SHARE PRICES AND MARKET ANALYSIS

A snapshot of bike and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 3 March 2023. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.

USA — MORE GRASPING FOR STRAWS

Despite a generally firm view that heightened interest rates are here to stay for the foreseeable future, US investor sentiment continued to yo-yo on the slightest excuse. Nevertheless, the end result for market indices at Friday’s close of play was consistently positive.

Evening out daily fluctuations, the blue-chip S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average respectively finished on 1.9% and 1.7% advances. S&P’s MidCap 400 split the difference, rising by 1.8%. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite did best, boasting a 2.6% lift.

Petrolhead biker stocks struggled to keep up with intermittent flashs of optimism. Electric opposition fared worst, as both Energica parent Ideanomics and Harley’s LiveWire indulgence were resoundingly punished.

EUROPE — COMBUSTION CONQUEST

Bouncing back from the previous week’s gloom afflicting European investors, eurozone market indices swung into gear with gusto. In Teutonic climes, both Frankfurt’s Dax Performance yardstick and the Wiener Börse ATX in Austria put on 2.4%. Further south, the. FTSE MIB in Milan made a 3.1% gain.

Sudden distancing from EU policies on enforced vehicle electrification by 2035, as transport ministries in Berlin and Rome climbed on the biofuel bandwagon to preserve mass automotive industry employment instead, was the driving force. Most notably, Volkswagen Group’s new-found enthusiasm for rejecting any internal combustion engine abolition date earned it a double-digit percentage share price surge.

Ironically, Piaggio went the other way. But that was purely down to a spot of profit-taking. The company’s excellent full-year financial results, announced on Thursday 2 March, initially spiked its share price upwards past the four euro mark — thereby effectively doubling value since last autumn. That presented an opportunity too good to miss. So there was a minor sell-off on Friday as disloyal Italian speculators cashed in their chips.

JAPAN — ALL QUIET ON THE EASTERN FRONT

The furore about a new Bank of Japan governor armed with new and potentially destabilising monetary policy petered out rapidly. In response, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock index rose by a useful 1.7%. Returning confidence benefited all four indigenous motorcycle manufacturers, their gains beating the market average without exception.

INDIA — CHANGE THE SUBJECT?

Aftershocks from India’s vast Adani Group scandal, which briefly wiped more than £100bn of its value, continued to suck confidence out of the Mumbai investment community. Although Dalal Street’s BSE Sensex 30 share index managed to recover 0.6% positivity in the past week, activity was muted. All five major listed motorcycle manufacturers incurred losses.

CHINA — JAM TOMORROW

The Beijing government announced sweeping changes in its top economic advisory team, loaded with promises of intervention to boost recovery and global export hegemony. So market indices enjoyed a second consecutive week of positivity.

Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite and the blue-chip CSI 300 achieved respective 1.9% and 1.7% gains. However, six of the eleven listed Chinese motorcycle producers suffered retreats.