A snapshot of motorcycle and ATV industry share performance across key manufacturers and major global markets at the trading week closure on Friday 16 June 2023. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
USA — HAPPIER DAYS
The latest US consumer price index report flagged headline inflation falling to an annualised 4% in May, its lowest level since March 2021. Investors immediately anticipated the end of regular Federal Reserve interest rate increases and Wall Street stocks rallied in response.
Market indices therefore closed consistently upbeat. S&P 500 blue-chips were 2.6% up, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by a more staid 1.2%. S&P’s MidCap 400 put on 1.5% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite flaunted a much bigger 3.2% hike.
Biker stocks were all positive to varying degrees. But Harley-Davidson is still struggling to climb back up past a 35-buck watershed. Its latest hindrance is another bout of production downtime owing to parts shortages, with Harley’s biggest plant in York, Pennsylvania, shuttered for much of the past two weeks — threatening dealer inventories as the peak sales season approaches.
| Currency: dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Harley-Davidson | 34.35 | +1.8% | +5.7% |
| Polaris Industries | 121.28 | +3.8% | +14.7% |
| Textron | 66.65 | +2.1% | +3.4% |
| Ideanomics (Energica) | 0.082 | +46.4% | +78.3% |
| Niu Technologies | 4.29 | -0.9% | +5.4% |
| LiveWire | 10.06 | +0.1% | +43.9% |
EUROPE — NOT SO CHEERFUL
After eurozone stocks weathered most of the week in a bright mood, market indices managed to conceal a painful impact. Both the Dax Performance in Frankfurt and Milan’s FTSE MIB nevertheless finished 2.6% higher. However, the European Central Bank had lifted its deposit rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.5% on Thursday, thoroughly spoiling the trading session with a brief but vicious sell-off.
An ECB spokesperson asserted once again the official view that inflation “will be too high for too long” and won’t return to target for at least the next two years. Gloomy investors have been told to expect another quarter-point rate increase in July and monthly doses of punishment to continue for the foreseeable future. The only solace for our European cousins is the far worse interest burden already being inflicted upon unlucky British people by Bank of England incompetence. You can hear them laughing into their sauerkraut and spaghetti.
| Currency: euro | Price | Week | Month |
| BMW | 111.72 | +3.4% | +7.9% |
| Volkswagen | 159.85 | +2.5% | +7% |
| Pierer Mobility | 75.00 | -0.5% | -1.8% |
| Piaggio Group | 3.77 | +1.9% | +0.8% |
JAPAN — DIFFERENT RULES
In a decidedly topsy-turvy manner of doing sums, the Bank of Japan kept its interest rate on hold at minus 0.1%, despite Japanese inflation rising above the central bank’s target of 2%. Market confidence therefore blossomed, and indices firmed up nicely. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stacked on a healthy 4.5%. Without exception, indigenous motorcycle manufacturers grew in value for a second consecutive week.
| Currency: yen | Price | Week | Month |
| Honda | 4462 | +5% | +14.2% |
| Yamaha | 3958 | +4.3% | +16.9% |
| Suzuki | 5048 | +0.1% | +7.8% |
| Kawasaki | 3538 | +3.5% | +25.2% |
INDIA — CASINO ECONOMICS
Equities-trading turmoil, engendered by the Reserve Bank of India refusing to slacken tight monetary conditions, calmed down to some extent. Mumbai’s BSE Sensex stock index returned to full-week positivity, if somewhat restrained to a rise of 1.2%.
However, sell-off bursts by disgruntled investors profit-taking didn’t stop altogether. There can be no other explanation for the falling share prices of leading bike producers Hero, Bajaj and Royal Enfield parent Eicher against a background of their currently soaring sales.
| Currency: rupee | Price | Week | Month |
| Hero MotoCorp | 2832.05 | -2.3% | +4.4% |
| Bajaj Auto | 4641.95 | -2.1% | +3.5% |
| TVS Motor | 1352.85 | +1.3% | +9.1% |
| Eicher Motors | 3538.90 | -1.2% | -0.9% |
| Mahindra | 1403.85 | +2.4% | +11.4% |
CHINA — THE TOUGH GET GOING
People’s Bank of China apparatchiks finally pulled their collective commie fingers out and initiated a raft of measures to tackle stumbling Chinese economic recovery. The PBoC began by lowering its short-term lending rate to businesses on Monday. Then central banker courage accelerated on Thursday with a significant cut to its medium-term policy rate too.
Suddenly awash with cheaper investment cash, markets rallied mightily. The blue-chip CSI 300 spanning Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges surged by 3.3%. And the Hang Seng China Enterprises index, which tracks mainland Chinese enterprises listed in Hong Kong, wasn’t far behind. Action on Shanghai’s all-share SSE Composite was a bit more circumspect, 1.3% up. But the vast majority of typically SSE-listed biker stocks went along for the ride. Sole party pooper was Sunra electric scooter parent Xinri.
| Currency: yuan | Price | Week | Month |
| Qianjiang | 18.94 | +5.4% | -2.6% |
| Zongshen | 6.84 | +5.1% | +1.9% |
| Sundiro | 2.64 | +10% | +15.3% |
| CETC (Jialing) | 14.43 | +5.6% | +0.7% |
| Lifan | 3.53 | +6.3% | +1.4% |
| Loncin | 5.15 | +9.1% | +11% |
| Linhai | 9.21 | +10.3% | +4.8% |
| Guangzhou Auto | 10.40 | +0.7% | +0.5% |
| CFMoto | 155.21 | +0.4% | +14.7% |
| Xinri E-Vehicle | 16.30 | -1.8% | -9% |
| Currency: HK dollar | Price | Week | Month |
| Jianshe | 4.48 | +0.4% | -3% |