Asia’s busiest earnings week puts tech, consumer shares in focus

ASIA’S busiest earnings week is offering investors an early test of whether the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) is yielding real profits and if consumer demand is showing signs of a more sustainable recovery.

About 180 companies of the 1,200-odd members of the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index, including Chinese technology heavyweights Meituan, Xiaomi and Kuaishou Technology, are set to report this week. Consumer giants Laopu Gold and Pop Mart International Group will also release results for the three months ending in December.

For tech investors, one key area of focus will be how companies plan to direct their increased AI capital spending and if it’s already translated into revenue. Analysts will also watch whether shoppers and businesses loosen their purse strings and more concrete signs of China emerging from a prolonged downturn in consumption.

The results may offer the next catalyst for the Asia-Pacific gauge, which has been under pressure this month amid a global sell-off from the escalating conflict in Iran.

Other big names that are scheduled to report in the week include software company Oracle Japan, electric vehicle maker BYD and health-care firm WuXi AppTec. BLOOMBERG