A snapshot of motorcycle and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 19 July 2024. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — REBOOT REQUIRED
The past week’s share trading pretty much everywhere was sabotaged by the biggest IT outage in history. Worldwide users of Microsoft Windows operating systems saw their screens go blank, after a routine security software update by US tech company Crowdstrike misfired dramatically. Those dependent on Apple’s more robust OS thought the whole episode was hilarious, given they were entirely unaffected.
Nevertheless, the global impact was extremely expensive. And the extent to which investors incurred losses was visible through retreating US market indices. NASDAQ’s Composite was hardest hit, closing 3.6% down, and the blue-chip S&P 500 finished 2% in arrears. S&P’s MidCap 400 held up better, still benefiting from a judicious move out of top-dollar tech stocks towards smaller and more sensible manufacturing investments, but was negative by 0.2%. Only the Dow Jones Industrial Average escaped, 0.7% up at Friday afternoon’s NYSE bell.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 34.50 | +1.1% | +2.5% |
| Polaris Industries | 85.31 | +3.9% | +8.3% |
| Textron | 90.33 | +2% | +4.1% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.64 | -27.3% | -26.4% |
| Niu Technologies | 2.02 | -9.8% | +9.7% |
| LiveWire | 7.87 | +1.4% | +9% |
EUROPE — DON’T PANIC!
Although the outage wasn’t a malicious cyber attack, it had a similar effect, coinciding with the beginning of Europe’s holiday season. Airline flight booking computers throughout the continent flickered and died, as did share trading platforms and their associated electronic indices. The cancellation of hundreds of flights and an immense backlog of suitcase squatters cluttering up departure lounges ruined a lot of vacations. Inevitably, fragile investor confidence was easily assailed.
In Teutonic territory, Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax fell by 3.1%, while biker-related BMW and Volkswagen automotive stocks sank by slightly greater margins. The Wiener Börse ATX in Austria closed 1.1% down, as KTM parent Pierer Mobility shares doubled that retreat. In Italy, Milan’s FTSE MIB recorded a 1.2% loss, although Piaggio dodged the bullet.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 89.22 | -3.3% | +2.2% |
| Volkswagen | 111.10 | -3.8% | -1.1% |
| Pierer Mobility | 30.80 | -2.3% | +5.5% |
| Piaggio Group | 2.71 | +0.3% | -3.9% |
JAPAN — GLOBAL REACH
The outage’s knock-on was truly impressive. Japanese knee-jerk reaction saw Tokyo and Osaka’s key Nikkei 225 stock index on the receiving end of a 2.7% loss, with Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha sliding in value. Mysteriously, Kawasaki stock prospered.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 1664.5 | -2.3% | +0.3% |
| Yamaha | 1544.5 | -1% | +3.6% |
| Suzuki | 1833.5 | -2.5% | +0.9% |
| Kawasaki | 6235 | +8.9% | +9.5% |
INDIA — NO IMMUNITY
Indian airports were also clogged with grounded flights and investors deeply perturbed by unfounded cyber attack rumours. Mumbai’s BSE Sensex 30 and NSE Nifty 50 indices flatlined, adding negligible 0.1% gains in unison. For biker stocks, this discomfort delivered an almost clean sweep of losses, deftly dodged by Mahindra. (Never forget it’s also the world’s biggest agricultural tractor manufacturer and making motorcycles is a hobby.)
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 5427.70 | -2.1% | -0.4% |
| Bajaj Auto | 9386.05 | -0.5% | -2.3% |
| TVS Motor | 2404.55 | -1.4% | -1.3% |
| Eicher Motors | 4850.70 | -0.2% | +0.1% |
| Mahindra | 2749.30 | +1.7% | -3.2% |
CHINA — ORDERED TO GO SHOPPING?
Shambolic computer outages didn’t seem to touch China. But while its exports continue to recover, the Chinese Communist Party’s deputy director for financial and economic affairs Han Wenxiu has noticed that his country lacks effective domestic and consumer demand.
“We need to introduce and implement more robust and effective macro-economic policies,” he told delegates at media briefing, which followed an otherwise opaque Communist Party quinquennial policy meeting. However, motorcycle industry investors didn’t translate this message into an exhortation to ramp up consumption by Chinese bikers. Share prices for six of China’s ten listed motorcycle producers promptly fell.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 14.71 | -6.8% | -13.4% |
| Zongshen | 9.55 | -9.4% | -21.1% |
| Sundiro | 3.02 | +5.9% | +1% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 11.03 | +6.2% | -1.2% |
| Lifan | 4.30 | +2.6% | +28.3% |
| Loncin | 6.06 | -7.6% | -14.2% |
| Linhai | 6.37 | -7% | -8.8% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 7.96 | +1.5% | -2.5% |
| CFMoto | 146.70 | -0.9% | -7.6% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 9.10 | -5.7% | -18.2% |