A food shopper browses for groceries ahead of the Thanksgiving Day holiday at an Albertsons supermarket in Redmond, Washington, U.S., November 24, 2025.
David Ryder | Reuters
The U.S. inflation numbers in November looked supremely encouraging, with the annual headline rate coming in 0.4 percentage points less than expected. But don’t get too happy about them yet.
It’s the first consumer price report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since the U.S. government shutdown ended: October’s figures vanished into the void because the agency was “unable to retroactively collect these data.”
The BLS added that November’s CPI “did not include 1-month percent changes for November 2025 where the October 2025 data are missing.” It also said that certain survey data were “carried forward to October 2025 from September 2025.”
Evercore ISI’s Krishna Guha said it appears the BLS “put in zero inflation in multiple categories” when calculating housing inflation in some cities.
In other words, it’s a noisy report. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell once described setting interest rates as “navigating by the stars under cloudy skies.” With November’s CPI report, the stars aren’t just obscured by clouds — they could be mirages, unidentified flying objects, a seagull that picked up an LED light from the beach.
Nonetheless, investors celebrated the numbers. The CPI report, along with a 10.2% surge in Micron shares on the back of an expectation-busting earnings report, lifted major indexes.
Perhaps it’s the holidays suffusing the air with unbridled cheer. Or maybe it’s all rather like having a feast during Christmas — the calories only count in the new year.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
What you need to know today
And finally…
The Bank of England (BOE) in the City of London, UK, on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025.
A MLB store in the Myeongdong shopping district in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday, March 9, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SINGAPORE — Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Wednesday morning, following a poor start to the trading month on Wall Street that saw major indexes fall amid rising Middle East tensions.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened down 0.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 started the trading day lower by 1.5%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 1% at the open, while the small-cap Kosdaq was down 0.8%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 20,768, lower than the HSI’s last close of 21,133.68. Markets in Mainland China were closed Wednesday and will remain closed for the rest of the week due to the Golden Week holiday.
Traders in Asia were assessing data on consumer inflation out of South Korea. The country’s consumer price index rose 1.6% in September from a year earlier, data showed Wednesday morning, missing expectations by economists polled by Reuters who expected a rate of 1.9%.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran’s missile attacks had failed and vowed retaliation. “Iran made a big mistake tonight — and it will pay for it,” he said, according to NBC News, adding “the regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies.”
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Alex Harring contributed to this report.
A man walks along The Bund during the passage of Typhoon Bebinca in Shanghai on September 16, 2024. The strongest storm to hit Shanghai in over 70 years made landfall on September 16, state media reported, with flights cancelled and highways closed as Typhoon Bebinca lashed the city with strong winds and torrential rains.
Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images
Asian markets opened mixed Monday, with Hong Kong stocks falling as investors assessed downbeat economic data from China, while several key markets were closed for holidays.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.76% on open, after China released a slew of worrying economic data over the weekend, with August factory output, retail sales and investment numbers missing expectations. Urban jobless rate rose to a six-month high while year-on-year home prices fell at their fastest pace in nine years.
Investors also await the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday where the central bankers are expected to make their first interest rate cut since 2020
Markets in mainland China and South Korea were closed for Mid-Autumn festival. Japan markets were closed for Respect for the Aged Day.
Typhoon Bebinca has led to cancellation of hundreds of flights in China and Shanghai is expected to be hit by the strongest storm since 1949.
Asian investors also await a swath of key data and central bank decisions from the region.
Japan’s inflation is expected to tick higher in August, according to a Reuters poll, backing the case for the Bank of Japan to stay hawkish as the board sets its policy on Friday.
The Japanese yen strengthened Monday morning to trade at 140.49 against the greenback. If the yen holds these levels, the currency will close at its strongest in more than a year.
China is poised to set its one- and five-year loan prime rates on Friday. The one-year rate, which affects most new and outstanding loans, is currently at 3.35%, while the five-year rate, that influences the pricing of mortgages, is currently at 3.85%.
The sails of the Opera House are illuminated with projections on the opening night of Vivid Sydney 2023 in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, May 26, 2023.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher on Friday, extending gains from Thursday as Wall Street’s tech rally continued.
In Asia, investors will react to August inflation figures out from India late Thursday, with showed that the consumer price index rose 3.65% year on year, rising from a five-year low. This was above July’s revised figure of 3.6% and also beat expectations of 3.5% from economists polled by Reuters.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 is set to rise and breach its all-time closing high of 8,114.7, with futures standing at 8,115 compared to from its last close of 8,075.7.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 could go either way based off futures data, with the contract in Chicago at 36,945 and its counterpart in Osaka at 36,660 compared to the previous close of 36,833.27.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,294, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,240.
Futures for mainland China’s CSI 300 stood at 3,176, just slightly higher than the index’s last close, a near six-year low of 3,172.47 on Thursday.
Thursday saw the last major data point for the U.S. economy before the Federal Reserve meeting next week, as the country’s producer price index rose 0.2% month on month, in line with expectations from Dow Jones. On a year-on-year basis, headline PPI rose 1.7%.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh, Jeff Cox and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
Prices are displayed in a store window in Brooklyn on August 14, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Stubborn core inflation Prices in the U.S. rose 0.2% in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, in line with the Dow Jones consensus. The 12-month inflation rate was at 2.5%, the lowest since February 2021. However, core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, ticked up 0.3%, 10 basis points higher than expected.
UBS CEO sees soft landing Sergio Ermotti, Group CEO of UBS Group AG, told CNBC that investors expecting the Fed to cut rates aggressively are getting “ahead of the curve.” Sticky inflation remains the “most important” issue, he added – August’s core CPI surprised to the upside. However, Ermotti still sees “the outlook [as] pretty consistent with a soft landing.”
Harris or Trump? Little difference for China Regardless of who wins the U.S. Presidential elections, the country’s trade ties with China will remain tense, said Carlos Casanova, senior economist at Swiss private bank UBP. Donald Trump has proposed tariffs of up to 100%, while Kamala Harris is expected to stick with Joe Biden’s tariff policy that not only retained Trump-era tariffs but also escalated them.
[PRO] Opportunities for semiconductor stocks Semiconductor stocks have been the market’s darling this year and are responsible for pushing the S&P 500 to consecutive fresh highs. However, since July, they’ve had wild swings. Still, with some chip stocks being undervalued, they appear to be good buys amid this volatility, said analysts.
However, those numbers are hiding turmoil under their pretty facades.
The S&P dropped around 1% during trading but eventually managed to claw back losses and close more than 1% higher by the end of the day. It’s the first time the broad-based index has done so since October 2022.
The consumer price index for August precipitated the initial fall. Core inflation, to which the Fed pays more attention because it more accurately reflects price movements, came in a bit higher than expected for the month.
Core inflation was higher than the headline number because food and energy prices are stripped out from the former. And both were mild for the month: Food prices were only 0.1% higher, suggesting no pets need to be eaten, while energy costs fell 0.8%.
Still, that data means the Fed’s unlikely to make a jumbo-sized 50-basis-point cut. Disappointment translated into stocks dropping.
Even with inflation remaining difficult to tame, it doesn’t mean consumers are worse off. Real earnings rose 0.2% for the month, showed a separate Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which means the rise in income outstripped price increases.
That might have helped the intraday rebound in the S&P.
As for the Nasdaq, it was buoyed by technology stocks, which experienced a huge bounce from the previous days’ falls. Nvidia popped 8%, probably on news the U.S. might let the chipmaker sell advanced chips to Saudi Arabia, according to Reuters.
But there might be more choppiness ahead in markets. The U.S. government is, once again, close to a shutdown because of politicking over government funding. It’s almost like the U.S. House of Representatives has no concept of a plan.
– CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Pia Singh and Lisa Kailai Han contributed to this story.
JP Morgan headquarters at Canary Wharf financial district at the heart of Canary Wharf financial district on 6th February 2024 in London, United Kingdom.
Mike Kemp | In Pictures | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
First Harris-Trump debate In their first face-to-face meeting, Vice President Kamala Harris met former President Donald Trump for their first — and perhaps only – presidential debate. On the economic front, both candidates clashed over tariffs, fracking and China policy. After the debate, Taylor Swift endorsed Harris on Instagram, and signed off her post as “Childless Cat Lady.”
Tough environment for European companies China’s environment for businesses is so thorny that European companies have grown discouraged with operating in the country, according to the EU Chamber of Commerce. If European companies were to invest in China further, Beijing must act on its pledges to improve the business conditions, the chamber’s paper wrote.
Big price reports The U.S. consumer price index for August comes out later today, while the producer price index, which measures prices at the wholesale level, will be released a day later. They’re the last major economic data the Federal Reserve will receive — and hence influence its decision on the size of cuts — before its meeting next week.
[PRO] U.S.-listed global stocks With the outlook for the U.S. economy looking uncertain, investors can turn their attention to global companies. At the same time, investors may want to stick with the safety of the U.S. stock market. CNBC Pro looked for companies headquartered overseas, but listed in the U.S. – and may experience over 100% upside, according to analysts.
As rates fall, borrowing becomes cheaper. For the consumer, that’s most felt in areas like housing; for companies, it tends to boost spending on expansion and investment.
Those acts trigger a virtuous cycle of spending, boosting consumption and growth, which in turns increases employment. The economy loves lower rates too and swells up.
There’s one industry, however, that generally enjoys higher interest rates: banking.
One way banks make money is through the net interest income. That’s the difference between the interest rate they charge on loans and the rate they offer on savings. As rates rise, banks can raise the former, which is a revenue source, while keeping the latter, a cost, low.
With rate cuts looming on the horizon, however, that age of abundance is coming to an end for big banks.
JPMorgan poured cold water on the market’s expectation of around $90 billion for NII in 2025. That number “is not very reasonable” because the Fed will cut rates, said JPMorgan President Daniel Pinto.
If the biggest bank in the U.S. thinks it can’t keep loan rates high, it’s hard to imagine smaller banks can maintain juicy NII of the previous years.
Investors didn’t take JPMorgan’s caution warmly. Its shares lost around 5% and weighed down the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which declined 0.23%.
The momentum in Japan markets were largely driven by the country’s technology and financial sector.
Doctoregg | Moment | Getty Images
Japan’s major indexes gained more than 2% on Tuesday as markets resumed trading after a holiday.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 2.72% higher and breached 36,000 for the first time since Aug. 2. The broader Topix gained 2.25%.
The momentum was largely driven by the country’s technology and financial sectors, with Rakuten Group and Trend Micro leaping more than 8% and 6%, respectively.
The country’s parliament plans to hold a special session next week to discuss the Bank of Japan’s decision to raise interest rates last month, Reuters reported, citing government sources.
South Korea’s Kospi dipped 0.2%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 1.57%.
Wages in Australia rose 0.8% in the quarter ended June, the slowest pace since the same quarter a year earlier, compared with estimates of a 0.9% rise. Wages rose 4.1% on an annual basis.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index kicked off the trading day with a 0.4% gain, while mainland China’s CSI 300 opened 0.06% higher.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore reported its economy grew 2.9% in the second quarter from a year ago, in line with the advance gross domestic product estimate released in July. The Ministry of Trade and Industry cited strength in the wholesale trade, finance and insurance as well as the information and communication sectors. The city-state also said it sees 2024 GDP growth of 2% to 3%, versus its previous forecast of 1% to 3%.
U.S. markets grappled with a choppy session overnight as investors braced for key inflation data.
The S&P 500 concluded the day flat at 5,344.39, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.21% to close at 16,780.61, led by shares of Nvidia soaring 4%. On the flipside, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 140 points or 0.36% to conclude at 39,357.01.
Traders await Wednesday’s consumer price index for July, a key indicator of the health of the U.S. economy. Investors will analyze the data for indications the Federal Reserve can begin cutting rates in September.
—CNBC’s Brian Evans and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
An electronic stock board displayed inside the Kabuto One building in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, June 27, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Japan’s Nikkei 225 nosedived almost 5% on Friday, with most Asia-Pacific markets lower after a sell-off on Wall Street overnight.
The Nikkei extended its 2.62% slide on Thursday to lead losses in the region and reach its lowest level since February. The Topix also plunged more than 5%.
Some heavyweight names that are seeing losses include Softbank Group, which tumbled over 7%. Trading houses Mitsui and Marubeni saw losses of over 9% and 7%, respectively.
Japanese government bond yields fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year JGB falling below the 1% mark and hitting it lowest level since June 20.
South Korea’s Kospi tumbled 2.6%, while the small-cap Kosdaq plunged 2.56%.
However, K-pop stocks were a bright spot for the market. Shares of three of the four listed K-pop companies defied the broader sell-off to climb on Friday, led by Hybe after the firm announced its new business strategy on Thursday after market hours.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.02% , retreating from its all-time high achieved on Thursday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,047, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,304.96.
Separately, South Korea’s inflation numbers for July came in slightly higher than expected, with the country’s consumer price index climbing 2.6% year on year, compared to the 2.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The gloomy sentiment in Asia markets comes after a sell-off on Wall Street in Thursday’s trading session, which saw all three major U.S. indexes plunge on recession fears.
The Russell 2000 index, the small-cap benchmark that has rallied lately, dropped 3%.
In the U.S., fresh data stoked fears over a possible recession and apprehensions that the Federal Reserve could be too late in cutting interest rates.
Initial jobless claims rose the most since August 2023. The ISM manufacturing index, a barometer of factory activity in the U.S., came in at 46.8%, worse than expected and signaling economic contraction.
After these data, the 10-year Treasury yield dropped below 4% for the first time since February.
—CNBC’s Pia Singh and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
Japan’s central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate to “around 0.25%” from its previous range of 0% to 0.1% and outlined its plan to taper its bond buying program.
This would mark the Bank of Japan’s highest interest rates since 2008.
The central bank forecasts that the core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — will reach 2.5% by the end of the 2024 fiscal year, and “around 2%” for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years.
The BOJ said it will continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation, assuming its economic outlook is realized.
Japan’s fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31, which means the 2024 fiscal year will end on March 2025.
The Bank of Japan said that it will reduce the monthly outright purchases of Japanese government bonds to about 3 trillion yen ($19.64 billion) per month in the January to March 2026 quarter. As of its March release, the bank said that purchases of JGB’s amounted to about 6 trillion yen per month.
The amount is now planned to be cut by around 400 billion yen per quarter, the BOJ added, which will bring the total JGB holdings down by about 7% to 8% by the 2026 fiscal year. The BOJ’s JGB holdings currently stand at a whopping 579 trillion yen as of July 19, according to CNBC’s calculations.
However, the central bank emphasized that it will be flexible in this plan and will conduct an interim assessment of the reduction plan at the June 2025 meeting.
“The Bank will make nimble responses by, for example, increasing the amount of JGB purchases,” and added that it is “prepared to amend the plan at the MPMs, if deemed necessary.”
Following the decision, both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix gained 0.28% and 0.51% respectively, while the Japanese yen strengthened marginally to 152.72.
In its statement, the BOJ pointed out that Japan’s economic activity and prices have been developing “generally in line with the outlook presented” in April.
The central bank noted that moves to raise wages have not only been seen in large firms, but have also spread to smaller firms.
The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, commonly known as Rengo, said on July 3 that big firms with 300 or more union-backed employees had raised wages by 5.19%, while small firms had increased pay by 4.45%. This marked the largest wage hike in 33 years, the union said.
The BOJ has repeatedly stated that it aims to form a “virtuous cycle” of increasing prices and wages.
The central bank said business fixed investment has been on a “moderate increasing trend” and corporate profits have been improving, while private consumption has been resilient despite the impact of price rises and other factors.
In light of these factors, the central bank slightly lowered its GDP growth forecast for the 2024 fiscal year to a range of 0.5%-0.7%, down from April’s forecast of 0.7%-1%. This was due to previously announced downward revisions of the 2023 GDP numbers.
Both GDP and inflation expectations for the 2025 and 2026 fiscal year remained largely similar.
Cherry trees in bloom near the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan, on Sunday, April 7, 2024.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed at record highs overnight as traders become increasingly bullish on interest rate cuts.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.23%, while the Topix was up 0.44% after the Reuters Tankan survey showed an increase in business optimism among large Japanese manufacturers.
The manufacturing index was at +11, up from +6 in the previous month. However, confidence among non-manufacturers dipped from +31 to +27.
Separately, Japanese authorities likely intervened in the currency market last Thursday and Friday, spending a total of 6 trillion yen ($37.9 billion) over the two days, according to Reuters.
The yen is currently at 158.3 against the U.S. dollar. The currency weakened to 161.82 last Wednesday before strengthening to as much as 157.41 the following day.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.29%, just shy of its all time high of 8,037.3 points.
South Korea’s Kospi was trading close to the flatline, and the small-cap Kosdaq climbed 0.14%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were at 17,843, higher than the HSI’s last close of 17,727.98.
Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports slipped more than expected in June, marking a fifth straight month of declines. They fell 8.7% year on year compared to a 1.2% decline expected by economists polled by Reuters.
On a month-on-month basis, Singapore’s non-oil domestic unexpectedly dropped 0.4%, compared with a expectations of a 4.1% growth.
Overnight, the Dow blue-chip index gained 1.85%, closing at 40,954.48, while the broad-based S&P 500 added 0.64% to wrap the day at 5,667.20. The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.20%.
A block of industrial factories sits among newer apartment buildings along a canal in Tokyo, Japan.
Photo By Michael Russell | Moment | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets opened higher on Wednesday, after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted progress on inflation, but reiterated patience on cutting rates at a central banking forum.
Traders in Asia await June business activity data from India, Japan and China which is set for release later in the day.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.45% extending its run above the 40,000 mark, while the broad-based Topix was up 0.11%.
South Korea’s Kospi started the morning up 0.50%, while the Kosdaq Index rose 0.8%.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 opened up 0.17% in early trade.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,764, lower than the HSI’s last close of 17,769.14.
Sydney Harbour taking in the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and ferries at sunrise during the COVID-19 pandemic on April 20, 2020 in Sydney, Australia.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Wednesday as investors anticipate Australia’s inflation numbers for May and Singapore’s May manufacturing output data.
Australia’s core inflation rate is expected to come in at 3.8% in May, according to a Reuters poll of economists. This is higher than the 3.6% recorded in April.
Should inflation come in higher than expected and spur the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise rates, it would be the first major Asia-Pacific central bank to do so in an environment where investors are waiting for rate cuts, barring Japan. RBA Governor Michelle Bullock recently revealed the central bank discussed hiking rates at its last meeting.
The RBA has two inflation readings to consider — June 26 and July 31— before its next meeting on Aug. 6.
Singapore’s May factory output will also be released Wednesday, with a Reuters poll of economists predicting a 2% year-on-year growth rate, as compared to a 1.6% decline recorded in April.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.50% in morning trade while the broad-based Topix was up marginally. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.16% while the small-cap Kosdaq traded close to the flatline.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were at 17,958, lower than the HSI’s last close of 18,072.9.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined, shedding 0.76% and closing at 39,112.16. Led by an Nvidia rebound, the broad market S&P 500 added 0.39% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.26%, with both indexes ending three-day losing streaks.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed to this report.
Pedestrians cross an intersection in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. Photographer: Kentaro Takahashi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The country’s core inflation rate — which strips out prices of fresh food — came in at 2.5%. A Reuters poll of economists expected the May core inflation reading to come in at 2.6%, compared with April’s 2.2%.
The so-called “core-core” inflation, which strips out prices of fresh food and energy, came in at 2.1%. This is lower than April’s reading of 2.4%. The metric is considered by the Bank of Japan when formulating the country’s monetary policy.
Japan’s headline rate rose to 2.8%, higher than April’s figure of 2.5%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.03%, while the broad-based Topix gained 0.21%.
Softbank — the third heaviest weighted stock on the index — saw shares drop 2.87% after Softbank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said the company needed “immense capital” to develop AI robotics.
The yen weakened for a seventh straight day, declining to 158.95 against the U.S. dollar.
Japan’s chief currency diplomat, Masato Kanda, said the government was ready to make a move against the volatile currency market that has hurt the economy, Reuters reported.
India’s benchmark Nifty 50 index gained 0.1% to hit a new record high.
HSBC flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index for India rose to 60.9 in June from 60.5 in May. The data complied by S&P Global showed that growth was stronger at goods producers compared to service providers.
South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.94%, while the small-cap Kosdaq lost 0.54%.
Separately, the country announced that the finance ministers of South Korea and Japan will meet on June 25 to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation, as well as their views on the global economy. The meeting will be held two months after both parties agreed to manage excessive currency volatilities during their meeting in Washington.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 dipped 0.60%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 1.71%.
Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 closed 0.25 % lower after hitting a new high. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.79%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.77%. Nvidia slipped 3.5% after rising earlier in the trading day.
—CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Brian Evans contributed to this report.
A trader works, as a screen displays a news conference by Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell following the Fed rate announcement, on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Dec. 13, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Stocks close lower Wall Street ended lower on Friday as investors await the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting this week for insights on rate cuts. The S&P 500 posted its second straight weekly drop, down 0.65%. The Nasdaq Composite retreated 0.96% and the 30-stock Dow lost 0.49%. In Asia, the Bank of Japan will decide at the end of it’s two-day policy meeting starting Monday if the country is ready to scrap the world’s last negative interest rate policy.
White House on TikTok The White House has called on a more divided Senate to ‘move swiftly’ on the TikTok bill that requires Chinese tech company ByteDance to sell the video app or face a ban in the U.S. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the legislation with strong bipartisan support and President Joe Biden has indicated he would sign it if approved by Congress.
Bullish on global trade The CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, one of world’s top ocean shippers, says he’s more bullish on trade for this year. He told CNBC inventories are depleted in many cases and the ocean carrier has seen a recovery after the Chinese New Year. Shares of the company recently plunged after it posted a sharp fall in net profit in 2023 and cut its dividend.
Laid-off tech workers face gloom Tech workers recently laid off are struggling with a “sense of impending doom” as jobs cuts are at the highest since the dot-com crash.CNBC spoke to number of people about how they’re navigating the challenging market. Jobs are getting tougher to find with many in the sector having to settle for pay cuts.
[PRO] U.S. election risk on China stocks Goldman Sachs has revised its barometer for the level of risk from U.S.-China tensions in Chinese stocks. It now stands at 53 out of 100, signaling a “somewhat benign” outlook for relations between the two countries. “The build-up to and the election will be consequential to asset markets globally, US-China relations, and the returns of Chinese equities,” the analysts said.
It will be a pivotal week for Wall Street as markets attention will turn to the Fed.
Signals from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and the other officials on future rate cuts will be in sharp focus as policymakers give updates on rates, economic growth, inflation and unemployment at their two-day meeting which wraps up on Wednesday.
Last week’s one-two punch of bad news on consumer and producer prices, sparked investor anxiety that inflation may have plateaued as price pressures remain sticky.
“Hotter-than-expected inflation data to start the year argue for a hawkish-leaning message from the Fed at the March FOMC meeting. That said, in a very close call, we do not yet expect this to manifest in the Fed signaling less easing this year,” said Deutsche Bank in a note.
“Our baseline remains that the first-rate cut will come in June and the Fed will deliver 100bps of reductions this year. However, risks are clearly skewed to more hawkish outcomes. The timing and pace of rate cuts could well be irregular this cycle and will likely be highly data dependent.”
Investors will also want to know whether the Fed will continue to pencil in three rate cuts for this year. Some economists argue there’s a good chance it could be pared back to only two.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently said the central bank should move slowly on rate cuts given inflation pressures.
“You can always cut it quickly and dramatically. Their credibility is a little bit at stake here,” he said. “I would even wait past June and let it all sort it out.”
A man shops for fruit at a grocery store on February 01, 2023 in New York City.
Leonardo Munoz | Corbis News | Getty Images
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Stocks rally Wall Street closed higher on Tuesday with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh record, up 1.1%. The blue-chip Dow gained over 200 points, while the Nasdaq added 1.5% as U.S. inflation data came in mildly higher than expected in February.
Record shareholder payouts Shareholder payouts hit a record $1.7 trillion last year, according to a new report by British asset manager Janus Henderson. Nearly half of the world’s total dividend growth came from the banking sector, which delivered record payouts as rising borrowing costs lifted lenders’ margins, the report found.
Boeing crisis hurt airlines CEOs from several airlines say Boeing’s delivery delays have forced the carriers to change their growth plans. Boeing’s crisis has deepened since a door plug blew out midflight from an Alaska Airlines Max 9 in January. Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and United, are some of the top buyers of Boeing’s aircraft that have been impacted by its problems.
Citadel on rate cuts Inflation tailwinds remain and the Fed shouldn’t cut rates too quickly, says Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin. “If I’m them, I don’t want to cut too quickly,” he noted, adding that it will be “more devastating” if they have to change direction after initially cutting rates. “I think they are going to be a bit slower than what people were expecting two months ago in cutting rates.”
[PRO] Buy or sell Nivida? Nvidia’s stock has surged over 200% in 2023 alone, powered by the global AI frenzy. Is it time to take profit or should investors stay the course? Experts who currently hold the chip giant’s stock share their insights.
Still, core inflation — which excludes food and energy — was stronger than expected, up 0.4% last month, which reflects lingering stickiness in price pressures.
Investors don’t expect that latest data to move the needle on the Fed cutting rates in June. That could be why markets have had a more muted reaction to the news.
“We have the numbers we have and this wasn’t great news for the Fed but markets don’t see it as a big threat to rate cuts later in the year,” Kathy Jones, chief fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, said on X.
Yet, the hot print poses a problem for the Fed and muddies the water for its deliberations on the coming rate cuts.
“The long-term disinflation trajectory probably has not changed, but the path to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target will be choppy,” noted LPL Financial chief economist Jeffrey Roach. “Expect to see markets struggle with what this means for Fed policy.”
There is a lot riding for Wall Street when the central bank meets next week. Investors’ main focus will be on whether the Fed will continue to pencil in three rates for this year or will officials decide to change course.
US President Joe Biden speaks to employees at the CS Wind America Inc on November 29, 2023 in Pueblo, Colorado.
Helen H. Richardson | The Denver Post | Getty Images
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Mixed bag on Wall Street U.S. stocks ended mixed Tuesday as investors prepared for key inflation data due out later this week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed with small gains, up 0.17% and 0.37%, respectively. The 30-stock Dow fell for a second straight day, off by 0.25%. Bitcoin also extended gains rising above $57,000.
Apple kills EV plans Apple has cancelled its plan to build electric cars, according to Bloomberg. This signals an end to the company’s secretive effort to compete in the EV space against rival Tesla. Reports of Apple’s ambition first surfaced in 2014 after it recruited automotive engineers and other talent from auto companies.
Will South Korean measures work? South Korea’s Japan-style measures to boost corporate governance may not work to lift its undervalued stock markets and tackle the so-called “Korea discount.” In its latest attempt, the Financial Services Commission revealed a “Corporate Value-up Program,” aimed at supporting shareholder returns through incentives including tax benefits.
Honor’s foray into flip phones Chinese technology firm Honor will launch a foldable flip phone this year, the company’s CEO George Zhao told CNBC. It will be the firm’s first entry into the vertical-folding style of smartphone as the company looks to push into the premium end of the market in a challenge to tech giants like Samsung and Apple.
[Pro] Alibaba’s compelling appeal Despite the recent slump in Alibaba’s shares, the Chinese e-commerce giant remains on the radar of fund managers. “Alibaba is our third biggest stock [position] now. Why? The valuation is absolutely compelling,” said Andrew Lapping, Ranmore’s chief investment officer.
Americans’ attitudes about the economy have soured.
Consumer confidence fell to 106.7 in February, said the Conference Board, down from a revised 110.9 in January. This comes after a three-month streak of improving mood.
The index measuring short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell to 79.8 from 81.5 in January. A reading under 80 often signals an upcoming recession.
While Americans were less worried about food and gas prices, there were rising concerns over jobs and the upcoming presidential elections.
“The decline in consumer confidence in February interrupted a three-month rise, reflecting persistent uncertainty about the US economy,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.
“While overall inflation remained the main preoccupation of consumers, they are now a bit less concerned about food and gas prices, which have eased in recent months. But they are more concerned about the labor market situation and the US political environment.”
The drop in consumer confidence was broad based, affecting most income groups, as well as among people under 35 years old and those aged 55 and over, according to Peterson.
The survey findings reveal that despite data showing a strong labor market and a surprisingly resilient economy, public perception on the economy proves to be a challenge ahead of high-stakes elections this year.
This signals troubling signs for President Joe Biden, who has been trying to tout his administration’s economic accomplishments ahead of a likely rematch against Republican nominee Donald Trump in November.
A pedestrian walks past a sign for Aozora Bank Ltd. at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, May 14, 2010. Shinsei Bank Ltd., the lender partly owned by U.S. investor J. Christopher Flowers, and Aozora Bank Ltd. said they canceled a planned merger that would have created Japan’s sixth-largest bank by assets. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of Aozora Bank tumbled to their lowest level in eight months Thursday after the Japanese bank warned of a fiscal-year net loss due to its exposure to U.S. office loans.
The Tokyo-based commercial lender said it now expects to post a net loss of 28 billion Japanese yen ($191 million) for the fiscal year ending Mar. 31, a swing from its previous forecast for a net profit of 24 billion yen.
Aozora shares sank by as much as 21.5% to 2,557 yen (about $17.41), its lowest closing level since May 31. In comparison, Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark closed down 0.8% Thursday.
Aozora Bank shares
“Due to higher U.S. interest rates and a shift to remote work accelerated by COVID-19, the U.S. office market continues to face adverse conditions combined with extremely low liquidity,” the bank said in a statement on Thursday.
“While price discovery is anticipated to eventually improve with a gradual increase in office transactions on the back of an expected return-to-office movement as well as a pause in the rise in U.S. interest rates, our view is that it may take another year or two for the market to stabilize,” the bank added.
Aozora’s announcement came shortly after U.S. regional bank New York Community Bancorpannounced a surprise net loss of $252 million for the fourth quarter, slashing its dividend and saying it “[built] reserves during the quarter to address weakness in the office sector” — renewing some fears of the strength of U.S. regional banks, which were embroiled in a liquidity crisis last year.
New York Community Bancorp said this was in response to its purchase of the assets of Signature Bank, one of the regional banks that collapsed in last year’s crisis. That purchase raised their total assets to $100 billion, placing them in a category that subjects the bank to more stringent liquidity standards.
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Price pressures persist An inflation report for December showed U.S. consumer prices increased more than expected. CPI rose 0.3% in December, according to the Labor Department data, slightly more than expectations of a 0.2% rise. On an annual basis, CPI was up 3.4% year on year, also above a 3.2% rise predicted by economists polled by Dow Jones. The increase in prices was mainly driven by higher shelter costs.
Flat stocks U.S. stocks ended Thursday right around the flatline as the slightly hotter-than-expected inflation data kept any big moves at bay. Stocks in Asia fell as China’s annual exports dropped, but Japan’s Nikkei 225 bucked the trend to extend its record rally.
Big China export drop Data from China showed annual exports falling for the first time in seven years in 2023. The country, however, saw higher-than-expected shipments in December. China exports fell 4.6% last year, its first annual drop since 2016, as demand for China made goods weakened amid a global economic slowdown.
Bitcoin ETFs go! Bitcoin exchange traded fund made its debut on U.S. exchanges on Thursday, tracking wild swings in the prices of the volatile cryptocurrency. There were about 11 ETFs that began trading after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the recent rule change, including the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the iShares Bitcoin Trust which saw tens millions of shares exchange hands.
[PRO] Goldman Sachs’ favorite Asian tech stocks Goldman Sachs highlights its top opportunities in the Asian tech hardware industry, on improving cyclical recovery, higher demand for artificial intelligence among other factors. Stocks favored include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and many more.
Following the the 3.4% annual rise,the road to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target could be steeper than what many market participants and economists expected.
It also shines the light on the gap between the Fed’s communique and market expectations for rate cuts, which are seen as early as March this year according to the CME FedWatch tool.
“The ‘higher for longer’ party has received one more bullet in its banderole,” said Giuseppe Sette, president of AI-based market research firm Toggle AI said.
“For the entire history of the Fed, rates have always been kept considerably above inflation in any scenario short of a recession. This CPI print pushes the first rate cut further away, possibly not even in 2024.”
But bitcoin ETF trading quickly became an event that would give market players a reason to be excited about.
This allowed regular investors to get a slice of the cryptocurrency pie and spurred hopes that bigger Wall Street institutional traders may also jump into the boat.
Bitcoin, the world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency, had a volatile session on Thursday. The cryptocurrency jumped above $49,000, hitting its highest since December 2021 but that rally fizzled out by the end of the day.
Bitcoin ETF also mirrored the choppy moves in the cryptocurrency.
Representations of cryptocurrency Bitcoin are placed on a PC motherboard in this illustration taken June 16, 2023.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
SEC approves A highly anticipated and controversial decision finally arrived Wednesday, with the Securities and Exchange Commission allowing the creation of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. that will give regular investors access to the world’s oldest and most popular cryptocurrency. The first funds are set to start trading on Thursday. The price of bitcoin, however, shed about 2%.
Wall Street ends higher U.S. stocks ended Wednesday’s trading session higher as investors awaited the start of earnings season later in the week and also inflation data. Jump in shares of Intuitive Surgical and Lennar boosted markets. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index breached the 35,000 mark for the first time since February 1990.
China woos investors China has now vowed to make foreign investments easier, as was reported by state media. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng met with global financial executives Wednesday at a time China’s tensions with the U.S. and worries about its economic growth have kept investors wary of putting money into the country.
Inflation report awaited December inflation data, set to be released on Thursday, could very well challenge the market’s perception of how soon the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates and by how much. Consumer prices would’ve likely edged higher last month, with expectations by Dow Jones pointing to a 0.2% rise in the final month of 2023, and 3.2% increase for the full year.
[PRO] Tesla versus BYD Tesla has been an investor favorite but a sizable Chinese rival in BYD could give Wall Street’s EV darling a run for its money. The Pros will dissect whether investors should stick with Tesla or buy into the up-and-coming BYD.
Bitcoin just received its biggest stamp of approval, giving crypto bros their most powerful bragging rights yet.
The decision by the SEC to approve the creation and trading of bitcoin ETFs will allow for better adoption of the world’s oldest cryptocurrency by mainstream finance.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, that holds about $29 billion of the cryptocurrency, will likely be converted into an ETF following the decision, while big Wall Street’s BlackRock and Fidelity will also enter the playing field.
“Today’s news is possibly Bitcoin’s biggest since its launch but the approval of spot ETFs shouldn’t be viewed in isolation, given the timing of the upcoming halving in April which cuts the BTC supply and historically kickstarts the new bull market. Both these events combined could well send Bitcoin to $100,000 in 2024,” said Antoni Trenchev, co-founder and managing partner of the digital asset firm Nexo.
Trenchev also noted that “there is a temptation to say the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs is a buy-the-rumour, sell-the-news event.”
The decision comes a day after an official SEC social media account falsely said bitcoin ETF trading had been approved. The SEC confirmed that the account had been compromised.
Later in the day, investors will also shift focus towards consumer price data which is expected to show inflation edged higher in the last month of 2023.
This could potentially bring into question whether markets are getting ahead of themselves in anticipating rate cuts by the Fed. There still remains a wide gap between what the U.S. central bank has indicated in terms loosening its monetary policy and what the market is expecting.
This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.
Bitcoin slides after false ETF approval post Bitcoin slid Tuesday after the Securities and Exchange Commission‘s social media account — which was compromised — sent a false social media post stating the regulatory agency had approved a long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Immediately after the first post, the world’s largest cryptocurrency jumped to as high as $47,901 to its highest level since March 2022, but later traded lower by 3%.
Markets retreat Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index ended with small declines on Tuesday, closing 0.15% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.42%. The Nasdaq Composite, however, inched 0.09% higher by close as it bounced off a 0.9% slide from earlier in the session. Shares of tech stocks continued to rise and stave off bigger declines. Asia stocks bucked that trend, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index blowing past 33-year highs after jumping more than 2%, as health tech and consumer services stocks rose.
Is China’s consumption story over? China’s consumer sentiment may finally start to improve from here, after last year’s uneven recovery as the economy struggled to rebound from the pandemic doldrums. Goldman Sachs says that while a slowdown is somewhat inevitable, it still expects services consumption to show more resilience than goods.
HPE to buy Juniper Networks Hewlett Packard Enterprise will buy Juniper Networks for about $14 billion in an all-cash deal, the company confirmed. That works out to about $40 per share — Juniper shares jumped 22% to close at $37.05 after the news. The acquisition will bolster HPE’s existing networking business — which was the company’s top-performing segment — and speed up growth, the company said.
[PRO] AI-related plays Bank of America picked its “key AI suppliers,” naming its top stock picks with significant upside potential at a time when artificial intelligence is all the rage.
Bitcoin is arguably the world’s most popular cryptocurrency and has had a dramatic run-up in gains last year. Most of it was fueled by hype around a bitcoin exchange-traded fund that sparked a jump of about 60% in the cryptocurrency over the last three months.
A false social media post about the approval of such an ETF by the SEC was the last thing eager crypto bros were hoping for.
Market participants were anticipating an update from the regulatory authority as soon as Wednesday as it would mark the deadline for the SEC to approve or deny the application.
But bitcoin quickly sold off after the SEC said its X account had been compromised, confirming that it had not approved the Ark 21 Shares spot bitcoin ETF application, among others.
In early Asia hours, social media X said it had completed a preliminary probe into the compromised account of the SEC, noting that it was not due to any breach of X’s systems, but rather due to a “third party” and “unidentified individual.”
“The sell-off is showing a rattled market,” said Michael Rinko, research analyst at Delphi Digital. “This kind of high-volume boomerang event probably spooked some people and led to people taking some risk off the table but the initial market reaction is encouraging.”
It is, however, still widely expected to be approved by the SEC but some investors believe that considering bitcoin’s spectacular rally, it could also mean the day one effect of an approval may just turn out to be a sell-the-news event.
