | +1.6% | -10.7% |
| Currency: HK dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Jianshe | 5.08 | +1.6% | -4.2% |