From Nasdaq MarketSite:

Today in Asia-Pacific, markets finished the day mixed with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng down 0.34%, Japan’s Nikkei down 0.11%, and India’s SENSEX flat, down 0.05%. Australia’s ASX All Ordinaries advanced 0.54%, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 1.30%, and China’s Shanghai Composite extended gains 1.44%. European markets are mostly lower, and U.S. equity futures are pointing flat to slightly lower. In economic news, China’s vehicle sales rose 47.9% to 2.44 million units in January 2024. Additionally, domestic economy details reveal in the last quarter of 2023, vehicle owners fell a month or more behind on auto loan payments at an annualized rate of 7.7%, the highest rate since 2010. Furthermore, the average auto loan rate for a new car was 9.2% in December, and 13.8% for a used car loan. On the markets, equities had an overall positive day, with leadership from Materials (1.77%) and Real Estate (1.52%). Broad indexes were all higher, led by small caps with the Russell 2000 posting a 0.85% gain, the Dow rising 0.37%, the S&P 500 adding 0.23% and the Nasdaq Composite coming up 0.07%. Furthermore, here’s how the major market indicators stack up year-to-date: Dow Jones Industrial Average: 2.21%, S&P 500: 3.87%, Nasdaq Composite: 3.98%, and Russell 2000: -3.62%. In other news, Visa (V) shares fell 5% after the credit card firm reported earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street forecasts. EPS came in at $1.75, $0.11 above the consensus, while revenue hit $7.9 billion, ahead of the $7.66 billion market forecast. For fiscal year 2022, Visa sees EPS rising in the low double-digits range on a percent basis, an acceleration from its FY 2021 …



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