Asia markets, Apple suppliers, Australia GDP

Australia’s economy grew 0.2% quarter over quarter in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The reading was driven by government expenditure and private business investment. It was also slightly below a Reuters poll estimate of a 0.3% rise.

“Growth was steady in December, but slowed across each quarter in 2023,” Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, said.

“Government spending and private business investment were the main drivers of GDP growth this quarter.”

Real GDP in the twelve months through December was 1.5%, slightly above a Reuters poll forecast of a 1.4% increase.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korea’s inflation rate rose for the first time in three months to come in at 3.1%, higher than the 2.8% in January and also more than the 2.9% expected by a Reuters poll.

The country’s core inflation rate, which strips out prices of food and energy, came in at 2.5%.

South Korea’s central bank was the first major central bank to stop its rate hikes early in 2023, holding its base rate in 3.5%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Nvidia may have enjoyed a red-hot run on the back of the artificial intelligence craze, but many other tech stocks have also benefited.

As with any investing theme, diversification is needed.

Veteran tech investor Paul Meeks told CNBC Pro that even if Nvidia is a “great story,” it’s “too risky to be in just one” when it comes to AI.

Plus, one analyst names two startups that could be the next Nvidia.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Crude oil futures edged lower Tuesday as China’s pledged to boost economic growth and OPEC+ decision to extend its production cuts fell flat with traders.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for April shed 59 cents, or 0.75%, to settle at $78.15 a barrel. May Brent futures lost 76 cents, or 0.92%, to settle at $82.04 a barrel.

The Beijing government on Tuesday set an economic growth target of about 5% for 2024 and announced the issuance of $138.9 billion in “ultra-long” special treasury bonds to fund major projects.

OPEC and its allies, OPEC+, agreed on Sunday to extend crude production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day through the second quarter.

— Spencer Kimball

Weighed down by brewing overseas troubles, shares of Tesla slid nearly 5% by early afternoon during Tuesday’s trading session.

The electric vehicle maker’s losses were compounded by declining sales in China.

“Tesla’s China-made vehicle sales of ~60.4k vehicles were down 19% YoY in February from ~74.5k vehicles in the prior year, according to the China Passenger Car Association,” wrote Deutsche Bank analyst Emmanuel Rosner in a Tuesday note.

However, the analyst supplied the caveat that these weak headline numbers were not solely limited to Tesla.

The company also faced a shutdown at a Berlin factory following a suspected arson attack. Production is not expected to resume this week, according to Tesla’s Berlin factory head, as reported by Reuters.

Bitcoin climbed to an all-time high on Tuesday, topping $69,000 and breaking a previous record set in 2021. The cryptocurrency hit a high around $69,210, according to Coin Metrics. It was last up about 1% at $68,307. The move comes amid excitement around bitcoin ETFs and the upcoming halving event.