Here we are, beginning the last month of the first quarter of 2024, which has passed by in somewhat of a flash.

Perhaps the apparent speed at which the spring is approaching can be attributed to what appears to be a single issue among analysts and market participants since the beginning of the year, that being the anticipation of announcements by central banks in Western countries with regard to monetary policy. Put simply, is the rate of interest going down?

Rather interestingly, it did not. The United States led the charge of announcements relating to monetary policy this year, and contrary to popular belief, the interest rates have not been reduced. The equities and commodities markets have had extra factors to consider, including logistical dire straits in the Red Sea, meaning products cannot reach their destination as freely as last year, and OPEC+ countries looking at production cut extensions in front of a backdrop of war in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The markets have been somewhat volatile, which means trading activity remains interesting. Here are five interesting stocks to look at this month.

1) eBay

Over the past few weeks, eBay stock has been demonstrating strong performance, with a continued overall upward direction since mid-January, with just a few blips on the way.

Last week, the e-commerce giant reported its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2023, which came to a remarkable $728 million, translating to $1.07 a share, compared with a net income figure of $671 million in the same quarter in 2022.

That led to a healthy increase in stock value. However, the real eye-catcher is what happened during the trading day on Thursday, February 28.

Suddenly, eBay stock rose from $44.32 on October 27 to $47.81 according to FXOpen charts, a considerable increase which continued to build, ending the trading day on Friday, March 1, at $47.97.

This sudden jump in value occurred a few days after the market's reaction to the positive results, and it is interesting indeed. eBay's high level of prominence in areas such as online advertising banner sales, fees from auction sales from private sellers, and premium listings from commercial sellers has led it to be the de facto marketplace for most of the world. Jumps like this are rare for such highly capitalised companies, so a keen eye will likely be on eBay's movements in the next few days.

2) China Construction Bank (HK)

China Construction Bank is one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization and is among the four largest banks in mainland China.

Its origins lie deeply rooted in state ownership, as is commonplace within the planned economy under which the People's Republic of China operates, and it was brought into being by the People's Bank of China, which is the Chinese central bank, beginning to spin off its commercial banking operations.

Considering its vastness and that it is such a vast corporation operating within the world's largest and most diversified economy, share prices within the Hong Kong-listed entity have been somewhat volatile recently.

During the course of the summer of last year, reports emerged stating that investors in the China Construction Bank (HK)'s stock had lost 13% over the past five years, clearly stating the long period of sustained losses, which are juxtaposition to the bank's massive might.

During the first few weeks of this year, China Construction Bank's Hong Kong-listed stock has been volatile, to say the least.

On January 3, the stock was trading at a low of $4.29HKD on FXOpen; however, by February 26, it had rallied to $4.95HKD before beginning to decrease again.

This is an inordinately low-value stock, which demonstrates the difference in tradability between Western banking giants and those with their origins in China. A leftfield one to look at, but interesting nonetheless.

3) Coinbase

The endless news coverage about cryptocurrencies may have died down long ago, but the major digital asset exchanges are still very much alive and well.

Many of the large exchanges, such as Coinbase and Binance, got their product right in the design of intuitive trading applications, which attracted and retained a young, analytical audience. The euphoria that surrounded the cryptocurrency market in 2020 and 2021 may have ebbed away, but the extent to which many of the large exchanges went in order to provide proprietary apps that make sure they promote their brand in a way that ensures loyalty remains. Coinbase stock rocketed from $116.79 on February 5 to $208.35, according to FXOpen pricing on February 28.

That is a substantial increase in value and is without any mention of huge numbers of new crypto traders or meme boards creating their own markets, such as was the case 3 years ago.

4) Lucid Group

Newly founded electric vehicle companies which have entered a somewhat conservative arena of car manufacturing often bask in the shadow of uber-disrupter Tesla, and many managed to make their way onto public stock exchanges via unorthodox SPAC listings rather than the hard slog that is years of heavy manufacturing and showing good balance sheets and economies of scale which is the way of the 140-year old motor industry's most recognised corporations. North America's Lucid Group is no exception. It is a relatively low-value stock and is a very well-established company; however, volatility has been the order of the day for some time now.

In mid-December last year, Lucid Group stock reached a sudden peak of $5.22 per share, according to FXOpen pricing, a value reached after a quick but short-lived rally. By January 19, it was down to $2.61 before heading back up to $3.50 on January 1. Since then, the share price has been erratic, to say the least.

Just two days ago, the company released its annual report, which was a damp squib. Earnings were 3.9% less than analyst estimates at US$595 million, and statutory losses were in line with analyst expectations at US$1.36 per share.

It seems there are those who believe in the new firms capitalizing on the electric vehicle revolution. However, it is hard to ignore the plethora of electric vehicles now on the market by some of the world's oldest and most established manufacturers, which are easily capable of ensuring that these new entrants could only ever be considered fringe players with an eccentric image.

5) Rivian Automotive

In a rather similar vein to that of Lucid Group, electric truck manufacturer Rivian Automotive has been experiencing volatility; however, in the case of Rivian, it has been in a solid downward direction recently.

From a high point of $24.25 on December 19, Rivian stock has been plummeting, resting briefly at $15.37 on February 21 before crashing suddenly to $10.09 on February 26, according to FXOpen pricing.

This performance underscores the freshness of these companies compared to other listed motor manufacturers, which have long histories, some well over 120 years, such as Mercedes Benz, Ford and Renault, all pioneers of the motor industry and all of which have extensive sales of electric vehicles today. The mid-term entrants to the market from South Korea, such as Hyundai and Kia, made vehicles that were the subject of derision in the 1980s, but today, they're at the leading edge with a range of highly popular electric vehicles and the weight of a giant corporation behind them rather than Rivian's 15 years in existence and a SPAC listing for a seemingly inflated value three years ago after which its value dropped. As an outlier, it is a risky one. However, Tesla would have been considered as such before its big break in 2014, and now it's one of the most popular stocks and highly capitalised companies in the world.

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