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 21 April 2023. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.

USA — OUTLOOK DECLINES

The US quarterly corporate results season finally got into full swing. But early better-than-expected figures, particularly from the banking sector, soon petered out and the worry-beads started clicking frantically all over Wall Street. Investor concern about the durability of this year’s rally in share prices, the increasing chance of a US recession and decidedly mixed earnings statements from companies that had previously been seen as safe bets all conspired to sour the mood.

Inevitably, market indices lost direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and blue-chip S&P 500 both closed with minor retreats, respectively 0.2% and 0.1% down. S&P’s MidCap 400 managed to stay narrowly positive, 0.4% up. But the NASDAQ Composite fell by 0.4%.

Warning signals from various analysts (some more reliable than others) suggested Harley-Davidson may be about to reveal a Q1 profits slump. But the likelihood of that paled into insignificance compared with the woes of Ideanomics, a NASDAQ-listed US private equity firm specialising in green transport solutions — and majority shareholder in Italian electric superbike manufacturer Energica. Its already weak share price was slashed in half to just four cents.

EUROPE — INCREASINGLY RAGGED NERVES

Similarly shrinking confidence about earnings outcomes and the underlying strength of equities pervaded European investors too. Although the blue-chip Dax Performance index monitoring corporate health on Frankfurt’s börse managed to cling onto 0.5% positivity, German automotive stocks took a spanking — although that had more to do with Tesla discounting vehicle prices and therefore making their own electric saloon car offerings less attractive, rather than respective motorcycling side-lines. Austria’s ATX index on the Wiener Börse finished 0.1% down while KTM parent Pierer bucked any negative trend.

However, the recent winning streak for Milan’s FTSE MIB index hit tilt, closing 0.5% in arrears. And Piaggio reflected this reversal through a second consecutive weekly loss.

JAPAN — LOOKING BOTH WAYS

Japanese sentiment became steadily more febrile as the week progressed and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index clung onto only 0.3% positivity. Growing fear factors came from US recessionary risk directly impacting Japan’s exporters and Washington’s technology-restrictive threats aimed at subverting Chinese economic recovery. Indigenous motorcycle manufacturers, all on the cusp of announcing quarterly results, weren’t seriously impacted.

INDIA — FOLLOWING A FINE LINE

Sitting on the fence of ever more severe global pressures from all directions is starting to distress Indian investors, who are gradually realising they cannot be friends with everybody. So, Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 index retreated by 1.3% as trading volumes were tempered. Share-price movements for local motorcycle manufacturing majors were typically tentative.

CHINA — RUNNING SCARED

China’s CSI 300 index covering Shanghai and Shenzhen blue-chip stocks finished on Friday by suffering its biggest daily slide since last October, 2% down in a single session and a weekly loss of 1.5%. Even though stronger than anticipated Chinese growth figures had been released on Tuesday, big-league investors initiated this sell-off in reaction to fears that the intensified restrictions by the US and its allies on access to microchip and related tech was going to grievously damage recovery prospects.

Ordinary riffraff quoted on Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite index fell by the lesser average punishment of 1.1%. Losers included almost every biker stock. Sole exceptions were a flatline finish for Honda affiliate Sundiro and a trend-bucking splash for KTM’s best chum CFMoto.