Daily Brief Financials: HSBC Holdings, MS&AD Insurance, Bitcoin, Intercontinental Exchange and more

• In a surprise, the Hang Seng index committee has decided not to make any constituent changes to the Hang Seng Index (HSI INDEX) at the March rebalance.
• We now see the index reaching its 100-member target in 2025 at the earliest, though we would not be surprised to see it spill into 2026 as well.
• Free float and capping changes will result in one-way turnover of 1.2% resulting in a round trip trade of HK$4.54bn. HSBC Holdings (5 HK) is the biggest sell.

• There has been a recent non-life insurer price-fixing scandal. The JFTC and FSA investigated. Last December, the FSA issued Business Improvement Orders to the four majors. 
• There was a Bigmotor scandal last summer and Sompo Japan got a Business Improvement Order last month. All four insurers have 
• 9 Feb post-close, Jiji/Nikkei had articles saying the FSA had urged four major non-lifes subject to the first BIO to accelerate sales of ¥6.5trln+ of 5,900 Cross-Holdings. That’s big.

• Investment firms are using ten east to diversify their personal portfolios.
• Zero Hash is a software company that allows businesses to launch crypto products quickly and compliantly.
• Zero Hash provides infrastructure for businesses to embed digital assets within their own infrastructure, serving as a regulated entity.

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only.

• Intercontinental Exchange Inc.
• (ICE) delivered strong financial results for the fourth quarter of 2023, posting a record net revenue of $2.2 billion, representing a 7% increase compared to the same period last year.
• The record figures were driven by lower compensation expense and accelerated expense synergies which led to earnings per share of $1.33, up 6% year-on-year.